Drew Desjardins places his finger on the shell of a red-eared slider at his education-based rehabilitation and rescue center in Lewiston. The tiny turtle was brought in by Bates College students who purchased two in Boston's Chinatown not knowing they're restricted and considered invasive in Maine.
Drew Desjardins holds two red-eared slider turtles purchased by unaware buyers in Boston's Chinatown last month. They're illegal to sell in Maine or Massachusetts as pets, but Chinatown merchants have found a loophole: They can be sold there as food.
A black widow spider, restricted in Maine, is known for the distinctive hourglass marking on its body. It came to Drew Desjardins hidden in packing material.
A red-eared slider swims in a tank at Mr. Drew's Exotic Rescue and Education Center Lewiston.
A Vietnamese centipede, a restricted pet in Maine, is the only animal at his rescue center that Drew Desjardins will not pick up with his bare hands.
Drew Desjardins picks up a green iguana inside its enclosure at his refuge in Lewiston.
Drew Desjardins displays an Asian forest scorpion, another restricted pet in Maine, at his refuge in Lewiston.
Three Sulcata tortoises mess around at Mr. Drew's Exotic Rescue and Education Center in Lewiston's Pepperell Mill. Sulcata tortoises are the third largest species of tortoise and, full-grown, should weigh in at over 200 pounds and live to be 150 years old.
A Sulcata tortoise, restricted in Maine, has a snack in the kitchen of Mr. Drew's Exotic Rescue and Education Center.
A Florida softshell turtle, another restricted pet in Maine, is one of the more unusual looking animals at Mr. Drew's, reminding many visitors of a Dr. Seuss character.
The axolotl, restricted in Maine, is a salamander that can rejuvenate limbs and regrow eyeballs.
Green iguanas like Xenia are restricted pets in Maine but easily bought across the border in New Hampshire.
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