As snow falls and sub-zero temperatures take hold outside, a hot and humid jungle is thriving in Okotoks.
Dozens of exotic reptiles, amphibians and arachnids from across the world — everything from Brazilian whiteknee tarantulas to blue poison dart frogs — call Nolan Asplund's room home. Many more will soon join them.
Asplund, a 16-year-old exotic animal breeder, has made quite a name for himself in the exotic pet scene, racking up podcast and trade show appearances as he represents Okotoks in the worldwide community of reptile keeping.
"I got my first leopard gecko when I was five and it's just absolutely snowballed from there," said Asplund. "Now it's at over 40 animals and over 50 species of plants as well."
Since 2022, he's owned and operated Funky Fresh Reptiles, through which he sells and trades a wide variety of animals.
"I've been able to sell stuff and then put that money right back towards upgrading the enclosures, towards getting new projects, towards vet bills, everything of the sorts," he said.
There's only one lizard species native to Alberta — the greater short-horned lizard — but that's not the case in Asplund's reptile room, where leopard geckos and mourning geckos native to Asia thrive.
Leopard geckos are perhaps the most recognizable pet lizard in Canada, and Asplund's no stranger to their popularity. He's got three adults named Pedro, Pandora and Paige, and he's had a great deal of success breeding and selling babies over the last two years.
"I raise them up in there until they're healthy, they're pooping well, they're eating good, they're putting on good weight, and then I can ultimately put them up for sale," said Asplund.
While leopard gecko breeding requires pairing up two adults, incubating the eggs and raising the hatchlings in specialized bins, mourning gecko breeding is a lot more straightforward: all mourning geckos are females and reproduce through a process called parthenogenesis, which is essentially cloning.
He keeps his adult mourning geckos in the same terrarium as his blue poison dart frogs, which he is quick to clarify are not poisonous in captivity. Wild dart frogs acquire their poison from the specific prey they consume. As Asplund feeds his frogs fruit flies, they're rendered harmless, their warning colouration nothing more than an eye-catching beautiful assortment of colours.
"They breed on their own," he said on both the mourning geckos and dart frogs. "I just go in and find eggs, and then I will put them in some other cups, and then raise the tadpoles up until they're froglets, where I'll put them in small bins and then sell them when they're ready."
He's got three dart frog varieties: blue, Santa Isabel (red/yellow) and Zimmerman's (green/blue). These tiny amphibians are highly coveted and can go for a great deal of money, making them a big part of Asplund's business.
"When you bring variety into reptile expos, people seem to be a little bit more attracted to that," he said. "You're specializing in a small amount of species, but a large amount of variety within those species, which I find people are attracted to naturally."
Coupled with the many valuable exotic plants he's got, Asplund's assortment of arachnids, amphibians and geckos is worth upwards of $10,000, and Funky Fresh Reptiles is only continuing to grow.
Between caring for his animals, running his business, doing schoolwork as a Grade 11 student and playing the French horn as part of the world-renowned Calgary Youth Orchestra, Asplund doesn't get much time for anything else.
"Free time does not exist in my world, but the trade-off is that I'm able to to spend time doing things I enjoy so much," he said. "That's kind of like my free time, even though some may perceive that as no time at all."
He's more than happy to spend so much time taking care of his animals, which he finds fulfilling.
"I have hundreds of species in here and working with them on a daily basis all the time is so incredibly rewarding," he said.
While it's admittedly expensive and time-consuming, the exotic pet hobby is a fascinating, fun and fulfilling one that people should consider getting into, said Asplund.
"It's so incredibly rewarding and it's only going to bring peace to yourself," he said. "It's going to make you more aware of of your surroundings, not only in nature, but just in life in general, because when you're working with a bunch of species that are delicate, you have to have that sense of awareness, which I've noticed has actually seeped into my everyday life."
Asplund is launching a podcast in the near future and will continue actively posting on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, through which he'll be promoting his business while teaching people about exotic animals.
He's always happy to show people his pets, especially if it means clearing up misconceptions about misunderstood animals like his tarantulas and scorpions.
"If people are growing up to be afraid of spiders because they're gross, they really don't know the actual beauty or the scientific aspects behind them," said Asplund. "Education is the foundation of everything."
