in the state of florida if you are not a breeder do you need or have to have a usda license for how many sugar gliders you have? And is there a limit in the state of florida. I have this woman arguing with me saying because i have 5 and currently thinking of getting another that i have to have a usda license.

Federal Law (USDA) states that if you have more than 3 breeding females you are required to have a license. The state of Florida could exceed that law, but can not be more lenient.

Are you breeding? If so, and if you have 5 females, then yes you are required by federal law to be licensed.

no im not breeding at all. All my males are fixed. I dont want to breed. Isnt usda for breeding, selling etc?

Yes it is (breeding, selling, brokering, exhibiting). You may want to check with the Florida Fish & Wildlife to see what the state rules are. But if all males are fixed, then you don't fall under the USDA criteria.

thank you very very much.

ive got a question. so it isnt breeding groups or pairs that you can only have 3 without a liscense, its 3 breeding females?

The way the law is written is if you have more than three breeding females and you are selling the offspring, you must have a license.

Different inspectors will interpret that differently. Some read the law and go strictly by it in that the females must be of breeding age and actively breeding (in with intact males). Others will say that it is more than three breedable females (regardless if they are with intact males or not).

If it comes down to a "court action" the court has to abide with the word of law, that is how it is written (ie, breeding females, not breedable)

thanks for the answer this might mean we have to get zippy neutered to get a cremeino and probably mosaic breeding pair.

Also, I believe you have to be at least 18 to get a license so in your case, the license would have to be in your parent's name.

yep, i figured that children cant have a usda liscense but we are just going to get him neutered maybe because if not we cant get another breeding pair

Now can more than one person have gliders in house, or is it per household. So possibly him and his parents have breeding pairs. See if we can't try this Brandon?? lol

sorry Brendan.. my bad

They consider all gliders in the house when the issue of a license is at stake, regardless of who "owns" them.

So if I have 3 breeding females and my room mate has 2 breeding females and either of us is selling the offspring, then we have to have a license.

I would think as long as you each went through the process of getting your license then you should be legal!! Thats not fair....uh forgot we are talking about a governmental agency!!! OK Brain-fart!!
Ok playing devil advocate...If you had a "separate" building on same property? would that work? I'm guessing your gonna tell me she has to prove she is "renting" from you? Is there a loop-hole somewhere? lol

It is best to forward your questions to the agency that will issue the license.

In NJ, it doesnt matter who owns them or what building they are on. If its an apartment building then that is different of course because your "property" is the inside if your apartment. But a private residence your whole place is your property. In NJ it is breeding females. Even if all males are neutered it doesnt matter. It is breeding females.

Trying to cut corners to save on the license is not worth the risk if they do ever check you and you are stuck with a fine or some other issue. Just not worth it in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong...I didn't say cut corners!! But you can work within the system!! Like you said call the agency and ask lots of "what if" questions!!Find out "exactly" what is allowable.
As a business owner have had my share of "agencies". I haul my own product to different states. Your vehicles can only weigh 26,000 lbs. I bought a pick-up truck with dual wheels and a 40ft trailer. Got stopped and was told had to have a
CDL(this is a license for Semi-tractors) to drive this equipment. DOT showed up with a manual the size of a Sears catalog and about $10,000 dollars in fees to get the business set up square. Then was told to take the test for CDL. I had to use a Semi-truck to take test!! Mind you this is a pick-up that any 16 year old can drive legally!! So sold dual-wheel truck got a regular one and I no longer fall in that catagory!! Now if I was hauling a cattle trailer there would have been no problem either!

So keep asking questions and you will find that some minor detail can mean a big difference...and be legal!!

Also thought its worth mentioning that the USDA includes breeding females of a wide variety of species, not just suggies. So if you have intact dogs, cats, guinea pigs, etc. that all counts towards the 3 breeding females as well..

Man they make you go through hoops if you don't have license, but drop the ball once you get one!! Mills to be exact!! guess they get their money and then they become understaffed and can't monitor it all!!

No, there are no loopholes in these laws. They are pretty simple and straight forward. Having a USDA license is not that difficult and the idea shouldn't scare people. Honestly, the USDA regulations are so lax compared to the standards we hold ourselves to, that meeting their criteria shouldn't be a problem for most people anyway.

Unfortunately, the mills that are licensed meet those "minimum standards". It has nothing to do with the USDA being understaffed.

So true

Pretty sure everybody else answered your questions about the USDA laws but you must have a Florida Fish & Wildlife permit if you are going to be selling gliders. If you are rehoming them, different story, but if you are going to be selling them on a regular basis, you must have a permit. You don't have to have one if you have just pets and plan on just having your gliders but if you plan on breeding or selling, you must have a permit.