Exotic Pets We Didn’t Know Were Legal to Own in Canada

Imagine a hamster that grows to be the size of a mid-sized dog and you have an idea of what it's like to own a capybara, the world's largest rodent. Native to South America, capybaras feed on grass and tree bark, and have enormous teeth. Like its cousin the beaver, a capybara's teeth are constantly growing, with constant gnawing keeping those choppers from getting too big — so leaving a capybara home alone while you go to work could result in some serious damage to furniture.

Native to South Asia, these tiny deer are affectionate, playful and easy to train — they can even be taught to use a litter box just like a cat! Also known as the "barking deer" (for the sound they make that's not far off from that of a barking dog), certain species will grow to just 10 pounds at full adult weight, while others can grow up to 90 pounds.

With the look of a leopard and the temperament of a house cat, Servals are becoming increasingly popular as pets. Be forewarned that they require a lot of space in which to run around, and are instinctual hunters; if you've got a mouse or rat infestation, then these are the pets for you!

Pot-bellied piglets are as cute as can be, which explains their faddish popularity as pets in the 1990s (remember when George Clooney used to have one?). Pot-bellied pigs, however, gradually fell out of favour once their owners discovered how big they became when fully grown, with those adorable little piglets ballooning up to 300 pounds as adults. Potential owners of a pot-bellied pig need to be aware that these animals can be quite destructive if left unattended and will eat a lot. They also love to graze on grass and dig around in dirt, so perhaps not the ideal pet for someone living in a studio apartment.

These teeny little marsupials can be found in Australia, Indonesia, and New Guinea, and get their name from the fact that they suck sweet nectar out of fruits and sap from trees. Sugar Gliders are prone to live on treetops, with a membrane linking their arms and legs that allows them to ride air currents and glide through the air. Sugar Gliders are also communal creatures, so it would be cruel to have just one, as these animals have been known to become forlorn and literally die of loneliness if not partnered with at least one or two others.

Hedgehogs are docile, nocturnal and prickly — not quite porcupine prickly, but in the same ballpark. It's important to socialize and handle a hedgehog, which will make it acclimatized to people and become friendly; an unsocialized hedgehog, on the other hand, will tend to be nervous and apprehensive, and will demonstrate its fear by rolling up into a spiky little ball, the hedgehog's primary defensive position.

The Hyacinth Macaw, native to South America, are on the endangered species list, and as a pet, are definitely not for everyone. While highly intelligent and friendly, they're also expensive (look to shell out a solid $10,000) and will require enough space in which to fly around — probably not a good choice if you live in a condo.

They may be smaller than the norm, but Pygmy Goats are still goats, and require a good-sized, fenced-in yard in which to roam and prance — and may not be allowed in areas that aren't zoned for agricultural use. And despite the "pygmy" moniker, they're not that small, with a typical adult weighing about 75 pounds.

Native to Australia, a Wallaby resembles a small kangaroo, and that's pretty much what it is. Growing up to three feet in height and weighing up to 50 pounds, a young Wallaby will need a playpen, much like a child, and a small "pouch" into which it can retreat for solace and security. Said to be trainable — although only to a point — a Wallaby is not a low-maintenance pet. In the wild, a Wallaby's normal behaviour is to wander around a meadow and grazing on grass, so keep that in mind.

This mini donkey is a big kind of cute. While they can grow up to 36 inches and are a smaller animal, it's still best to keep them out of cities and in rural areas where there are bigger spaces for them to donkey around (read: get exercise, graze fields and live their best lives). Be ready to commit — these adorable creatures live between 25 to 35 years — so you can have a very long and wonderful life together.

These tiny foxes — their body length averages about nine inches, with a weight between 1.5 and 3.5 pounds — are becoming increasingly popular as pets, known for being as independent as cats while being as affectionate as dogs. Hailing from North Africa, the Fennec Fox has adapted to living in a dry, desert-like climate, and don't require a lot of water, while their omnivorous diet allows them to eat plants, rodents, insects, birds and other prey, and their highly sensitive ears make them formidable hunters. Long story short: if you also own gerbils, you'll want to keep them confined to the cage unless you want to see them become a Fennec's between-meals snack.