• NFL

Detroit Lions star gives up pet alligator

ESPN staff
October 26, 2013
Louis Delmas' pet alligator Mojo currently resides at Michigan's Allen Park Critter Shop © Getty Images
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Detroit Lions star Louis Delmas has lost his Mojo - not his self-confidence, but his five-year-old, six-foot-long pet alligator.

Delmas, a safety in his fifth year at the Lions, received an alligator egg in his debut season as a gift from former teammate Ernie Sims. From that egg hatched an alligator, which Delmas named Mojo. But Delmas has said it's time for Mojo to move out.

Delmas has housed the six-foot alligator in a 36-square-foot tank in his basement, but he said it's no longer reasonable to do so. Wide receiver Kevin Ogletree, signed after Nate Burleson's injury, plans to move in with Delmas and told him he wasn't comfortable sharing a residence with an alligator.

Louis Delmas gave up his pet alligator Mojo after five years © Getty Images
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"I told him I couldn't stay there with the gator there, so he had to make some adjustments for the New York City kid," Ogletree said.

Mojo had grown to the point that it ate two giant rats three times per week.

"That gator ate my refrigerator dry," Delmas said.

Delmas had Mojo picked up by Michigan's Allen Park Critter Shop, which now houses the alligator under the care of owner Rick Simms. Delmas said Mojo eventually could end up at the Detroit Zoo.

This article originally appeared on ESPN.com
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