4. Sugar gliders
These cute, wide-eyed marsupials that resemble flying squirrels have become quite the talk of the town in the latest years. However, it is illegal to keep them as pets in a number of states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Utah. Others, such as Pennsylvania and Massachusetts have just made it mandatory to get a permit if you truly want one.
Sugar gliders are exotic animals that can live up to 15 years, but even if your state allows their residents to own one, it will not be a walk in the park as they are nocturnal and follow a special diet.
5. Hedgehogs
With the rise of social media, it is impossible not to have stumbled across an Instagram account of one of these adorable spiky animals. Hedgehogs are one of the controversial illegal pets, as even specialists and activists argue whether they make a good one or not.
Even so, it does not matter what they decide, as getting one as a pet in New York City, Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Douglas County, Nebraska will put you on the bad side of the law. You just have to resist their cuteness!
6. Quaker parrots
Out of the pets featured on this list, this one might be the most shocking one. You would not think that a parrot would end up being illegal to own, but here we are.
The Quaker parrot, known by some as the monk parakeet, is prohibited to be owned as a pet in California, Wyoming, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. Other states have just put restrictions on owning one, while others, like Maine or Georgia, allow it but with a permit or a breeder’s license respectively.
