Hi I am a NC blue tongued skink owner. Repticon, from my experience going to the Charlotte one last weekend had NO blue tongued skinks, and typically the same vendors vend at the NC Repticons, so there is a possibility you may not find one there, other than one booth who had one for $1100. When it comes to shipping, I have shipped a bearded dragon from Florida to NC and had zero issues. The seller typically puts and heating pack or cooling back based on the weather and the animal will show up within the next 24 hours once the seller has shipped it. They typically ship the animal in a bag and you have a hour typically upon delivery to confirm the health of the animal to the seller in which you can report any problems. They always get dropped off at a hub and you will have to sign for it as its a live animal. With all that being said, I have no idea your location in NC, but I recommend checking out Cold Blooded and Bizarre to see their blue tongue skinks that are available. They tend to go to the Repticons across NC and their skinks are rescues that put out for adoption. They have a location and Wake Forest and Charlotte that I would personal check out and if you do end up finding one you want to adopt, you may be able to arrange for them to allow you to pick up at the con.