Dangerous, Exotic Animals You Can Now Legally Own in Texas

We Texans have an estimated 7.2 million dogs living with us, according to the American Veterinary Association. That's more dogs than any other state. But perhaps you’re looking at adopting something less common.

My wife's once front-runner for an exotic pet was a galago. Not familiar? It's also known as a bush baby. Bush babies average just seven inches in length and weigh about 2-3 lbs.

Galago Upside: they're tiny cute little primates
Galago Downside: they smell like their own urine.

But maybe you're worried about losing track of a teeny-tiny bush baby or living with its famous pee-pee smell permeating your home. Well then perhaps a super-slow sloth is more your speed. They're legal to own in The Lone Star State.

With a sloth's natural habitat being in South and Central America, there's no reason why you couldn't build your new "sloth-baby" a suitable habitat here in Texas. Also, they're not much bigger than a small dog, ranging in size from 8 to 17 lbs.

But heads-up, if you choose a sloth as your forever pet, it will be close to forever. Sloths live on average for 20 years in the wild and have lived for up to 30 years in captivity.

When it comes to approved exotic pets in Texas, according to Texas Capital, the list is actually quite exotic and fairly long. Kangaroos, orangutans (for example King Louie in "Jungle Book"), even one of the biggest big cats, Tigers, with a few stipulations are allowed to be privately owned.

But word to the wise, steer clear of cheetahs, chimps, jaguars, lions, and gorillas, all of these animals are prohibited in The Lone Star State, and are pretty dangerous too.