Video: Animal lover takes his four-foot long pet lizard out on a lead
He is a familiar sight on the streets of Loughborough, Leicestershire, as he takes the 8kg Bow - a Savannah Bosc Monitor lizard - out for a stroll.
John has been keeping reptiles for nine years but none have attracted nearly as much attention as Bow. He said: “People do stop me all the time to take photos, they’re just gobsmacked when they see Bow.” John has to wear two jumpers when carrying Bow because the reptile’s claws are half an inch long. Bow was only seven inches long when John went to view him at a pet store and, despite the little lizard biting the shop assistant and making him bleed, he took him home. The scaly pet is only a year old and still has a lot of growing to do. Bow could potentially reach a full grown length of 5 and a half feet. The lizard lives in a £400 custom built eight-foot long vivarium and is often out and about in the house.