I live in Catharpin witch is in Prince William County! It is not within city limits! I got my gliders a couple mounts ago and I was told they were legal by the person we got them from. Now today I get to reading and I confused if they are legal or not.

They are legal in the state of Virginia. I live in Loudoun County and a friend on here is in Arlington with her own group of sugar gliders.

i live in fredericksburg and im getting 2 baby girls from a women in charlottlvill june 5th they are definatly legal.

But are they in Prince William County Va.?

** EDITTED ** Boy am I wrong...

Exotics are listed as banned.

http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=14114&stateId=46&stateName=Virginia

Sec. 4-69. - Definitions.

For purposes of this article, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

Animal shall include any live vertebrate creature, domestic or wild, not to include birds.

Pet shall mean any animal kept for pleasure rather than utility.

Vicious animal shall mean any animal or animals that constitute a physical threat to human beings or other animals but shall not include guard dogs.

Wild or exotic animal shall mean any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx or any other warm-blooded animal, poisonous snake or tarantula which can normally be found in the wild state or any other member of crocodilian, including but not limited to alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gavials. Ferrets, nonpoisonous snakes, rabbits and laboratory rats which have been bred in captivity and which never have known the wild shall be excluded from this definition.

Sec. 4-71. - Keeping as a pet.

No person shall keep or permit to be kept any wild, exotic or vicious animal as a pet.

When in doubt, the Prince William County gov page led me directly to the Municipal Code. If you people don't know for sure BAD information is WORSE than no information.

I've always heard they are illegal in several counties in VA, Price William being one of them... it's been a while though, I suppose it could have changed. You'd have to start making phone calls to find out for sure.

I also seen this. http://www.bornfreeusa.org/b4a2_exotic_animals_ords.php

•Prince William County – No person may possess venomous snakes within city limits.


I'm so confused!!

I wouldn't worry about it. and Btw i know an AMAZING vet in Fairfax.

Pender Veterinary. Saved my splinter's life from dieing from this whole poison cage fiasco...
Of course he's still showing weird signs and acting weird, but still be at risk of dieing.. but at least he's ok for now. These guys are great.

Jessica...contact the Prince William County District Attorneys Office. This will give you the best answer to your question as to whether or not they are legal. My understanding on Prince William county is that they are, in fact, illegal but it's possible they have changed those laws.

Born free is NOT a legal website nor can you tell if it's updated WHEREAS the Prince William county website SPECIFICALLY sends you to the DA's site which leads you to where I quoted. Call'm. I'm sorry people place misinformation out there but it's clearly written. I'm sorry.

Official Prince William County Website
http://www.pwcgov.org/
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Click Residents, Animals & Laws
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On the left hand side, click Animal Related Laws
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In the middle of the page it sends you to County Attorney's office for more info.
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Click Prince William County Code in the center of the page
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Click Continue
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Open the Ordinances
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Open chapter 4 on the left hand side

Edit: If you DO make phone calls... remember do not give the your address or state that you own a glider. Ensure you pose your questions as a hypothetical. It is CLEARLY stated that if you are CAUGHT violating the code "The director of animal control is authorized to release the animal to the wild, to a zoological park, or to a responsible adult, or euthanize the animal, if the circumstances warrant."

It was my understanding that in prince william county they are legal to own but illegal to sell, however that may be wrong in light of what is stated above. I do know the rest of virginia is fine so if push comes to shove you could move to a neighboring county if you absolutely have to such as spotsy.

I live in Prince William County and I read the ordinance before I got my gliders.

"Wild or exotic animal shall mean any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx or any other warm-blooded animal, poisonous snake or tarantula which can normally be found in the wild state or any other member of crocodilian, including but not limited to alligators, crocodiles, caimans, and gavials. Ferrets, nonpoisonous snakes, rabbits and laboratory rats which have been bred in captivity and which never have known the wild shall be excluded from this definition." (Sec 4-69)

It does state that any animal bred in captivity and has never known the wild does not count as exotic. While it does not specify "gliders" it also does not specify "hamsters" or "guinea pigs", and there's no question as to whether they are legal.

Also, Pocket Pets sells gliders in the Potomac Mills Mall (located in Prince William County).

**Side note: I did NOT get my gliders from Pocket Pets. This is just where I learned about them.

So frankly, I'm not too concerned about it. My vet is in another county, but if it really became an issue I'd move south to Stafford County. I've been trying to get the heck out of PWC anyway.

Actually, legal or not in a particular county, they can be sold...so it's up to the purchaser to know whether or not they are legal to own.

That's true, on the other hand Sec 4-72 states:

Any person who offers for sale a wild or exotic animal, as defined by section 4-69 of this article, shall post conspicuously at the place of sale or display the following notice:

"No person may lawfully keep or permit to be kept in Prince William County any live monkey (nonhuman primate), raccoon, skunk, wolf, squirrel, fox, leopard, panther, tiger, lion, lynx or any other warm-blooded animal, poisonous snake or tarantula, crocodile or alligator, which can normally be found in the wild state or any other member of the crocodilian, including but not limited to alligators, crocodiles, caimans and gavials."

I have never seen such a sign or anything alluding to the fact that gliders are illegal in PCW anywhere near the PP kiosk. It seems to me that PP would want to follow the law if they want to keep their business up and running in a mall like Potomac Mills.

The sign could be there, but I've never seen it. Next time I see the kiosk I'll look for it, and if they don't have one I'll ask the salesperson. I imagine this would be something they would've looked into before setting up the kiosk.

I've seen several of the signs. They've been around the block enough times to know the rules.

Exactly what I was thinking. The signs are probably there, I just never stuck around the booth long enough to notice.

I looked a little closer at the ordinances, and if I'm reading the date right on those ordinances, they were set in 1983??? That was some time before sugar gliders came to the US which would explain why they aren't specifically mentioned in the ordinance. It seems like PWC could stand to update their stuff.

Just want to update on this thread:

Last week, I received a phone call from my vet, that they'd received a phone call of gliders in need of rescue. On Sunday, I made a trip to the Prince William County Animal Shelter where I brought home a mama, 4 mo. old joey and a joey 2 wks OOP. Why? Because they were confiscated from their home.

No matter HOW you read the law, it was confirmed to me on Sunday by animal control and by the Police Department in Manassas that gliders are, in fact, ILLEGAL TO OWN in Prince William County.

I finally get to log in and read this and that just stinks to find out they are illegal there. Good thing I have no intention of EVER moving there! Poor lil guys! Glad you were able to help!!

So, I was at Potomac Mills Mall today and PP had a huge display set up with like 5 salesman doing demonstrations and hawking off their joeys left and right. I looked for the sign that stated that gliders can be sold but not owned in PWC and it was nowhere to be found. I asked two of the salesman separately about whether or not they are legal in PWC and they stumbled over their words and did not give me a clear answer. In fact one of them walked away from me when I said I just wanted a simple "yes" or "no".

So this can either mean one of two things, they are illegal in PWC and PP knows this but does not want to admit it - Potomac Mills Mall is one of the busiest, if not THE busiest mall in Northern Va afterall. Or the ordianance is so vague they think they can get away without posting it.

I'm calling the county on Monday to clarify once and for all.

They are supposed to be posting it. They are, in fact, illegal in Price William County and I have gotten confirmation of this by both the Shelter and the Police Department (had this conversation when I picked up the confiscated rescues from there). Sorry to hear that they aren't being forthcoming about this there.

Can you complain to the Mall Management? It may at least get them to post the sign.

I think I know which gliders you're talking about Aimee. A friend of mine works at the shelter and said she remembers seeing them come in. She also told me she didn't think animal control sought out people w/gliders to confiscate them, but they will take them if they or the cops are there for another reason. But regardless we've decided to move to another county when ready to buy just to be on the safe side.

And yes, I do plan to call the mall management, if anything because I'm really annoyed at how the PP salesman reacted when I questioned them about it - they CLEARLY knew!

You're correct, Mandi - it would take way too much manpower to actually seek out offenders, but they will confiscate them if someone either calls and turns you in or they are there for something unrelated. Unfortunately, it happens more than people think and they're willing to take the chance of having gliders anyway. While the chance may be small that something will happen - you may end up with that crazy neighbor that doesn't like you, or someone you considered a friend who is no longer. It only takes one phone call and you've now put your gliders in danger. I find it to be terribly irresponsible and selfish. Glad you're moving elsewhere.