Water monitor lizard spotted in front of Michigan home: 'It freaked me out'

A Michigan man reportedly spotted a water monitor lizard on his front porch Tuesday.  (City of Dearborn Heights Ordinance and Animal Control)

A Michigan man got a scaly surprise outside his home this week.

Richard Heatherly of Dearborn Heights spotted a water monitor lizard on his front porch Tuesday afternoon, WXYZ reported.

“Went to the front door ‘cause the cat was at it, I looked, I opened the front door,” he told the station. “And he was at my front door, eating cat food.”

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The lizard was an unwelcome visitor for Heatherly.

“It freaked me out,” he said. “I said ‘That’s a first, a lizard at my front door.’”

The reptile didn’t stay for long: Heatherly told the station it rushed inside a dog house.

“I figured it was hungry ‘cause it was eating the cat food, so I went and got some apples and oranges, threw it in the dog house and put a block of wood there,” he said, adding that he contacted the Humane Society.

The Michigan Humane Society is asking the owner of the lizard to contact the organization, where it was transported, or animal control in Dearborn Heights.

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“I think it was someone’s pet,” Heatherly said. “It probably might have an enclosure outside, and maybe they had it and it got out. Or maybe someone released it.”