WHO WANTS A FLOWER, THEN? Tyson the iguana eyes the nasturtium snack picked for him by Julie Graham at her Lazy Lizard Lodge in KwaZulu-Natal

Not that Julie Graham, an avid animal lover from Kloof outside Durban, is complaining.

Graham, whose nickname is "Mama Iguana", said exotic reptiles had become very popular as pets.

The iguana, she said, was the new "yuppie puppy".

But owners of such exotic pets often have a problem when going on holiday because of the specialist care such animals need.

Four years ago Graham started the Lazy Lizard Lodge, a reptile boarding kennel and sanctuary, operating from her own back yard.

Graham gets up at 5.30am to start caring for the animals - 49 of which are her own pets - and puts them to bed at 4pm.

"It's absolutely a full-time job. But I have the passion and patience for them," she said.

But not everyone is able to take the animals in their stride, said Graham: "If I walk around with a lizard on my shoulder, they'll say, 'Is that alive?' - as if I'd walk around with dead lizards!"