3.5-foot tegu lizard back home after wandering Texas streets

Nov. 21 (UPI) -- A 3.5-foot tegu lizard found wandering the streets of a Texas city was reunited with his family, who said they initially didn't even realize he had escaped.

Sylvia Cooper, 31, of Beaumont, said her family's nearly 4-year-old red tegu, named Sylvio, has a favorite hiding place in a closet where his human family members can't reach him, so when he initially disappeared they thought he was in there.

Cooper only later learned Sylvio had been found wandering near her home and was being fostered by a reptile dealer in Mauriceville.

Sylvio is now back at home, and Cooper said she and her four children were grateful to the passers-by who found him and the reptile expert who took good care of him.