Recent exotic pet seizures highlight the work that still needs to be done when it comes to getting dangerous and prohibited animals out of Maritime homes.

The latest case involves a young alligator saved from a home in northern Nova Scotia.

Duckie, a two-year-old American alligator, is small now but she could grow up to 2.7 metres and weigh up to180 kilograms.

She recently arrived at the Maritime Reptile Zoo in Dartmouth from a home in Amherst where, like many other illegal, exotic pets, she was living in a tank that was much too small.

“She wouldn’t have been able to swim, let alone really have enough room to turn around,” says assistant curator Lindsay Giles.

She says the alligator came to the zoo’s attention through a go-between. She says its owner was spooked by the recent tragedy in Campbellton, N.B. in which two young boys were killed by an African rock python.

Giles says the owner was worried about getting caught and the animal was brought to their attention.

The alligator is on Nova Scotia’s exotic wildlife prohibition list and possession of one can result in a fine of $2,000.

“We were told that he had actually considered justkilling the animal just to quickly get rid of it as soon as he could and we said ‘don’t do that. We have the space. We can take it,” says Giles.

However, the owner decided he didn’t want to simply just give the animal away and asked for a $200 payment for the reptile.

“It was a small investment on our part to save the life of this really amazing animal,” says Giles.

A red-eared slider was also dropped off to the zoo on Friday. The turtle is indigenous to the southern United States but was caught in the wild in Eastern Passage, N.S. While the turtle is not legal in Nova Scotia, it is legal in New Brunswick.

The zoo already has more than a dozen red-eared sliders.

Dan Davis, a spokesperson for the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, says there is still confusion over what is legal and what isn’t.

“There are cases where people are releasing animals into the wild because they are not sure,” says Davis. “We do encourage people, if they have an exotic species and they’re not even sure about it, to check on our website or do call us.”

He also says owners who turn over exotic pets are typically looked upon favourably by law enforcement.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Jayson Baxter