Sugar gliders are not legal to own as pets in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Game Commission classifies them as exotic wildlife and does not issue the permits that would let a private owner keep one, so possessing a sugar glider in the state means risking fines, a criminal citation, and loss of the animal.
Why the Ban Exists
Pennsylvania’s Game and Wildlife Code defines “exotic wildlife” with open-ended language. The statute names bears, coyotes, lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, cougars, and wolves, but says the definition “includes, but is not limited to” those animals.1Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 34 Chapter 29 Section 2961 – Definitions That phrasing hands the Game Commission discretion to add species, and the Commission has used it to sweep sugar gliders into the same category as large predators.
A co-sponsorship memo from the Pennsylvania General Assembly spelled this out: “hedgehogs and sugar gliders are banned from ownership as pets through the Game Commission’s regulations and their interpretation of Title 34. The Commission recognizes these animals as ‘exotic’ and does not allow for their sale or possession.”2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Co-Sponsorship Memo Details
The statute does authorize exotic wildlife possession permits in theory, allowing a holder to “purchase, receive or possess exotic wildlife from any lawful source.”3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 34 Chapter 29 Section 2963 – Exotic Wildlife Possession Permits That system is used for licensed facilities handling species like big cats. The Commission has declined to extend it to sugar gliders for private pet ownership,2Pennsylvania General Assembly. Co-Sponsorship Memo Details so there is no application a prospective owner can submit and expect to succeed.
Penalties if You Keep One Anyway
Possessing a sugar glider without a permit is a summary offense of the third degree under the Game and Wildlife Code. Every day you keep the animal counts as a separate violation. Fines issued by field officers are capped at $300, but once a case goes to court there is no cap on the total a judge can impose.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 34 Chapter 29 Section 2963 – Exotic Wildlife Possession Permits
The Game Commission’s executive director can also order the disposal of exotic wildlife being held illegally.3Pennsylvania General Assembly. Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes Title 34 Chapter 29 Section 2963 – Exotic Wildlife Possession Permits The state decides what happens to the animal, not you. Turning it loose is not an option either; releasing exotic wildlife is its own separate offense under the same statute. The realistic outcome if enforcement finds you: you lose the animal, you pay fines that stack by the day, and you may end up with a criminal record.
Buying Online or Bringing One from Another State
Sugar gliders are not restricted by federal law. They are not listed as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act, and no federal import rules apply to them specifically. The entire barrier is Pennsylvania’s.
That means buying one from an out-of-state breeder or online seller does not solve the problem. Once the animal is in Pennsylvania, you are in possession of exotic wildlife without a permit, regardless of where the purchase happened or whether it was legal there. Moving a sugar glider in from a state that allows them does not create an exception.
Local Rules Can Go Further
Pennsylvania municipalities can add their own exotic animal restrictions on top of state law. Pleasant Hills, for instance, makes it unlawful for any person to own, possess, or harbor an exotic animal anywhere in the borough.4Borough of Pleasant Hills, PA. Borough of Pleasant Hills Code Chapter 150 Animals Article IV Exotic Animals Other boroughs and townships take different approaches, from permit systems to flat bans. If the state law ever changes, the local layer will still matter, so a call to your borough or township clerk or local code enforcement would be the next step.
If You Want the Law Changed
The question has already been in front of lawmakers once. A bill introduced in the Pennsylvania House in 2017 would have carved sugar gliders and hedgehogs out of the exotic wildlife classification, on the view that a sugar glider’s risk profile has nothing in common with a wolf’s. The House rejected it in 2018 by a vote of 120 to 71. No similar bill has passed since.
So the ban is not an oversight or a gray area; it is the position of both the Game Commission and the legislature. Changing it takes a new bill through both chambers and the governor’s signature. Contacting your state representative or state senator is the standard way to push for that. Until then, the Commission’s classification controls, and sugar gliders remain off-limits as pets in Pennsylvania.