Attack of the Alien Invaders, National Geographic Magazine: Reptile Shows Offer Exotic Pets
A young boy pleads with his father for a leopard gecko at a reptile breeder show in Florida. This lizard is not considered an environmental threat, unlike many snakes and lizards for sale at exotic shows put on by the pet industry. Some two million reptiles are imported to the U.S. every year. Many are released into the wild where they breed and overtake native species.
Florida passed new regulations in June 2010 that ban some exotic species from ownership. These include the Nile monitor lizard as well as the Burmese/Indian python, reticulated python, green anaconda, and African rock python.
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