Bears, who cares? How about a "large lizard" on the loose in your area

[Quillback]

A large reptile has officials on high alert in a Maine town, authorities shared on social media.

Calling the animal a “large lizard on the loose,” the Old Town Police Department shared on Sunday, Aug. 24 that the reptile is a tegu lizard.

Someone called police around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24 about a large lizard under their porch, Bailey told USA TODAY. As of Aug. 25, the lizard has not been found, Bailey said.

 

A tegu lizard on the loose in Old Town Maine in August 2025.

It was initially believed to be a monitor lizard, but witness accounts have shown otherwise, the department said.

Tegu lizards like this one have sharp teeth and claws, as well as strong jaws, police shared online at 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 24. While they are not “inherently aggressive,” they can lash out when they feel threatened. They can grow to be 2, 3, and sometimes 4½ feet long, according to wildlife experts.

“The owner subsequently contacted us to confirm that the Tegu lizard belonged to him,” Bailey wrote, adding that the owner is an Old Town resident.

What to do if you see a lizard like this

Bailey said those who see the lizard should not approach it. Police have been in contact with the Maine Warden Service and an animal control officer to create a plan to “safely capture the lizard” once it is found, Bailey told USA TODAY.

Our plan involves using a catch pole to guide the lizard into a large crate,” he said. We believe the lizard is possibly hunkered down somewhere and will likely come out when the sun shines again, as Tegu lizards enjoy basking in the sun.”

[snagged in outlet 3]

14 hours ago, Quillback said:

What to do if you see a lizard like this

SSS!

[BilletHead]

On 8/25/2025 at 3:53 PM, Quillback said:

A large reptile has officials on high alert in a Maine town, authorities shared on social media.

Calling the animal a “large lizard on the loose,” the Old Town Police Department shared on Sunday, Aug. 24 that the reptile is a tegu lizard.

Someone called police around 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24 about a large lizard under their porch, Bailey told USA TODAY. As of Aug. 25, the lizard has not been found, Bailey said.

 

A tegu lizard on the loose in Old Town Maine in August 2025.

It was initially believed to be a monitor lizard, but witness accounts have shown otherwise, the department said.

Tegu lizards like this one have sharp teeth and claws, as well as strong jaws, police shared online at 7:15 p.m. on Aug. 24. While they are not “inherently aggressive,” they can lash out when they feel threatened. They can grow to be 2, 3, and sometimes 4½ feet long, according to wildlife experts.

“The owner subsequently contacted us to confirm that the Tegu lizard belonged to him,” Bailey wrote, adding that the owner is an Old Town resident.

What to do if you see a lizard like this

Bailey said those who see the lizard should not approach it. Police have been in contact with the Maine Warden Service and an animal control officer to create a plan to “safely capture the lizard” once it is found, Bailey told USA TODAY.

Our plan involves using a catch pole to guide the lizard into a large crate,” he said. We believe the lizard is possibly hunkered down somewhere and will likely come out when the sun shines again, as Tegu lizards enjoy basking in the sun.”

  We had a Savannah monitor for a few years. Little guy when we bought him. Had to feed him small mice. He grew and got bigger. No more mice and next thing available were Teddy Bear hamsters that were still sold at Walmart. Toss one of those in this cage (aquarium) and he was on it pronto. Those hamsters would scream as he grabbed them. Too big for his cage he would stand against the side and push off the lid and weight on the top did not work. We lived in a small trailer and every week the hunt was on for jim the lizard. He got stronger and was hard to handle. Time to sell him back to the pet store. He was pretty cool to have for a pet.  Forgot to mention he liked to hide under the kitchen stove. Right where we put the glue traps for mice. It was a pain to get him out of those and cleaned up. 😆

[jdmidwest]

2 hours ago, BilletHead said:

  We had a Savannah monitor for a few years. Little guy when we bought him. Had to feed him small mice. He grew and got bigger. No more mice and next thing available were Teddy Bear hamsters that were still sold at Walmart. Toss one of those in this cage (aquarium) and he was on it pronto. Those hamsters would scream as he grabbed them. Too big for his cage he would stand against the side and push off the lid and weight on the top did not work. We lived in a small trailer and every week the hunt was on for jim the lizard. He got stronger and was hard to handle. Time to sell him back to the pet store. He was pretty cool to have for a pet.  Forgot to mention he liked to hide under the kitchen stove. Right where we put the glue traps for mice. It was a pain to get him out of those and cleaned up. 😆

Fell for that cute little lizard thing at the store did ya?  People forget they get bigger as they get older.

I remember my little Iguana sitting on my finger when I got him.  He was a vegetarian.  Just Romaine lettuce, no squealing.  But when he was about 4 foot long and had a tail like a whip that would pop you when startled, time to go too.

Reptiles were fun, green snakes, small black rat snakes were kept from the wild.  Fence lizards were always friendly and easy to keep.  Anoles were fickle and picky about food.  I had Gerbils too, the pinkies were always frozen to feed the snakes.  I never let them get very big.

I never found a small speckled king snake.  Just the 4 footers, tame and let you pick them right up.  But I never tried to cage them.  Was not going to handle the copperheads live to feed them in a terrarium.

[Quillback]

13 hours ago, BilletHead said:

  We had a Savannah monitor for a few years. Little guy when we bought him. Had to feed him small mice. He grew and got bigger. No more mice and next thing available were Teddy Bear hamsters that were still sold at Walmart. Toss one of those in this cage (aquarium) and he was on it pronto. Those hamsters would scream as he grabbed them. Too big for his cage he would stand against the side and push off the lid and weight on the top did not work. We lived in a small trailer and every week the hunt was on for jim the lizard. He got stronger and was hard to handle. Time to sell him back to the pet store. He was pretty cool to have for a pet.  Forgot to mention he liked to hide under the kitchen stove. Right where we put the glue traps for mice. It was a pain to get him out of those and cleaned up. 😆

Looked them up - You should've fed it scorpions.  

Their diet is much more restricted than that of other African monitor lizards, consisting mainly of snails, crabs, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, orthopterans, mantids, hymenopterans, lepidopterans, beetles and other invertebrates, as well as frogs.

[BilletHead]

2 minutes ago, Quillback said:

Looked them up - You should've fed it scorpions.  

Their diet is much more restricted than that of other African monitor lizards, consisting mainly of snails, crabs, scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, orthopterans, mantids, hymenopterans, lepidopterans, beetles and other invertebrates, as well as frogs.

           Actually, it would eat about anything that moved. Did throw other things in there. Back then 40 years ago mice and hamsters were pretty cheap.  One meal a week kept him happy. That and he grew fast enough.