Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So this afternoon as my girlfriend and I are heading back to my apartment from the complex's community pool, she points towards a bush and says "look a lizard!" I look just in time to see a big grey tail slip into the bush. After having my roommate grab a pair of leather gloves from inside the house, I began digging through the bush. After a few second I pull out a 15" savannah monitor. Quite a suprising find for a sunday afternoon. The pic below is of the monitor in a spare cage it is currently being held in.

where do you suppose that came from? Certainly not native, correct???

>>So this afternoon as my girlfriend and I are heading back to my apartment from the complex's community pool, she points towards a bush and says "look a lizard!" I look just in time to see a big grey tail slip into the bush. After having my roommate grab a pair of leather gloves from inside the house, I began digging through the bush. After a few second I pull out a 15" savannah monitor. Quite a suprising find for a sunday afternoon. The pic below is of the monitor in a spare cage it is currently being held in.
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verrykerry@yahoo.com
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."Calvin and Hobbes

Its definitely not native. I do know that one of the local petstores recieves large shipments of imported savannahs a couple time a year so odds are it was originally purchased from them. As for how it got into the wild, its possible that it escaped its enclosure during the devestation that was recently caused by hurricane Frances, or its possible someone just decided they couldn't afford to keep it anymore. It is relatively tame though and didn't attempt to bite me, whip me, or scratch me when I caught it. Hopefully it will acclimate to its new home well.