Missing Echo the lizard may have been 'picked up', says owner

It is possible Echo might be looking for water in the hot weather, her owner says

A missing 4ft (1.2m) long lizard which "can run like a T. rex" has either been "picked up" by someone or is "playing the world's best game of hide and seek", her owner says.

Echo the Tegu lizard escaped on 4 June after digging her way out of an enclosure, with searches across Workington, drawing a blank.

Siobhan Harkness, of Pet Encounter Cumbria, vowed to continue the hunt.

A £500 reward has been offered for Echo's safe return.

Ms Harkness told BBC Radio Cumbria there had been no firm sightings of the lizard.

"It's been a week and not one person has set eyes on her.

"You can't miss her with her size and the way she walks.

"People have been out searching for her from six in the morning till 10 at night and not one person has seen her, which makes me think someone might've picked her up.

"If not, then she's playing the world's best game of hide and seek."

'Like a puppy dog'

Likened to a Komodo dragon "but smaller", Ms Harkness described Echo as walking low to the ground with long nails and tail and having "a really fat, stumpy head and very rough texture".

The species is native to Central and South America, but their temperament makes them suitable to be kept as pets.

Ms Harkness said Echo was "like a puppy dog" and popular with school children and care home residents, but she advised members of the public not to approach her.

Instead, people are asked to alert Pet Encounter Cumbria.

If frightened, Tegu lizards can run on their back legs

"She'll let anyone stroke her or put her on their lap, but she's in a strange environment and I don't know how she might react.

"She could lash out with her tail if she's spooked. They make a hissing noise and in extreme cases they can lunge at you and they have a really powerful jaw.

She said the species can "run on their back legs like a T. rex".

"They can go for about two weeks without food and she left on a full stomach.

"With it being extremely hot weather we're thinking she might go looking for water and she loves swimming, which is why we've said if people have a pool don't be surprised to find her in it.

"We've got to carry on and hopefully she'll appear."