The two iguanas stolen from Rockstar Pets in Tooele last week were returned anonymously Wednesday afternoon.
Natalie Hood said she was at the front of the store helping a customer when a coworker said she received an anonymous phone call saying there were animals in a box at the back of the store.
Hood, the store manager for reptiles and fish, said the same person quickly called back to clarify the box was Styrofoam.
People will occasionally leave a pet at the store when it gets too large or too difficult for them to manage, Hood said. So when she went to retrieve the box, which was taped shut and contained a blue pillowcase and other packing materials, Hood said she figured it was someone’s pet being left behind.
“It’s unfortunate but sometimes people just can’t take care of their pets,” she said.
When Hood pulled out the pillowcase, untied it and looked inside, a familiar face greeted her. It was the green female iguana, which carries the albino trait prized in iguanas.
“At first we were freaking out,” Hood said. “Is this our iguanas?”
Digging further into the box, Hood found the male Crutchfield albino iguana, which is a rare morph. There are less than seven of that variety of albino iguana in the United States.
Hood said the iguanas were a little dehydrated and irritable but generally healthy when returned. The male albino iguana has a particularly sensitive diet, she said.
Rockstar Pets was burglarized during the night of Aug. 19, but only the iguanas, worth an estimated $2,400, were taken. The store’s security system was turned off during the incident so there was no footage of the burglary.
Hood said Tooele City police officers fingerprinted the box and traced the anonymous phone calls to a pay phone. The most important part is having the iguanas back at the store, she said.
“Hopefully we’ll still be able to catch whoever it was but we’re just glad they’re home,” Hood said.
Anyone with information about the burglary should contact Tooele County Dispatch at 435-882-5600.