G-Force's Tracy Morgan at 18 Fierce Pets and Counting

Among them? Five scorpions, three sharks and one jellyfish!

It seems like Tracy Morgan is surrounded by animals. On 30 Rock he plays a slightly off-kilter star who happens to own a snake. On the big screen, in the summer hit G-Force, he gives life to a superhero guinea pig named Blaster. And at home, Morgan has a virtual zoo of his own: two snakes, three sharks, two moray eels, two piranhas, one jellyfish, five scorpions, one bird spider and two dogs. And that’s just now. “Growing up, I had a turtle, a frog and dogs,” he tells PEOPLE Pets. “I had a Chihuahua named Chi Chi, too.”

So with his new role as a crime-fighting creature, and his menagerie of fierce pets, is Morgan an animal owner to fear? Nah! “I’m a puppy dog,” he says. “I think it’s cool to have strong and powerful animals.”

Though he doesn’t own one of his own, Morgan had a ball playing a fluffy rodent in G-Force. “I was tickled seeing myself as a guinea pig that looks like me with my voice,” he says. “Guinea pigs are cute and cuddly and furry and I love them! When I was in the third grade, we had one in our class and we used to feed them and give them carrots and cabbage and all that stuff. I was all about them, so I’ve had my rendezvous with guinea pigs. I’m a huge fan of animals and having pets.”

Though it may not be an Oscar-winning role, the actor was still excited about what he calls a “marvelous” opportunity. “People before me showed me how to do it, like Eddie Murphy in Shrek, and Chris Rock in Madagascar,” he says. “I look up to these people and they are my heroes. Now I can have a conversation with those people about our experiences.” Welcome to the animated-animal club, Tracy!

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