Topeka ? Alligators are too big for aquariums and mountain lions don’t belong on leashes. Likewise, some say prairie dogs and other pocket pets have no place in the home.

Health officials have linked prairie dogs to a nationwide outbreak of monkeypox that has touched Kansas. They and other exotic creatures are not meant to be pets, said Gail Golab, veterinarian with American Veterinary Medical Assn.

Owners risk contracting exotic diseases, such as monkeypox, a less-lethal form of smallpox never before seen in the Western Hemisphere, she said Wednesday.

“People should adapt their pets to their lifestyles,” Golab said. “With exotic pets, those animals require a lot more time, attention and adaptability than a lot of people are able to provide.”

Some animals, like clothing and cars, tend to be more popular than others, especially when the animals are featured in television shows or movies, said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for the Humane Society of the United States.

Saltwater fish are the latest must-have pet thanks to Disney’s fish-infused “Finding Nemo.”

The AVMA and the Humane Society oppose keeping wild animals as pets, particularly carnivores and some reptiles and amphibians.

“The reaction is not one of necessarily ‘What can I learn about that animal? What can I do to help?’ But ‘What can I do to get that animal?'” Shain said.

Disease is one of the risks associated with taking animals out of the wild. Investigators believe monkeypox spread from a Gambian rat to prairie dogs.

Prairie dogs, squirrel-like animals that are wild in Western states, are known carriers of plague and rabbit fever. At least 16 human cases of the disease have been confirmed in the United States, and the sale of Gambian rats and prairie dogs has been halted by the Centers for Disease Control.

In the past few years, exotic animals have become more accessible, and it’s hard to control the urge to splurge on a flying squirrel when they’re everywhere, Shain said.

The American Pet Products Manufacturers Assn. expects $31 billion to be spent on pet products — not including the animals themselves — this year. They estimate 62 percent of households have at least one animal, up from 56 percent in 1988.

Pet store owner Mike Hodges won’t sell an exotic animal, such as an iguana, to just anyone who walks into his ClawPaws stores in Pittsburg and Webb City, Mo. Hodges gauges a customer’s knowledge about the animal and how responsible they seem. If he’s not satisfied, there’s no sale.

Exotic animals do make good pets, but not for the average person, he said. They’ll always need proper housing and often come with temperature and nutritional requirements.