4-foot long pet lizard named Apu has been missing for weeks, Oklahoma owner says

For three weeks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a woman has been missing one of her beloved pets — a 4-foot long lizard named Apu.

The black and white tegu went missing on May 4, and its scared owner said Apu is not accustomed “to the outside world or cold weather.”

“He likes to be curled up in and (under) things,” according to a missing pet alert.

Apu’s owner said she has many exotic animals at her home and has had Apu for three years, according to KOTV.

Tegus are native to South America and are often seen in Florida, according to the University of Florida. But they’re considered an invasive species as they are known to prey “upon Florida’s native wildlife, including some imperiled and protected species,” the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

National Geographic said in 2020 the “dog-size lizard” was spreading throughout the southeastern United States, appearing in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas.

The lizards can multiply quickly — about 35 eggs a year — and have few predators, officials say, according to McClatchy News. They eat anything from turkey eggs to plants, pet food, grasshoppers or gopher tortoises, biologists say.

“I got him wild, caught out of the everglades in Florida, so it has taken so much time for us to get bonded,” Apu’s owner told KOTV. “I just want him to come home where he’s safe and I can snuggle him up.”

Anyone with information on the lost pet can visit PawBoost.com.

This story was originally published May 24, 2022 at 9:02 AM.