Arapahoe County, CO Animal Ordinances: Exotic Pets (2026)
Key Facts
- Wild/exotic animals
- Prohibited as pets
- Poisonous animals
- Prohibited
- Constrictor snakes/large reptiles
- Prohibited over 3 ft
- Allowed pets
- Dogs, cats, potbellied pigs, small pet-store animals
- Applies to
- Unincorporated county only
Summary
Arapahoe County's Land Development Code flatly prohibits keeping wild or exotic animals, poisonous animals, or any constrictor snake or reptile over three feet long as pets anywhere in unincorporated Arapahoe County. The ban sits inside the LDC's zoning definition of 'Pets,' which also caps allowed household pets to dogs, cats, potbellied pigs and small pet-store animals.
Pets: Dogs and cats over the age of six months, potbellied pigs, and reptiles or other small animals of a type typically purchased at local pet stores, which are customarily kept in the home or on the premises for the sole pleasure and enjoyment of the occupants and not raised for commercial purposes. The definition of pets does not include chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys or other poultry or domesticated fowl. Pets that are caged indoors or kept in a terrarium or aquarium or confined in a pond will not be counted in the allowed quantity of pets within a zone district. Keeping of wild or exotic animals as defined by the State of Colorado Division of Wildlife is PROHIBITED. Keeping of any poisonous animal is PROHIBITED. Keeping of any constrictor snake or any reptile with a length greater than three feet, measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, is PROHIBITED.
Full Breakdown
' The same definition excludes chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys and other poultry from the 'pets' count (those are regulated separately as agricultural animals), and it exempts animals caged indoors, in a terrarium, aquarium or pond from counting toward a lot's allowed pet quantity. Then the definition turns absolute: 'Keeping of wild or exotic animals as defined by the State of Colorado Division of Wildlife is PROHIBITED. Keeping of any poisonous animal is PROHIBITED. ' Because 'Pets' is a defined term used throughout the LDC's permitted-use tables for agricultural and residential zone districts, this prohibition reaches every unincorporated lot where pet-keeping is an allowed accessory use, it is not confined to any one district.
The rule turns on the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (formerly Division of Wildlife) definition of a wild or exotic species, so a resident weighing whether an animal qualifies should check that state list before acquiring it. As with the rest of the LDC, this reach stops at the county's incorporated cities, Aurora, Centennial, Littleton, Englewood and the others enforce their own animal codes inside city limits.
Violations & Fines
Because the ban sits inside the LDC's zoning definitions, keeping a prohibited wild, exotic, poisonous, or oversized constrictor animal is treated as a zoning code violation on the property. Arapahoe County Animal Services and PWD Code Enforcement can act on a confirmed violation, and the county may pursue removal of the animal and code-enforcement remedies under the LDC's enforcement provisions until the property is brought back into compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a pet snake in unincorporated Arapahoe County?
Is it legal to keep a wild animal as a pet in the county?
Does the ban include poisonous animals like venomous reptiles?
Do chickens or other poultry count as banned exotic pets?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Arapahoe County
Compare Arapahoe County to another location·View the Colorado animal ordinances overview
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