When exotic pets enter the conversation, people probably think of Joe Exotic. However, exotic pet ownership is a lot more complicated than a famous guy owning tigers.
Exotic pet ownership can be found in most cities, including Topeka. Before giving exotic pets a try, owners need to consider how the city regulates ownership and what is permitted.
What is an exotic pet?
Topeka senior animal control officer Jessica Bowers said the city ordinances give a broad definition of exotic pets, so it can include animals not yet considered when the code was written.
For clarity in this article, exotic pets will be referred to as pets that aren’t cats or dogs.
What exotic pets are allowed?
Miniature pot-belly pigs are permitted within city limits. Owners are required to have a fence that goes two feet underground, the pig must be microchipped and needs a clear health certificate from a veterinarian and the pig needs to be tagged.
Snakes are also permitted if they are nonvenomous and smaller than eight feet.
A resident can own livestock as long as they follow the city’s requirements:
- Poultry/fowl: They must be kept 50 feet from any structure that is not the owner’s home and must stay in a coop with a fence around it.
- Goats, sheep, cows and llamas: They must be kept 200 feet away from neighboring property lines and must be contained.
- Horses: The first horse must have 3 acres and each additional horse must have an additional 1.5 acres.
- Pigs aren’t permitted.
Amphibians, such as frogs, are permitted, along with such reptiles as geckos. Ferrets, rabbits and rodents are also approved pets within the city limits.
All pet owners are required to follow sanitary requirements for their pet type. This can include limiting objectionable odors, the animals being kept in proper containment to prevent their escape and areas where animals are allowed to roam must be cleaned regularly to prevent disease.
What can’t you have?
Residents can’t have venomous snakes of any size, snakes eight feet or larger, snapping turtles and any species of monitor lizard.
Cassowaries, emus, ostriches and rheas are also prohibited under the code.
Non-domesticated animals are not to be kept within the city limits including large cats and owls. This means residents of Topeka can’t rescue and raise squirrels or raccoons.
These kinds of animals are permitted under certain circumstances including being a zoo or an animal professional with proper licensing.
How often are these rules violated?
Bowers, the animal control officer, said he has not seen many issues with exotic animals in his short tenure with the city.
“We don’t really get a lot of exotic calls,” Bowers said.
She said often the issue has been when people buy baby snakes from exotic pet shows without knowing how large the snake will get.
“They sell those things and they’ll tell you how big they’re going to get,” Bowers said. “So they should definitely just do a lot of research before they buy something from an exotic show and look into their ordinances or even call to see if it’s even allowed.”
Bowers said the weirdest exotic call animal control has received was before she started. She said her coworkers had told her stories of a monkey in attendance at a parade in town.
Where can you find legal exotic pets?
Exotic pets can be found at many pet stores in town including Petland, Petco, PetSmart and Safari Pets. At these locations, you can find animal companions like ferrets, birds, snakes and many more options.
People can also find pets at exotic pet shows.
Kansas Department of Agriculture communications director Heather Lansdowne said the department typically approves four to five shows a year around Kansas. She said shows exhibiting animals require a USDA license and pass an inspection.