im planing on geting one anyways... like in two years im hoping to open my own petstore...it will be lots of work, but i will enjoy it..

Actually it is 3 or more breedable (not spayed) females of any species. You would need to be licensed.

so gerbils do not count?? for breeding females??

Yes, they do. It is ANY species of animal in your home that is a female and not fixed (spayed).

thanks

i thought so just wanted to ask.

This is not correct, it is MORE than 3 (so 4 or more) breed-able females. But it will depend on your USDA inspector, as some go by the 4 or more breeding females (as in, those females are currently with an intact male).

BUT the way the USDA has is worded it is supposed to be more than three intact females of any breed that have a same breed intact male on the premises.

Thanks Gretchen. I should have worded that more carefully.

That is correct, Sugarlope, the law was just changed within the last year or two.

I am on the west coast and the USDA inspector told me it was any not spayed females that counted. Having them in seperate cages wasn't good enough, which makes sense since they can be bred anytime. Even the breeding females aren't always necssarily breeding.

My inspector allowed me to drop my license after I neutered several males and had under 4 females actively breeding. I did still have I think two females that were with intact males and breeding, but because I had less than 4, it was allowed.

I was told it only applies to species regulated by the USDA.
In otherwords, sugargliders & hedgehogs count but dogs and cats do not.
Your best bet would be to call and ask them.

so do rodents like hamster, mice count?

I don't think gerbils are regulated by the USDA. I know mice are NOT.

thats what i was thinking too...i think it mostly exotics..

you are pairing all three females with the one male? can you do that? Like put all of them in the same cage?

This is a really old thread, one that I responded to some time ago. The quad I had BLEW APART! It was a disaster. I do not recommend breeding quads at all. Even breeding trios are asking for trouble though many have success with them.

Wow, the USDA stuff is enough to make your head spin. In Georgia, SGs are only kept legally if the come from a USDA approved source. So if I just happen to have a breeding pair of suggies, I can't get USDA licenced because I don't have 4 or more breeding females? Then the baby would be illegal to own in GA? hmmm seems to encourage mill breeding IMO.

Now I have a question. I have 2 female gliders each with an in-tact male, 1 female glider with a sterile (not neutered, but proven steile) male, and a female dog. Do I need to be licensed? If it helps, the sterile male's genitles do not look like the genitles of the poducing male. While all parts are present, the plumbing is clearly not connected. It almost looks like it got cought in something when he was a tiny joey and was possibly torn. (He was my first glider and came from a mill)

I think it just matters how many intact females you have. This thread seems to indicate that dogs are not counted. If would be best just to call to verify since there is so much conflicting info. If the dog doesn't count, then you should not need a license since it's "over 3" breedable females.