Warning as 4ft lizard that can ‘run like a T Rex’ on loose in Cumbria after digging through cage

A four-foot long Tegu lizard that can “run like a T-Rex” and “whip you with its tail” has escaped from its home in West Cumbria.

Residents have been urged to keep an eye out for the reptile, named Echo, who belongs to Pet Encounter Cumrbia.

Echo has been missing since Saturday (3 June) after digging through her cage in the garden in Moorclose, Workington.

Speaking to BBC Radio Cumbria, owner of Pet Encounter Cumbria Siobhan Harkness said the "big lizard" escaped within 20 minutes of being unattended.

She said: "I had to pop a meerkat to the vets because she’s got a poorly tooth. I was gone for 20 minutes and she dug a hole."

She warned that the reptile is likely to run away when approached by people but could whip strangers with her tail he she is scared.

Ms Harkness believed the lizard, which is a species native to Central and South America, couldn’t have gone far and “it would be amazing if everyone could keep an eye out for her”.

She said: "Could people from the Moorclose area, Workington especially Needham, drive onto the cycle track please keep an eye out for Echo our Tegu! She’s escaped out of our garden and we have been looking for the last four hours and nothing.

“She loves to go underneath things and go to sleep, which is what I think she is doing now. She can’t have gone far and is in the area but with that many hiding places, it would be amazing if everyone could keep an eye out for her and hopefully, she will turn up soon."

In an update posted on Sunday (4 June) Ms Harkness said she had been out “since 7am and doing one last look before calling it a night.”

She added: "I’m absolutely knackered and having a chest infection is not helping the matter. Hopefully, tomorrow, we can track her down better with a drone and thermal camera, even if we can certainly say she’s not in the area.

"Thank you to everyone who has been looking for her. We don’t think she’s gone far, and we probably walked past her loads of time."

She told BBC News that the lizard “can bolt” and “run on its back legs like a T. rex”.

On Monday (5 June) Pet Encounter Cumbria said in a Facebook post: “She still is missing. We think it’s just going to be a waiting game now till she emerges from her hiding place before we find her.”