The owner of a 4ft iguana which went missing for three days has spoken of his “relief” after a chainsaw carver helped bring her to safety.
Dean Tyrrell’s reptile, Blue, escaped through his unlocked conservatory door while free roaming the house in Parkwood, near Rainham, on Sunday morning (June 29).
He explained she usually likes to sit on the window ledge, enjoying the sun, but thinks tat this time she used the door to climb up, pressing down on the handle, causing it to open.
The 62-year-old said: “I saw the back door open a few inches and panicked as there was no sight of her. I ran out into the garden and could not see her.
“As I turned around, I saw her in the tree at around my shoulder height. Before I could do anything, she was gone; she was quicker than a squirrel.
“She kept climbing and climbing until she was around the same height as the house, and then we lost sight of her.
“All iguanas want to do is climb. She must have gone out into the garden, seen the tree, climbed it and then just kept going.”
Dean borrowed a pair of binoculars from one of his neighbours to try and find Blue, who was camouflaged in the almost 100ft tree in his backgarden in Peverel Green.
He called the National Centre for Reptile Welfare in Tonbridge to see if they could help.
They put him in touch with chainsaw carver Danny, from Axework Arts, who climbed the tree but could not find Blue.
Dean also called the fire service, who said they might be able to send a crew out if he saw the reptile and borrowed a thermal imaging drone from a neighbour to try and track her down.
But it was not until yesterday (July 1) that three-year-old Blue was spotted again at the very top of the oak tree.
Dean said: “We finally saw her tail hanging down, and luckily, she was hanging onto a branch. She was holding on for dear life.
“It was just by pure luck that I saw her. My family joke that my eyesight is not the best, but I was the one who found her.”
He recalled the fire service who were able to send out a crew; however, due to the height and location of the tree, they were unable to assist.
Luckily, Danny, also known as Jack Skylark II online, returned at 7am today (July 2) and climbed the tree, rescuing Blue by cutting down the branch she was on and using a rope to lower her down onto the conservatory roof.
Dean then used a ladder to grab her before she ran away again and returned the five-to-six-kilo iguana to her vivarium.
He said: “Danny deserves all the praise. If we had lost sight of her again, we would have lost her.
“It was a relief. I have had to sleep in the conservatory with the back door open in case she came back in, so now I can have a night in my own bed.
“Where she went was probably the best place, as anywhere else we would have never found her unless a neighbour saw her.
“She will free roam again, but we know now to keep the door shut and the handle up.”
