By BRIAN BLAI
The canine may be a man’s best friend, but snakes, lizards and other exotic animals are closing the gap on which pets are most popular in the nineties.
A wide range of exotic animals can be found throughout Utah County at most of the local pet stores, it is only a question of how much you want to spend and how exotic your tastes are.
Animal Ark in Provo carries everything from chameleons to hedgehogs and ferrets to pot-bellied pigs.
“Ferrets are very popular and hedgehogs are becoming more popular,” said Stacy Glenn, an employee of Animal Ark. “People are drawn to the ferret because they are like kittens that never grow up. They are very social and you can walk them on a leash. They also love to swim.”
Ferrets generally cost around $100, but prices will vary. Hedgehogs cost anywhere from $50 to $60 and chameleons range from about $30 to as high as $200.
“We have some chameleons that turn purple and blue, a very bright blue, some even turn red and they can be bred and a lot of money can be made,” Glenn said. “People don’t want the same old pet, they want the newest and the most different animal they can find.”
However the local exotic animal market is not limited to reptiles and spiked marsupials.
Rich Mizera, the owner of Pats Pets in Spanish Fork, enjoys his business of selling exotic birds.
“We specialze in birds, and that is mostly all that we carry,” Mizera said. “Many of the birds we carry, I have raised myself. We carry several exotic parrots such as senegals and meyers, which are from Africa.”
“Birds are popular because they make great pets, they get attached to their owners and will follow you around the house,” Mizera said. “They can talk and do tricks and are very intelligent.”
Mizera attributes the exotic bird’s popularity to its uniqueness. Many of the birds he carries are rarely seen and appeal to those who are looking for something other than a cat.
“My exotic birds go from $200 to about $800 for the African grey parrots,” Mizera said. “The market is getting larger every year, I raise somewhere between 20 and 30 babies in a year and usually have no problem selling them at all.”
Jay Wells, an exotic reptile salesmen and custom cage builder, has had an interest in exotic animals for a number of years. Wells owns his own business called Rocky Mountain Supply and keeps a veritable zoo in his bedroom.
Wells is the owner of a pair of Columbian boas and a trio of leopard geckos as well a seven foot albino burmese python and adult Argentine horned frogs. Wells also sleeps next to a reticulated python and a Borneo blood python and a three foot Savannah monitor.
“I enjoy breeding and the boas and geckos are fun to breed because there is not a whole lot involved with it,” Wells said. “The maintenance is simple and they do not require a whole lot of daily care.”
Wells said he has been seeing an increase in reptile sales over the last few years.
“The market is really picking up. Utah is actaully behind other states as far as reptiles go, but every year there are more and more hobbyists out there,” Wells said. “They make ideal pets for college students who do not have a lot of time or a lot of cash — they don’t bark and they don’t pee on the carpets.”
Ken Hudson, the owner of Fish ‘n Lizard in Provo, also carries an assortment of exotics in his pet store.
“We have everything from basilisks to scorpions to monitors, we also have green sailfin dragon and many snakes,” Hudson said. “Reptiles are really big right now, all ages come in for them. They are unique pets and people think it’s cool to say ‘I have a scorpion.'”
Although the variety of available exotic animals is great, Hudson said it is illegal in Utah to keep many kinds such as rattlesnakes or alligators.
