Keeping a pet squirrel in Texas is illegal if the animal is a native species. Gray squirrels (sometimes called cat squirrels) and fox squirrels (sometimes called red squirrels) are classified as game animals under state law, and Texas prohibits possessing a live game animal for any purpose the Parks and Wildlife Code doesn’t specifically authorize.1State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.002 – Possession of Live Game Animals A narrow opening exists for non-native squirrel species, but local rules often close it.
Why Native Squirrels Can’t Be Pets
Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.001 lists gray or cat squirrels and fox or red squirrels among the state’s game animals.2State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.001 – Game Animals That label is what makes pet ownership illegal. Section 63.002 states plainly: “No person may possess a live game animal in this state for any purpose not authorized by this code.”1State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.002 – Possession of Live Game Animals
The code authorizes possession for hunting, licensed wildlife rehabilitation, and certain scientific or educational purposes. Keeping one as a companion animal is not on that list, and no general pet-keeping exception exists.
The Non-Native Species Opening
Section 63.001(b) says that no animal qualifies as a game animal “if it is not indigenous to this state.”2State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.001 – Game Animals The game animal prohibition only reaches squirrel species native to Texas. A Prevost’s squirrel from Southeast Asia or a Richardson’s ground squirrel from the northern Great Plains, for example, falls outside the statute because neither is indigenous here.
That doesn’t make non-native squirrels automatically legal. Texas regulates dangerous wild animals under the Health and Safety Code, and counties and cities add their own exotic animal rules on top. Before you buy any non-native species, call your county and city animal control offices and confirm it’s allowed where you live. State law may give you room; local ordinances often take it back.
If You Find a Baby or Injured Squirrel
Picking up a fallen baby squirrel is probably the most common way Texans end up with one in the house. Keeping it is still illegal, even with the best intentions. Texas law requires wildlife needing rehabilitation to be transferred to someone holding a valid Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit.3Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 31-69.45 – Permit Required
Licensed veterinarians can provide emergency stabilization, but once the animal is stable it has to go to a permitted rehabilitator.3Legal Information Institute. Texas Administrative Code 31-69.45 – Permit Required Rehabilitators work toward one outcome: releasing the animal back into the wild. They’re not authorized to keep wildlife permanently or hand animals off to private individuals as pets.
TPWD keeps a directory of licensed rehabilitators on its website. If a squirrel looks genuinely injured or orphaned, contact a rehabilitator or call TPWD for a referral rather than trying to raise it yourself.
What You’ll Face if You’re Caught
Possessing a live native squirrel is a Class C Parks and Wildlife Code misdemeanor.4State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 63.104 – Penalties The fine runs from $25 to $500.5State of Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Code Section 12.406 – Class C Parks and Wildlife Code Misdemeanor That’s traffic-ticket territory, but the money is usually not the hard part. Wildlife authorities will confiscate the animal, and for someone who has been raising a squirrel for months, losing the squirrel is the real penalty.
Local Ordinances Can Go Further
Where state law leaves room, your city or county often doesn’t. Texas Local Government Code Chapter 240 lets counties regulate the keeping of wild animals in unincorporated areas, and many cities maintain their own exotic animal ordinances. Some ban wild or exotic rodent species outright, native or not. Others require registration or liability insurance. The rules vary enough across the state that a call to local animal control is the only reliable way to know what you can keep where you live.