Florida woman still believes she saw a 'small dinosaur' running through yard

https://www.foxnews.com/us/florida-...aw-a-small-dinosaur-running-through-yard

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Woke up still kinda drunk at my grandparents house in Titusville in may of 86.
After a night of the Bar scene with my grandfather.
Coco Beach, Cape Canaveral area, VFW,s ect ect ect.
ABC Liquor stores/ bars are 👍👍👍

Anyways their was a 5 or 6ft long wally gator on the front lawn.
Just sat on the porch smoking a ciggerette scoping him out.

Even half hammered still I knew it wasn't Barney...
He was just getting warmed up in the mid morning sun and left after 10 or 15 mins.

LOL!!!

She's watched too many Victor Mature movies.

Fox dragging a snake/

It could have been a coyote dragging an iguana.

Since you seem to know that area, here's one you might get a laugh out of. Same time frame, mid 80's and hitting the same bars most likely. Late one night heading towards Titusville on US 1 , we had just passed the NASA causeway and saw something along side the road. This is roughly where the old Tarzan Jungle was, before it closed down . Many of the animals, especially the monkeys had gotten loose and were still in the area. We saw two Monkeys on the side of the road, with arms around each other, like they were drunk trying to help each other across US 1 . LOL My friend and I just looked at each other and shook our heads...and busted out laughing. Those Monkeys looked about as drunk as we were. We certainly no longer drink and drive, but we do laugh about this every time we get together.

Might have been Trump draggin' a liberal.

Somebody's been watching too many sci fi movies.

Did they legalize drugs in Florida?

Pot, yes.

Listening to Buck Owens....

There's a story about a circus train derailing outside Mason Ohio a number of years ago. They had a heck of a time rounding up all the animals that got loose. The Mason police got a call from a disturbed man who said there was a big gray animal in his garden, "picking up cabbages with his tail."

"What's he doin' with the cabbages," asked Dispatch.

"Sir, you wouldn't believe me if I told you," came the reply.

Eventually, the elephant was captured and put back on the train.

I don't know what the woman saw. Perhaps she just needs a little bit of lithium oratate?
Some use it for their hallucinations.

Regardless, there's lots of critters in Florida that some would consider living dinosaurs.

Here's one thats not a baby.
I handled one about this size that ripped my arm open.
No big deal. I didn't drop it.
[video:youtube]https://abcnews.go.com/US/giant-lizard-terrorizes-florida-family-moving-backyard/story?id=57499299[/video]

This guy makes his living catching and selling them as pets. Just Tegus though, not the other big scaly meat eaters and spiny back herbavours.

https://www.tegusonly.com

That actually does look like a dinosaur in the video 😀

You should see them in person.
The crowds love them.
These water monitors are second in size to the largest living lizards, the Komodo Monitor or Komodo Dragon .
The Komodo native version sometimes hunt in packs and will hunt deer as well as the occasional man.
There was a team of researchers who left a team member behind at location to finish setting up cameras or something. All that they found later was his shoe.

The water monitor in the video would eat dead soldiers in their natural range, but are spooked by wild confrontations most of the time.

.

What ya choking on? 🙄


Why would I make something like that up?
Those things have claws like curved large raptor talons.
When you pick one up and restrain the head/ neck, they will thrash unless they're body weight is supported. Problem is that if they are further alarmed or defensive, they will hug your arm, insert those long claws, then pull back.

If I would've dropped him, he and I would've ended up on the news like the one in the video.

Another New Yawk yankee who has never seen an animal except cats and dogs

Oh. I assumed that it bit you and ripped your arm open and since they're venomous, that would be not so good. My apologies.

I had one as a pet many years ago. Not that particular species, but a Savannah Monitor, which, when adult, is near the same size. He eventually outgrew my capacity to maintain a proper living space for him, and I gave him to a much more serious herpetology hobbyist, who already had transformed his property for the purpose of housing these things.

Here's a shot of one from Google Images. Mine was nearly this size when I gave him away.

No worries. You had no way of knowing.
The saliva of the much bigger Komodo monitors is considered "venomous" , but not technically like a rattlesnake. The saliva is incredibly toxic from the pathogens. They can grab a deer, yet it gets away. Then they sniff it out as it dies from sepsis.

The water monitor, like the one in that news video link, is pretty nasty too. That's the kind that grabbed me after I grabbed it.
Normally, Even the claws are filthy. In the wild, If the food is too big to eat whole, they rip it up with the claws after it gets ripe .
I used mine for the ministry and only fed it smaller lab animals, mainly rats. Someone insisted that I bring it to a big revival meeting. I hadn't handled it for a long time and it wasn't ready or used to the loud singing prior while caged. When I took him out, he reacted, everyone was loud and spooked it more.
That white dress shirt turned red right now. 😄
That's was a highlight, because I don't like boring memories. It bled well and I cleaned it, so no sepsis.

Hawkeye,

That is my favorite monitor!
They are awesome. The pattern on that is incredible. It looks like a white throat. There's a good White Throat breeder in Texas that I bought two from..
You probably know this, but they get the biggest of the Savannahs. Your Savannah sounded like a big boy too.
How tame did he get?

If I saw that water monitor in my yard it would have been target practice real quick. I don't care how close the neighbor's house is, it would have been dead. That Mofo would probably eat a small dog.

I was bitten by a small dog yesterday. Just an snkle biter. It's owner didn't control it. At the time I would've welcomed the big monitor to shake and smack the bowser against the concrete and toss it to the back of it's throat. Pesky little ankle biters. 😁

komodos are venomous, they bite you and follow you till you die.

I could handle him, but he never relaxed when held.

Deflave has been feeding the iguanas steroids again. He wants to go big game hunting in his back yard.

My step-son and his wife live in Palm Coast. Maybe it was their corgi, Buddy.

I do believe that's the most recent thinking, superceding the "septic pathogens" theory.

Either way, I'd rather not find out personally.

If you ever want another, go for a white throat version that has some size, yet still small. That way, it is less likely to get metabolic bone disorder because it's eating full grown mice. They're behavior is more like a Bassett Hound.
Tegus are a lot cheaper than the bigger WTs, but you have to get the right variety and age .

Pet store Herbie explains care.

Feed time for a little dinosaur.
Btw, if anyone gets a reptile, do NOT feed by hand.
Always use long foreceps or tongs.


Anyway, even dinosaurs have friends.

Slappy and trh have no credibility. I will wait for master reptile hunter to chime in.


mike r