Gigantic lizard found on PTA residential property
A vet and a snake handler say the reptile is one of the biggest members of his species they have ever seen.
Barry Greenshields and Ryan Hammond catch the rock monitor. Photo: Supplied
A massive rock monitor lizard made its way into a residential property in Lynnwood injured on Monday, Pretoria East Rekord reports.
Snake and reptile handler Barry Greenshields said the reptile was found in the garden at a home across from Gift Acres shopping centre.
“These rock monitors are quite common, as they especially live in the Faerie Glen nature reserve,” said Greenshields.
He said: “Rock monitors often wandered away from their natural habitat seeking the sun. They love the heat, so sometimes they might go through a fence and end up in a garden somewhere.”
Greenshields said the rock monitor was one of the biggest he had ever seen.
“He was just over 1.5m in length and weighed about 10kg.”
Greenshields said: “The lizard’s reproductive organs had been injured. It is possible for these organs to get hooked on something. He had a big tear.”
The rock monitor is doing well at the vet. Photo: Supplied
READ MORE: WATCH: Three highly venomous snakes caught in Pretoria
Greenshields and two of his friends, Ryan Hammond and Angelique Allison, immediately took the rock monitor to a nearby reptile veterinarian.
“The vet said in all her years of being a vet, this was the biggest rock monitor she had ever come across.”
The rock monitor will stay at the vet until Monday next week.
“The wound was cleaned and closed with a bandage. I will pick him up on Monday, and if he is healed, I will release him back into the Faerie Glen nature reserve.”
Another rock monitor was found in Faerie Glen on Monday evening about 7pm. The much smaller rock monitor measured 70cm and was found sitting on a wall between two homes.
Greenshields said a lizard was not venomous, but all lizards had venom glands.
Angelique Allison and Ryan Hammond. Photo: Supplied
“These glands are not enough to harm a human. They live on a diet of small animals like rats and mice,” he said
Greenshields warned people to not handle rock monitors as they could bite and scratch quite severely.
READ MORE:
– Caxton News Service
For more news your way, follow The Citizen on Facebook and Twitter.
