Top 10 Exotic Animals – 2001 U.S. Pet Ownership

An exotic pet, by definition, is a rare or unusual animal kept as a pet, or an animal kept within human households which is not commonly thought of as a pet. Sometimes any unique or wild-looking pet is called an exotic pet. The term “exotic” may also be used for a species which is non-indigenous to the owner’s locale. Many major pet stores and service providers (such as veterinary insurance carriers or online retailers) tend to classify any animal besides cats, dogs, small rodents, small birds or fish as “exotic”.

Animals kept as exotic pets include but are not limited to the following:

African Pygmy Hedgehogs
Alligators
Amphibians
Arctic Foxes
Bears
Capybaras
Cockatiels
Coyotes
Degus
Fennec Foxes
Genets
Hares
Indian Star Tortoises
Polecats
Raccoons
Red Foxes
Skunks
Sugar Gliders
Tame Silver Foxes
Wallaroos
Wolves and wolf/dog hybrids

It has been estimated that as many as 15,000 non-human primates are kept by private individuals as pets in the United States. While many professionals, including veterinarians, zoologists, humane societies and others, strongly discourage the keeping of non-human primates as pets, we reveal the top 10 exotic animals people keep as pets in the United States. These figures are according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) 2001 pet ownership statistics.

By Households (in 1,000)

#1. Fish 6,396

#2. Rabits 1,783

#3. All others 839

#4. Hamsters 734

#5. Turtles 629

#6. Livestock 524

#7. Guinea pigs 524

#8. Ferrets 472

#9. Lizards 419

#10. Other birds, other rodents,

other reptiles, and snakes 315