DURBAN – The only way an elderly Durban couple could catch a water monitor found relaxing in their bedroom was to trap it until help arrived.
Snake catcher Jason Arnold said when he arrived at the Newlands West home the couple were “pretty shaken.”
Arnold said it appeared that the water monitor could have entered the home from the nearby Umgeni Valley.
He said while the lizards were not dangerous or venomous, they were known to bite a person and hold on.
“They have a very powerful jaw strength, and they can also whip a person with their tail or claw at you.”
Arnold said it was no easy feat catching the water monitor.
“When it realised I was after him, he began playing a game of cat and mouse, crawling under the bed and up the walls.
“It finally managed to get out the window, which is when I grabbed it by its tail.
“When it turned around I then grabbed its neck and held it to the ground to restrain him and calm him down.”
It had also torn the curtains trying to escape.
Arnold said he placed the water monitor in a pillow case and released it back into the lagoon.
Arnold said water monitors were not dependent on water.
“They don’t live in water, they are fond of living near water, on the outskirts of rivers or dams.
“But as long as they can get water to drink, whether that be from people’s swimming pools or puddles from rain, that is all they really need.”
IOL