Are Emins giant pouched rats legal in the US as pets

Cricetomys emini - Emin's pouched rat, not thier cousins the Gambians(they aren't legal as pets in the US..).

If emin's are legal, what states allow them?

I did some research on the subject in the wee hours of this morning. All I can come up with so far is that the government is not differentiating the two species, lumping in Emin's with the Gambians, and we all know the fate of Gambians as pets. Some websites are even saying that Emin's **are** Gambians. Phhhhttttt!, what do they know?

http://www.answers.com/topic/cricetomys-...

I haven't given up though. Your question is so intregeing that I will continue my research. I will ask on 4 rat-only forums about the Emin's pouched rat and see if anyone else can help with the research.

If your question closes before I can answer it I will put my findings in the comment boxes. Or we can stay in contact via e-mail, spazrats@yahoo.ca

Best of luck finding your new pet :)

Update August 5, 2007:

I received a response from a member of the group RatsPacNW, a rat-breeders' group. Her answer is that NO, Emin's rats and Gambian rats are illigal in all of the USA. There are videos of an Emin's rat named Matisse, an Emin's rat that was grandfathered in (allowed to remain as a pet until he died) when the ban on the giant rats took affect.

Sadly Matisse passed away just a couple of weeks ago, at 4 years of age.