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TELLER COUNTY, COLO. -- Lizard watch 2012 is underway in Teller County.

Residents and law enforcement in the area spent the weekend searching for a missing nile monitor lizard.

The reptile went missing on Monday when he escaped from his leash in the Woodland West neighborhood near Divide.

This lizard is all black, six feet long and weighs 25 pounds.

"My husband and I kind of looked at each other and laughed," Woodland West resident Cherie Schmidt said. "We thought 'how did a lizard get loose in our subdivision?'"

"It is six-feet long and 25 pounds, so I would say it is kind of skinny," Teller County Sheriff Mike Ensminger said.

Sheriff Ensminger said the lizard's owner has assured him the reptile is not dangerous, nevertheless deputies and neighbors are on the lookout for the creepy crawler.

"We got a reverse 911 call on our cell phone, home phone and email that said there was a lizard on the loose," Schmidt said. "We are not that worried about it though."

"We looked it up on the internet, and it is a peculiar-looking lizard," Ensminger said. "From the research we have done on them, they can be aggressive towards small animals and potentially small children, but that has not been verified."

Worried or not, everyone seems to be talking about the elusive reptile, and where he might be hiding.

"I would much rather go out and look for an angry bear, reptiles belong in the jungle I guess," Ensminger said.

The sheriff said it is not illegal to own a nile monitor lizard.

Anyone who spots the reptile is asked to call the Teller County Sheriff's Office at (719) 687-9652.