What’s the largest reptile you can have as a pet?

Burmese pythons and reticulated pythons are among the largest reptiles commonly kept as pets. Lizards such as tegus, nile monitors and green iguanas also grow quite large. Unfortunately, many people buy these animals when they’re small, not realizing how difficult and/or dangerous it will be to care for the fully grown adult. If you’re looking for a pet, a ball python or bearded dragon is much more reasonable!

My guess would be the Australian Saltwater Crocodile. A male could be expected to grow to over 5 meters and weigh 1000kg (larger specimens are confirmed). The different states in Australia have different laws, but generally they can be kept if you have the proper licence, which usually would require a number of years keeping simpler species of reptile. Export is almost certainly restricted.

That said, as much as I love the Saltie, and despite them being technically available to keep as a pet, I would never in a million years recommend keeping one. Apart from the husbandry requirements (a pond the size of two swimming pools at least, and an excellent fence, plus the appropriate heating), the Saltie is a a near-perfect apex predator. You will never tame one, even hand raised from an egg. You’ll think it’s tame, and lower your guard, and then one day it will take your arm off.

A cursory google search will show examples.

Also: to pedantically correct Linda’s answer, alligators and crocodiles are actually more closely related to birds than they are to lizards. “Reptile” is a pretty inexact term, taxonomically speaking.

Linda Jenkinson

Tortoise owner, Owned by an Airedale Terrier, Salt & Fresh Water Aquarium Hobbyist

149w ago

It depends upon species. Tortoise would be the Aldabra. Snake would be the Anaconda. Water monitor for a lizard. Alligators are bigger lizards, but they are also much more dangerous and generally don’t make good pets.