What Animal is Idaho’s Most Popular Pet (Other Than Cats & Dogs)?

Given the recent hype about National Pet Day & National Puppy Day, it’s become pretty evident to me that Idahoans really love their dogs… and some of you even love cats. I have to include cats, but dogs are clearly better.

Okay, but other than cats and dogs, does Idaho have a third favorite pet? Who made the top 3?

USA Today created a fun article called Guinea pigs, hamsters and more: What’s your state’s most popular pet (besides cats and dogs)? They said…

“Officials say most households in the United States have at least one pet. But aside from ever-popular cats and dogs, what are some of the other most popular pets across the country? Google Trends shared a map with USA TODAY of the most searched pets by state, excluding cats and dogs, with guinea pigs, chinchillas, bearded dragons, sugar gliders and hamsters.”

Of course, I was curious to know what Idaho’s is, and if you’re like me, you’re not gonna believe this…

CHINCHILLA

Chinchillas?! What the heck are Chinchillas?!

Well, maybe that’s exactly why Chinchillas are showing up in Google search trends for the state of Idaho — because we don’t know what they are! (Or maybe I’m the only one and I’m crazy.)

So, I gave it a try, and if you Google “Chinchilla,” you get local listings of pet stores along with this definition from Wikipedia: “Chinchillas are either of two species of crepuscular rodents of the parvorder Caviomorpha. They are slightly larger and more robust than ground squirrels, and are native to the Andes mountains in South America.”

How they became one of Idaho’s favorite pets remains a mystery.

8 Pets You CANNOT Own in the City of Boise

The City Code for Boise prohibits ordinary residents from owning these animals as pets.

Badger

Honey Badger don’t care, but the City of Boise does. With the exception of domestic ferrets, all members of the Mustelidae family are prohibited in Boise. That includes this this cute badger and it’s much nastier cousin, the Honey Badger.

Bats

You want rabies? Because this is how you get rabies. (Ok, not all bats carry rabies but there were at least 13 rabid bats found in Idaho in 2021 and three of them were in nearby Canyon County.) The City of Boise prohibits ownership of the family Chiroptera, aka bats…so don’t even think about it.

Crocodiles and Alligators

Our friend Tyler at the Idaho Reptile Zoo could tell you how he learned this lesson the hard way. Check out our article about their zoo’s 2021 grand opening to find out how you can go hear it yourself!

Koalas

Ok, this is multi-tiered. It’s actually all marsupials. I just take the koalas really hard, because years ago I begged my husband for one. I claimed it would love us without mauling us the way our cat does. He still said no. Turns out all he had to do was read the city’s rules on banned animals to legitimately get himself out of the conversation. The exceptions to the marsupial rule are the Virginia opossum, sugar gliders and bettongs (they look kind of like a cross between a squirrel and a giant rat.

Komodo Dragon

Non-Human Primates