Ackies in Alaska?

[TDent1]

Hi all. In a few months I'll be making the move from southern New Mexico to Alaska. Because of the distance and the many hours I'll be driving I have decided not to bring my pair of Crested Geckos. They were eventually gonna be a breeding pair but I don't anticipate much success up there. I'm excited to say that I found them a great home with a future reptile enthusiast and his enthusiastic mom. However, I by no means want to stop keeping reptiles and I've been in love with monitors since I saw my first Sav. Though I'd love a Sav i'm in the military and I don't want to leave the wife with a 4 foot long eating machine for months at a time. Obviously my best choice is an ackie. I'd like to see an accurate care sheet. I've looked on line but from what I understand monitors are quite misunderstood in the pet trade and people are told the wrong way to care for them more often than the right way. Also, plans for a custom enclosure would be great as well as websites that manufacture cages for monitors. Finally, I won't be able to get a monitor until I get to Alaska (and even then I'll have to do some convincing with the wife!). Is it possible to get an ackie there? Will I need a permit? Hopefully there are a few of you with experience in the state! Thanks in advance!

[ShamelessAardvark]

As far as I know, the only reptiles we're currently not allowed to keep are giant pythons and venomous animals. Iguanas are perfectly legal up here, so I'm assuming that most giant lizards are too. ALTHOUGH, rats are illegal to keep and/or breed if they are not true albino, so if you start your own rat collection, contact me, and I can get you started.

[TDent1]

From what I understand, ackies rarely eat rats. I could be wrong but I believe their diet consists of crickets, roaches and the occassional pinky. Thanks for the reply though, I've heard Alaska can be weird when it comes to exotics but that puts me a little more at ease.

[TDent1]

I'm also having trouble finding breeders, more specifically, breeders willing to ship to AK in the warmer months!

[xxmonitorlizardxx]

Breeders are here:
http://repticzone.com/forums/Monitors/index.html
Caresheet:
http://repticzone.com/caresheets/703.html
http://repticzone.com/caresheets/2221.html
http://proexotics.com/care_ackie.html

[TDent1]

Thanks a bunch!

[ShamelessAardvark]

Oh, I wasn't talking about Ackies eating rats, I'm just talking about rats in general, in case you pick up some snakes while you're up here. I only know of three breeders, two in the Anchorage/Wasilla area, and one in Fairbanks. No one that breeds balls that I know of, and I have yet to find any other herp breeders.

Yeah, shipping is a big problem up here. Most states in the Lower-48 won't ship up here period, and I'm guessing that if you order an animal, the breeder will only send it during a heat-wave in the summer time. But don't worry, on average, the summers up here are 80-90F, especially up in Fairbanks.

[TDent1]

I'll be in the Anchorage area. Hopefully finding a breeder won't be too much trouble. Are there any specialty pet stores in the area, or is it too hard to get a hold of reptiles?

[ShamelessAardvark]

The only local pet store is called PetZoo, but the only PetZoo I trust is the one here in Eagle River. The staff all know me by name, lol. I don't buy rats from them anymore, mainly because they no longer carry them in my size, but I still go in there to chill. Unfortunately, they aren't making very good revenue, so they only sell feeder mice and fish. I got a lot of awesome deals on some of their stuff there back when they had herps, though. Perks of knowing everyone who works there I guess, hahah.

You can find herps at the PetSmarts, PetCo's, and other PetZoos, but I wouldn't recommend it. No one who works at any of them (except for the one here in Eagle River. The staff here is very knowledgeable) know anything about the upkeep of the animals they host, so I wouldn't buy from them if I were you.

Of the two breeders in Anchorage, one works with boas and corns, and has awesome morphs of each. He's got a few balls, but he hasn't started breeding them yet. The other breeder works almost exclusively with colubrids, but also breeds Dumeril's. The breeder in Fairbanks works with colubrids and boas, but that's a 600 mile drive. Then there's me, but I haven't started breeding yet. I've got to square a few things away before I can start.

There's also a place up here called The Cricket Farm, and they breed feeder insects, rats, and also adopt out any herps that come to them looking for homes. I've heard of an insect breeder in Wasilla who breeds roaches, wax, super, meal worms, and crickets, but I don't know if they're still in business.
Just a word of warning; not many people up here know much about herps. I take in snakes from Craigslist, and the majority of them are in bad shape due to neglect. It's mostly the snakes that are mistreated, the lizards seem to fare better.

[TDent1]

Unfortunately it seems like most pet stores (even those that are supposedly dedicated to reptiles) seem to know very little about the animals they sell. I usually stick to forums like this for my information. Hopefully I'll get lucky and find some good resources up there anyway. My biggest concern at the moment is collecting info and finding a breeder comfortable with shipping in the warm months.