[dragonfly]

just wondered if anyone could tell me if you get lizards/geckos etc regulary in your gardens? My daughter has a gecko at the moment and has kept snakes in the past. She won't be able to bring her gecko over with her but wants to know if there any rules/regulations re keeping them in nz

Thanks

Sue

[IanW99]

Not seen any in our garden but have seen many on the various conservation parks, here's a link to the various species that can be found :-Reptiles and frogs (http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/summary.aspx?id=33113)

Apparently most are protected species.

Ian

[jackie m]

Hi
No we haven't seen any but we get some wonderful stick insects & some quite large & bright green. Not sure about having Gecko's & snakes as pets but sure someone will know the answer.
Jackie

[Sam B]

Someone told me yesterday that there are no snakes allowed in NZ at all, not as pets, not even in zoos. Don't know if it's true. We have seen no reptiles or amphibians at all in our garden or on our walks.

[Nick88]

Sam's right. Forget the snakes, you can't have them. Full stop. No way, Jose.

Some species of gecko may be allowed in the country. Go to the MAF website and have a look. They keep a register of the species permitted in NZ (latin names). Failing that, try ERMA. If it isn't on the list, forget it. They are super strict on this stuff, completely unnecessarily in most cases.

[dragonfly]

Thanks - i'm pleased re no snakes, as they're a pain to feed - my daughter will just have to find other pets... we're hoping to bring our cats over anyway - to 'sweeten' the move for our son.

Sue

[KerryS]

There are definitely skinks about in Auckland. My cat was very pleased with himself when he bought me in a headless one once. He was quite dismayed when I threw it away and went off and sulked for ages.
My cat is no longer allowed outside (fear of cars on my behalf), so no more skinks will be decapitated by him.

[Xaviera]

There were plenty of geckos in our garden when I grew up (west coast of the south island). My brother always kept them as pets. Definitely no snakes.