ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester has a new temporary tenant after the state DEC made a shocking discovery at a home in Wayne County.

The DEC says a Facebook post led conservation officers to the town of Macedon last month where they found a 3 and a half foot alligator being raised as a house pet.

Officers say the suspect first denied it, but then led officers inside his house to see the reptile being kept in a large glass tank in a bedroom.

The owner told officers he named the gator Alan, and that it was friendly enough to eat out of his hand and walk around the house with his two dogs.  

He also told officers he realized the reptile was getting too big for the tank and the house.  

The DEC says it is illegal to house any reptile in the crocodilian family without permits in New York State.

The alligator is being cared for at the zoo until it can be relocated to a permitted facility.

The owner was ticketed.