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Louis Delmas' pet alligator Mojo currently resides at Allen Park critter shop.

(Jeremiah Combs)

ALLEN PARK -- It was a gift from former Detroit Lions linebacker Ernie Sims, but five years later, the alligator egg given to Louis Delmas has grown to a six-foot monster the safety could no longer justify keeping at his home.

Sims, known for his collection of exotic animals, gave Delmas the egg during his rookie season. Sims told him it would hatch in a week, but after two days under a heat lamp, the baby alligator emerged.

"It was very unexpected, but I've had it ever since," Delmas said.

Delmas' affinity for alligators dates back to when he was a young child living in Florida. Of course, his first experience involved a dangerous case of mistaken identity.

"When I was younger, I was swimming in the lake and I caught an iguana," he said. "I thought it was an iguana. I took it home and put it in the back yard. My brother came home and said, 'Lou, what are you doing?' I'm like, 'I got an iguana.' He's like, 'That's a gator.'"

As for the alligator he received from Sims, Delmas named it Mojo and housed it in a 36-square-foot tank in the basement. The monstrous reptile's diet grew to the point where Delmas was feeding it two giant rats three times per week.

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

But two factors recently led Delmas to part ways with his pet.

First, Mojo simply got too big. At six-feet long, it was no longer reasonable to keep it in the house. Second, new teammate Kevin Ogletree was moving in and had no intention of living under the same roof as an alligator.

"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.

Delmas laughs at Ogletree's fear, saying the receiver wouldn't venture near the tank, or even the basement, as long as Mojo was in the house.

"I wish he would have come down there and put his hand in there," Delmas said. "He'll be all right. He's Ogletree. He'll catch with one hand."

So Delmas fearlessly packed his pet up, taking at least some basic precautions.

"You've got to tape his mouth, obviously," he said.

The staff from Allen Park Critter Shop came and picked up Mojo from Delmas' house, and it currently resides at the store where it's being cared for by owner Rick Simms.

There's been some talk about donating the animal to the Detroit Zoo, but according to communication director Patricia Janeway, the zoo has not been contacted by Delmas or anyone from the Critter Shop.

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