Shedding Lizard's Skin Compared to 'Ground Beef' in Viral Video

A pet owner has shared what her lizard looks like while shedding his skin—with people comparing the reptile to "ground beef."

Animal lover Dani regularly shares videos of her foster and rescue animals on TikTok, and one is clearly the star of the show.

Dani, who posts under Danimal.Kingdom, shared a clip of her red tegu lizard taking a bath, as he got ready to shed his skin.

Dani, from Los Angeles, said in the clip: "Trying to explain to my lizard that he needs to soak because he's shedding. But he can smell the meat I just took out of the fridge and he just knows I'm gonna give some of that to other animals."

The tegu, called Kato, desperately tries to climb out the tub, with a translucent layer clearly visible on his torso, as the top layer of skin loosens.

The clip amassed more than seven million views as people demanded to see more shedding content.

In response, Dani shared another clip later that same day, saying: "Here's an old one from when he had stuck shed around his eyes and he was freaking out."

It shows Dani, who also owns dogs and cats, gingerly peeling the dead skin away from Kato's face.

The follow-up video also attracted a huge interest, racking up more than five million views as people were intrigued by the spectacle.

The lizard's natural red color caused some to think he was inflamed, with Tullius saying: "He looks so raw."

C4nopen3r thought: "ground beef lizard," while another TikToker agreed, saying: "He looks like ground beef."

While SharraMT commented: "Handsome fellow. Looks like sausage to me sorry, jut his color is what I mean."

And Xplr Stan asked: "What type of tegu is he? He's gorgeous, he kinda reminds me of raw meat though lmao no hate."

Dani, who also has a black-and-white tegu, explained more about Kato's origins, saying: "This is Kato. He was rescued about four years ago. I've never been a reptile person but, when I saw his puppy eyes and cheeks all I saw was a pitbull terrier, and he came home with me the same day.

"Because of him I started loving reptiles and learned so much more about them, even thanks to my followers! I hope his sweet face can help people with herpetophobia," which is a fear of reptiles.

In separate videos, Dani shared feeding time with her tegus, revealing she makes them plates of mixed meat, seafood and fruits, adding Kato was currently on a "diet."

"He definitely gets chonky after every burmation," Dani said, referring to the lizard's period of sluggishness similar to hibernation, adding "so now he's on a diet!"

Newsweek reached out to Dani for comment.