Okanagan hunt for huge cold-blooded lizard has warm ending - Action News
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British Columbia

Okanagan hunt for huge cold-blooded lizard has warm ending

Warm hearts find cold-blooded brute of a lizard missing for almost two weeks in the north Okanagan.

Argentinegiant tegulizard named Kitty came back, but not the very next day

A staff member at the Vernon Veterinary Clinic holds a giant tegu lizard named Kitty, who was rescued after escaping his enclosure in the North Okanagan (Jamie Klein / Submitted)

After almost two weeks of searching and worry, Jamie Klein is one very happy and relieved mom.

"He's doing awesome," Klein said, eyeing Kitty, herrescued 1.2-metre-long, 5.4 kilogramArgentinegiant tegulizard.

"He's snuggly and he's great."

The massive reptiledisappeared from Klein's home in the SilverStar area of Vernon, B.C.,in mid-August, leading to a two-weeksearch that captivated the community.

Klein says warmhearts saved the cold-blooded, scaly, hissing creature from near-certain death.

The Argentine black and white tegu, or giant tegu, is known for its unusually high intelligence and can also be housebroken. (Jamie Klein / Submitted)

"It was amazing. The community really did come together ... even if they were scared or unfamiliar or worried about coming across him, everyone just really tried to get him home," she told CBC'sRadio West host Sarah Penton.

"He wouldn't have survived the winter here."

Big Kittya 'brute of a lizard'

Kitty doesn't have much in common withthe usual furry friends Klein sees working at the Vernon Veterinary Clinic.

"He's black and white and big," she said.

"He's about the size of a house cat, big low body, just meandering brute of a lizard that likes to, normally in the wild, be out there eating ... bird eggs, frogs, fish, anything rodent-wise that he could come across and snap up."

Tegu lizard Kitty was originally adopted by clinic staff member Jamie Klein after he was found abandoned and injured in the Lower Mainland. (Jamie Klein / Submitted)

But this lizard's tale is not that different from those of many other household pets.

Kitty was a rescue.

Abandoned outside in Novemberin south Surrey, veterinarians weren't sure he could survive thecold and a broken leg.

But he did. Klein adopted the reptileand then started using him as a hands-on patient at the Vernon clinic, to train staff on the proper handling of exotic animals.

As this summer's heat wave hit, Klein decided to keep Kitty in an outdoor enclosure because of the more reptile-friendly temperatures.

That's when the mini-dragon made a middle-of-the-night dash for freedom.

Kittyescaped during heat wave

"We can't figure that out," Klein said of Kitty's escape. "He doesn't climb, there were no signs of digging [but] he made his way out and went on the lamfor a while."

After looking for the normally lazy, lumbering, animal in the scrub on her five-acre property, Klein put out a call for help.

Hundreds of people shared information about the search and followed sightingson social media.

"It was such a nice feeling to get that support out there," Klein said.

In the end, it turned out Kitty hadn't strayed far from home.

Tegu lizard Kitty recovers after surgery for a broken tail. The reptile escaped in August, leading to a two week-long search effort that captivated the community. (Jamie Klein / Submitted)

A neighbour found the beast lurking in an open carport last week. He was thinner and his tail was broken, but he was happy to be reunited with his owner.

"I think he recognized me and totally relaxed in my arms," Klein said.

Veterinarians are treating the now voraciously hungry Kitty, and Klein isn't going to test if lizards have nine lives.

For the time being, this lizard is going to be an indoor Kitty.

"He's going to be grounded for while," she said.

With files from CBC's Radio West with Sarah Penton