ORANGE PARK, Fla. -- A Clay County man was arrested Monday on a misdemeanor charge after sheriff's deputies acting on a Crimestoppers tip said they found a baby alligator in the toilet tank of his apartment, according to WJXT-TV.
Officials said Michael Dyer, 22, of Orange Park, gave permission to search his apartment on Arora Boulevard. Inside detectives said the also discovered a dog, a rat, a tarantula and an 8-foot python snake.
Hearing the toilet running, Clay County Animal Crime Detective Annie Henderson said she looked inside the tank and found the baby gator.
"When you see the aquarium on the table and he tells you it has been two weeks since he got rid of the gator, and it's fresh clean water, and you keep hearing the toilet running -- it stops, it runs and stops and runs. I'm thinking in my mind, 'Where would be the best place to hid an alligators that has water?' Of course, the toilet tank," said Henderson.
Clay County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Michael Dyer
She said Dyer admitted that someone gave him the gator and that he had been planning to keep it as a pet.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer took custody of the baby alligator and released it into the wild. The other animals were not seized.
Dyer was charged with possession of an alligator. He was also cited for having the python in too small a cage.
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