rats actually make excellent pets and thay arent as smelly as ferrets. very social pets.
sugar gliders are high maintinence.
ferrets are fun pets but even descented their urine really smells bad unless you buy BI-odor and add it to their water daily (bi-odor is really expensive) And I dont think your mom wants you to have a smelly destructive very inquisitive animal.
leopard geckos are very handleable if your interested in reptiles.
crested geckos are even easier to maintain (I'm almost positive Cresteds are legal in new york)
chinese water dragons are cool but they are higher maintinence and get large.
I could go on for days on the pros and cons of each pet type. how about you narrow it down to a few things you are interested in and I could make observations on the care and requirments (and If I dont know how to care for the listed animal I know I can find the info you need) I probably already own one.......