Monitor lizards tend to get a bad rep in Singapore, some folks have no qualms about chasing these creatures with brooms when they stray too far into city dwellings.

But sometimes the apprehension is mutual.

One monitor lizard, for instance, had a rude shock when it came face-to-face with a mother and her two offspring at a HDB lift lobby in Northshore, Punggol.

@meowya Using my kids as shields 🥸 #fyp #tiktoksg #monitorlizard #kids #foryou ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey

Got called a "crocodile"

A TikTok video posted by the mother began with her edging cautiously towards a lift lobby.

The place appeared empty at first glance.

"Oh my god children, where is it?" she asked her two kids, who looked to be of preschool age.

The "it" in question turned out to be monitor lizard, which scampered across the lobby just as the woman rounded the corner.

Her daughter let out an ear-piercing shriek.

The lizard, seemingly panicked, tried to escape into the lift.

When that failed, it hightailed back to its original hiding spot.

"It's a crocodile!" the girl called out.

"No, it's a lizard," her brother corrected her sagely, although he himself looked pretty rattled from the encounter.

Jump scare

When the creature disappeared, the boy bravely started towards the lift, but was stopped by his mother.

The suspense built.

"Wait wait wait, okay we wait for the lizard to come out first—" the woman barely finished her sentence when said lizard came barreling out again, this time straight towards the terrified kids.

But the children weren't the only ones spooked.

At the sight and sound of the screaming humans, the reptile jerked to a halt.

It probably dawned on the monitor lizard there and then that it was not that welcomed in this concrete jungle.

It decided to make a tactical retreat.

In the comments section of the TikTok video, the woman shared that more than one monitor lizard have been spotted in her area.

Etiquette for if you meet a monitor lizard

Monitor lizards have been a common sight around the island of late.

In May 2023, a monitor lizard got a little too friendly when it made a house call to some residents in Bedok, while another worried Punggol residents by chilling on a HDB ledge three storeys above the ground.

Monitor lizards are said to possess a naturally shy disposition, with most preferring to avoid humans.

They generally don't attack unless provoked, and their venom isn't fatal to humans.

NParks advises people to steer clear of the creatures and leave them alone when sighted.

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Top images via @meowya/TikTok