GOJIRA
5-foot Monitor lizard wanders Calif. neighborhood
(Thanks to Gael C.)
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January 26, 2011
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Some headlines just don't even need a story.
Posted by: padraig | January 26, 2011 at 11:09 AM
"Ohhhh no
There goes Redondo
Oh poor Godzilla
Whoo-oo-oo-oo.
Ohhhh no
They say he's gotta go
Oh poor Godzilla..."
Posted by: Wes S. | January 26, 2011 at 11:22 AM
"Godzilla - like"?
Perspective much?
Posted by: Meanie the Blue | January 26, 2011 at 11:31 AM
It's probably a good day for the nieghbors to keep Spot and Muffy in the house.
Posted by: Mitch | January 26, 2011 at 11:33 AM
He was just out monitoring the neighborhood.
Posted by: Coconuts | January 26, 2011 at 11:35 AM
I'm guessing that this outfit might need to be modified if used for this guy:
http://pedersens.net/photo.aspx?album=animals&photo=iguana
Posted by: Not My Usual Alias | January 26, 2011 at 11:41 AM
Maybe he's on his way to Taco Bell and took a wrong turn.
Posted by: Not My Usual Alias | January 26, 2011 at 11:42 AM
Any word from France?
Posted by: Siouxie | January 26, 2011 at 11:46 AM
She said she saw it and almost jumped back in her truck," said John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services.
Had it been me, there would have no 'almost' about it. I would have jumped back in the truck and hit the gas. Why do people have reptiles for pets? They're not cute or cuddly, unlike my chihuahuas and lab which are both.
Posted by: nursecindy | January 26, 2011 at 12:00 PM
I think Kimodo dragons can get twice the size of that lizard. They've been known to eat people.
Posted by: LeDud | January 26, 2011 at 12:11 PM
I bet he got loose when he heard that the Fabulous Gourmet Club was having a meeting.
Posted by: wiredog | January 26, 2011 at 12:12 PM
Yeah I don't know what intrigues people regarding reptiles anyway. I always liked the Croc Hunter (Steve Irwin) of course, a sting-ray got him. My cats are my pets and they stay indoors.
Posted by: Theresa | January 26, 2011 at 12:13 PM
Edgar?
Posted by: Guin | January 26, 2011 at 12:27 PM
Bonmot, why didn't you tell me you were in town?
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 12:30 PM
"Maybe it sleeps on a bean bag?"
Maybe it sleeps where ever it wants.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 12:32 PM
*SNORK* at AWBH!!!
Posted by: frodolives | January 26, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Rango?
Posted by: MOTW | January 26, 2011 at 12:38 PM
Careful, Annie. Mothra is probably near.
Come to think of it, I haven't seen Larry, my pet leeezard lately.
Posted by: Siouxie | January 26, 2011 at 01:04 PM
Maybe he's in the lounge, lounging.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 01:09 PM
Jug Jug?
Posted by: Selma | January 26, 2011 at 01:20 PM
'lizard wandering streets'?
hmph. all we get are blizzards* around here....
*ENOUGH ALREADY!!!*
Posted by: sandy | January 26, 2011 at 01:30 PM
Thank goodness it's warm enough in sunny SoCal for Monitor Lizards to roam the streets.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 01:45 PM
*throws snowball @ annie* ;P
Posted by: sandy | January 26, 2011 at 01:48 PM
You don't want to know what's lurking in the hall . . .
Posted by: bonmot | January 26, 2011 at 01:49 PM
Ooh, look - my sunny aura melted your snowball. Sooooorry! ;p
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 02:00 PM
*smacks* annie-where-the-sun-don't-shine
Posted by: sandy | January 26, 2011 at 02:19 PM
Annie and Sandy need to get a room...
Posted by: wiredog | January 26, 2011 at 02:24 PM
Silly wiredog. It's way too nice outside to get a room.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 02:32 PM
Annie, we're bracing for another "cool" front here in Miami. Probably reaching the lower 70's!! Brrrrr!!!
*ducks incoming snowplow*
Posted by: Siouxie | January 26, 2011 at 03:12 PM
Oooh, brrrrrrr, Siouxie! To keep him warm, you should put Larry the Lizard in one of those nifty "Hand-job" gloves.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 03:27 PM
yeah, sometimes it gets down into the 40s (like, 49) overnight!
Posted by: judi the barberho | January 26, 2011 at 03:37 PM
Good idea, Annie!! Wouldn't want to wake up to a stiff lizard.
judi!! I may need to get more wine!!! God only knows when we can venture out again.
Posted by: Siouxie | January 26, 2011 at 03:46 PM
Here's our version
Posted by: Mot the Hoople | January 26, 2011 at 03:54 PM
Pointy collared shirt, gold chains and a really bad mullet would turn him into a typical lounge lizard. Wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"Hey baby, what's your sssssssssssign?"
Posted by: Wolfsong | January 26, 2011 at 03:59 PM
Meanwhile, back at the animal kennel, Gomez the chiwawa has not slept since the arrival of his new next door neighbor.
Posted by: OC Dolphin | January 26, 2011 at 04:05 PM
Somebody put a little gunslinger outfit on that lizard and point him toward the couple with the umpteen rats.
Posted by: Annie Where-but-here | January 26, 2011 at 04:19 PM
Monitors are related to Komodo Dragons, are carnivorous, and don't brush their teeth. So, it's not a good idea to be bitten by one.
As much as I like critters, I have never kept a reptile for a pet (except for the little Anole lizard my sister-in-law gave my daughter. "The lady at Walmart said it ate lettuce". False.)
The snakes that live in the basement of my wife's farm during the warm months are just uninvited guests who drop in for a free meal or to crash for the night.
Posted by: Steve | January 26, 2011 at 04:35 PM
Jar Jar, Selma? Jug Jug is a lizard with an L bra.
Posted by: Loudmouth | January 26, 2011 at 04:46 PM
I had a Nile Monitor almost that big I raised from a baby. They have a nasty reputation, but it was pretty docile, and liked to wander around the floor to sit in sunny spots. It never bit me, and hissed only when I herded it back into its cage for the night.
I don't know about "cuddly," but I thought it was cute, and it didn't bark or have to be taken for walks, vet appointments, etc. Unfortunately, it didn't survive my house fire.
I hope this monitor's owner claims it, and the animal officer learns not to jump at shadows. It's too bad many people have reptile dysfunction; I'd rather deal with a lizard than a vicious dog any day.
Posted by: Ralph | January 26, 2011 at 05:07 PM
Sorry about your lizard, Ralph. I don't understand peoples fascination with geckos. When we lived in the Philippines they were all over our windows and would make this clicking sound constantly which drove me crazy. Imagine my surprise when I saw them for sale at Pet Smart. On the other hand my daughter wanted a prairie dog for a pet and they were selling for around sixty dollars also at Pet Smart. Wyo Cowboy offered her sixty dollars if she would come round some up in his neck of the woods.
Posted by: nursecindy | January 26, 2011 at 05:45 PM
NC: A lot of it has to do with how you were raised. I was taught to be afraid of N.Y.C. traffic, not snakes and lizards.
Posted by: Ralph | January 26, 2011 at 06:21 PM
Attention Floridians: Please warm up Tampa by ten degrees by February 19th. Thank you. 64* is not warm enough to sunbathe.
Posted by: Guin | January 26, 2011 at 06:34 PM
Hey, Guin, if you visit Tampa often, you may be interested to know I just happen to have an on-the-Gulf-beach condo for rent. Currently occupied through March, but for future reference...
Posted by: Richard the Weasel-Hearted | January 26, 2011 at 07:53 PM
NurseCindy, we had geckos on Okinawa -- cute harmless little critters, and they ate the mosquitoes. A pair that took up residence in our church got named Martin and Luther.
Posted by: Richard the Weasel-Hearted | January 26, 2011 at 07:55 PM
Richard, I was born in Okinawa at Ryukus Army Hospital in Uchitomari, Okinawa. Beautiful place isn't it? I guess I didn't like the geckos because of all the screaming. Not from the geckos but from my mother who was scared to death of them.
Posted by: nursecindy | January 26, 2011 at 08:12 PM
You bet, nursecindy, but the beauty was somewhat marred by the facts that a) the US DoD bases had all the good beaches and b) I went to the DoD high school (Kubasaki), a horribly regimented place with Quonset huts a loong bus ride away. (My parents were missionaries, not military.) This was late 60s. Oh, and the 100 degrees plus 100% humidity was always fun.
Posted by: Richard the Weasel-Hearted | January 26, 2011 at 08:25 PM
I went to DoD schools all the way until my senior year in high school because my dad was military. He was actually stationed at Kadena AFB in Okinawa. Quonset huts are nothing but ovens masquerading as buildings in that area and the P.I.
The schools are very regimented but you cannot beat the education you recieve. They also didn't put up with any cr@p. If you got in trouble at school your dad also got in trouble with the Base Commander. You didn't mess up twice. I hope to return to Okinawa someday and visit.
Posted by: nursecindy | January 26, 2011 at 08:37 PM
Yeah, Ralph, it's all in how you're raised. When I used to take my tarantula to my wife's school, the kids all wanted to pet her (the spider). Most times, the teacher was as far away as she could get, maybe the other side of the school.
My grandson calls all spiders "Spidery" and wants to pet them.
Posted by: Steve | January 26, 2011 at 10:27 PM
Strange. It's legal in California to own a monitor lizard, but illegal to own a ferret. Go figure.
Posted by: JD | January 26, 2011 at 10:37 PM
I've spent a lot of time in Riverside. You ought to see their Merrimack lizards! The first time I spotted one, my hopes were sunk.
Posted by: PirateBoy | January 26, 2011 at 11:18 PM
So, you can ferret out a monitor, but you can't monitor ferrets.
Posted by: Loudmouth | January 26, 2011 at 11:19 PM
In the Seychelles I saw these translucent geckos that were catching fire-flies. You could see the glow in their stomachs until their gastric juices killed off the fire-flies. Weird seeing these geckos running around with glowing stomachs.
Posted by: Mot the Hoople | January 27, 2011 at 12:02 AM
Hey Richard - sounds nice. We are just going to watch our son play baseball during the Big East/Big Ten spring training tournament so will only be there for a few days. :)
Posted by: Guin of the Frozen North | January 27, 2011 at 07:49 AM
NC, did you notice what was going on when those Philippine geckos toe nails turned bright red?
Posted by: ken in sc | January 27, 2011 at 12:29 PM