What's the law in FL about owning exotics / native species as "pets"? In GA, where I live, it is not legal to take a wild native species as a "pet".

IMO, if you do actually need an ESA, it needs to be something that can be cared for and controlled properly within normal means. Squirrels are very destructive and I've heard that they can be aggressive and dangerous once they hit sexual maturity, even if "tamed". IMO, the guy could only safely keep this thing in a large cage or other rodent-proofed room and it would still need to be considered a wild animal.

This appears to be a case of a person wanting to keep an animal they shouldn't legally have and using ESA as an excuse to get away with it.