Lizard's Owner Worried Nae Nae Whipping Through Hills Of El Dorado County

PLACERVILLE (CBS13) – An El Dorado County man is missing his pet monitor lizard and now everyone in the neighborhood is on the lookout.

"She was just casually cruising up and I was like wow what is that with a big ol' long body with these big ol' thick legs. It wasn't a cat. When I got closer I thought wow that's a lizard!" said Jason Roberts who lives less than a mile from its home.

The 4-foot, 20-pound reptile is far from a feline, but in fact a large pet monitor who escaped her cage and is now on the run.

"I grab (my dad) so we can go check it out and he goes, 'Yeah I saw him on the Internet, lost lizard,'"

Her name is Nae Nae, and yes, she has a pal named Whip. With all the publicity she's becoming a modern day lost dinosaur of Placerville and has almost everyone in the neighborhood searching.

"No matter where I go I'm looking around, 'Are you underneath that Bush or my flowers. Where are you?' But it's big!" said Shirley Mendoza, who hopes not to stumble upon Nae Nae.

"I don't know if I go up and grab it, it might bite me, you know," said Jason's dad, Dirk Roberts.

The reptile's owner, Trent Baker, posted an Exotic Amber Alert to Facebook Monday saying she squeezed out of her home right behind the Mother Lode Motel off Monterey. Then by Thursday and less than a mile away, a Placerville Resident spotted the monitor off Goldman Lane.

"(Trent) got off work early and came running up here, but by the time he got up here the lizard was gone," said Dirk Roberts.

But it at least narrows down the search to a mile radius. Gaining attention even from experts, Baker tells CBS13 a woman is bringing in a specialized dog to help sniff out his beloved reptile and hopefully bring Whip back his Nae Nae.

"I hope they do find her and I'd hate to see her killed or run over or something," Mendoza said.

A monitor lizard is the common name of several large lizard species. Nae Nae is actually a quince monitor lizard. They originally came from Indonesia and can grow up to five feet long. Other monitor lizards can grow up to 10 feet. They eat small rodents, fish, birds, and eggs.

Nae Nae's owner said she's friendly, but probably scared, so approach with caution.