My ideas/planning for a "zoo" in Dunedin + questions.

Yeah, Axolotols are the only exotic reptile or amphibian you can own. Another example of an animal being rare in the wild but common in captivity you could have could be the crested gecko (If they are legal). They were once thought to be extinct but rediscovered, and are now one of the most common reptiles kept in places where they are legal, they are beaten only by the leopard gecko.

 

Sadly, crested geckoes are not legal. I wish I could display New Caledonian geckoes but it doesn't seem likely to say the least. Here's a list of the lizards that can be kept privately in NZ (other than natives which can be kept with a license) and a list of ones that can be imported for MPI-approved zoos.

Private (rough order of rarity):

Blue-tongued skink.
Inland/coastal bearded dragon.
Eastern water dragon.
Leopard gecko.
Cunningham's skink (very rare but bred in rather small numbers).
Shingleback skinks are kept privately however they are old and dying out and it is unclear whether they were actually imported legally.

Importable for zoos:

Green iguana.
Fijian crested iguana.
Lace monitor.
Komodo dragos.
Shingleback skink.
Madagascar giant day gecko.
Scheltopusik.
Frilled lizard.
Veiled chameleon.

Present in zoos but not officially importable:

Jackson's chameleon.
All of the privately owned species apart from bearded dragons.

There's a lot of turtles present legally in NZ private ownership but only the following (that I know of off the bat) have significant breeding populations:

Red-eared slider.
Snake-necked turtle.
Reeves turtle.
Australian painted turtle.
Carolina box turtle.
Hermann's tortoise.
Greek spur-thighed tortoise.

Crocodilians (saltwater crocodile and American alligator) can be imported only for zoos. Snakes are not allowed under any circumstances, even zoos and laboratories, which I suspect is more about keeping our positive image as a snake-free country more than for actual biosecurity risk.

 

Wow, although I was already aware of this, no snakes must make New Zealand a very boring place! No offence. Wow, very little reptile choices, I would have though that NZ would have had more options than Australia, as the majority of escaped animals would freeze to death in the cold.The only decent selection of animals are turtles, tortoises and terrapins. What choices if exotic birds and mammals do you have access to?

 

Most of the concerns revolve around disease rather than pest potential.

Lots of exotic birds, too many to list, including ostriches, emus, various pheasants, parrots, peafowl, waterfowl (including Cape Barren geese) and finches. As for exotic mammals, there's chinchillas, water buffalo, yak, dwarf zebu, bison, various deer (including Pere David's deer and Mesopotamian fallow deer in a select few places) and the introduced tahr and chamois can be kept under license (must be castrated though).

 

So most people would say that I have given up on this idea. But that is not true. After considering my autism which would inhibit me from being able to cope with zoo visitors I have decided that I would be better off enjoying things like reptiles and fish as a hobby instead. My current project is building a cage for forest geckos ("Hoplodactylus" granulatus), after which I will apply for the General Authorization and hopefully keep one. From there, I would like to work up over the years to more advanced species, Duvaucel's gecko being one on the bucket list to keep and breed (they are almost definitely available in the SI as Willowbank and Kiwi Birdlife Park both have them and the closed Reservation Animal Park in Gore had them as well).

When it comes to exotics, my favorites are tortoises and water dragons, though they must be housed outdoors so it will be a while before I can keep them. Newts and axolotls are cool and I've had axies before, and native freshwater fish and giant centipedes (Cormocephalus rubriceps) are on the "one day" list of things I aspire to keep as well.

I will keep ZC updated on my endeavors.