Before you fall in love
A few of the animals on this site cannot legally be kept as pets everywhere. It is a horrible thing to find out after you have applied, so here is what we know and how to check the rest.
Read this first
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. We only list a restriction when we can point at the actual rule, and we never say an animal is legal anywhere, because cities and counties add rules of their own that we cannot check for you.
So treat the table below as "these are definitely worth checking", not as a complete list. Laws also change: Pennsylvania had a bill to legalise hedgehogs in January 2025.
What we can confirm
Checked 2026-09-23. Each row links to the rule itself so you can read it rather than take our word for it.
| Animal | State | The rule |
|---|---|---|
| Anacondas | Florida | FAC 68-5.006, green, yellow, Beni and DeSchauensee's anaconda. Possession needs a permit from the Executive Director. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68-5.006, Prohibited Non-Native Species, via Cornell Law School |
| Burmese, reticulated, African, amethystine and scrub pythons | Florida | FAC 68-5.006. Ball pythons and other species are NOT on the list. Possession of the listed species needs a permit from the Executive Director. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68-5.006, Prohibited Non-Native Species, via Cornell Law School |
| Ferrets | California | 14 CCR § 671, Order Carnivora, all species except domestic dogs and cats. The manual singles out family Mustelidae as “undesirable and a menace to native wildlife”. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Restricted Species Laws and Regulations Manual 671 |
| Ferrets | New York City | NYC Health Code § 161.01(b)(4), which prohibits all fur bearing mammals of the family Mustelidae and names the ferret. This is a CITY rule. The rest of New York State does not restrict ferrets. New York City Health Code, Article 161, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene |
| Gerbils | California | 14 CCR § 671, Order Rodentia. Hamsters, rats, mice, guinea pigs and chinchillas are named as exceptions. Gerbils are not. California Code of Regulations, Title 14, via the Animal Legal & Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law |
| Gerbils | Hawaii | HAR § 4-71-6, Gerbillus gerbillus and Meriones unguiculatus, allowed only for research by government agencies Hawaii Administrative Rules, Department of Agriculture |
| Green iguanas | Florida | FAC 68-5.006, Iguana iguana. Possession needs a permit from the Executive Director. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68-5.006, Prohibited Non-Native Species, via Cornell Law School |
| Hamsters | Hawaii | HAR § 4-71-6, Mesocricetus auratus, allowed only for research by government agencies Hawaii Administrative Rules, Department of Agriculture |
| Hedgehogs | California | 14 CCR § 671, Order Insectivora, all species, class D California Code of Regulations, Title 14, via the Animal Legal & Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law |
| Hedgehogs | Pennsylvania | Game Commission's reading of Title 34, which treats them as exotic wildlife. A bill to legalise them was introduced in January 2025 and had not passed when we checked. Pennsylvania General Assembly co-sponsorship memorandum, 14 January 2025 |
| Monk parakeets (Quaker parrots) | California | 14 CCR § 671, Myiopsitta monachus, class D California Code of Regulations, Title 14, via the Animal Legal & Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law |
| Monk parakeets (Quaker parrots) | Hawaii | HAR § 4-71-6, Myiopsitta monachus Hawaii Administrative Rules, Department of Agriculture |
| Snakes of every species | Hawaii | HAR § 4-71-6, suborder Serpentes, all species. The only exceptions are two male snakes for a government zoo and sterile brown tree snakes for training detector dogs. There is no pet exception at all. Hawaii Administrative Rules, Department of Agriculture |
| Snapping turtles | California | 14 CCR § 671, family Chelydridae, all species. Other pet turtles are not on the list. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Restricted Species Laws and Regulations Manual 671 |
| Sugar gliders | California | 14 CCR § 671, Order Marsupialia, all species. Sugar gliders are marsupials. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Restricted Species Laws and Regulations Manual 671 |
| Sugar gliders | Pennsylvania | Game Commission's reading of Title 34, which treats them as exotic wildlife. A bill to legalise them was introduced in January 2025 and had not passed when we checked. Pennsylvania General Assembly co-sponsorship memorandum, 14 January 2025 |
| Tegus | Florida | FAC 68-5.006, genera Salvator and Tupinambis, all species. Possession needs a permit from the Executive Director. Florida Administrative Code Rule 68-5.006, Prohibited Non-Native Species, via Cornell Law School |
How to check your own state
- Ask the shelter. Easiest and most reliable. They place animals in your area every week and usually know exactly where the line is.
- Ask your state wildlife agency. Search for your state plus "fish and wildlife exotic pet permit". They keep the species lists and they are the ones who decide.
- Check your city or county too. A state can allow an animal while your township does not. This catches people with chickens, roosters, pigs and goats more than anything else.
- Read the law yourself. The Animal Legal & Historical Center at Michigan State University College of Law keeps state-by-state tables of exotic pet law. It is a law school resource, not a pet blog.
Why these rules exist
Mostly they are not about the animal being dangerous. Monk parakeets are restricted because a breeding population can wreck crops and take over urban nesting sites. Hawaii bans a long list of ordinary pets, gerbils and hamsters included, because anything that escapes there has no natural predators. Pennsylvania treats hedgehogs as exotic wildlife rather than pets, which is a classification question more than a safety one.
Found something we have wrong?
Please tell us. Email support@adoptnearby.com with the state and the rule, and we will fix it or take it down.