The reptile handler who is keeping a freshwater crocodile found in suburban Melbourne is planning to hand the animal over to government wildlife officials after a number of people tried to claim it.

Mark Pelley, who is also a snake catcher, was called in by Victoria Police on Christmas night after two people came across the one-metre-long reptile while they were walking in Heidelberg Heights, in Melbourne's north-east.

It was "sitting quietly" on a footpath on Waiora Road, police said.

Since then, four people have called Mr Pelley trying to claim ownership, and two of them have called a second time.

The crocodile was found on a street in Melbourne's north-east on Christmas evening. ( Supplied: Victoria Police )

But Mr Pelley has decided to hand the reptile over to officials from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

"It's the responsible thing to do," he told the ABC.

"I wouldn't want to hand it to the wrong person."

In order to legally keep a crocodile in Victoria, a person needs to have an advanced wildlife licence and be able to provide a large enough enclosure for the animal to live and swim in.

"They would have to have an enclosure that's big enough [and] a good source of heat," Mr Pelley said.

"[They would need] adequate water to swim in and drink, and a lot of food."

Croc 'walking around my lounge room'

Mr Pelley said he hoped the owner did not get fined because sometimes animals escape, just like dogs do on New Year's Eve.

He is not feeding the crocodile for the time being to avoid giving him food he is not used to, saying the animal can easily survive for several days without being fed.

"The food depends on the animal's size. He'd need a decent amount of food," Mr Pelley said.

"This one's one metre long, which is small for a freshie, which can grow up to three metres."

The tape has been removed from the crocodile's snout, which was only there so it "didn't bite a journalist", Mr Pelley joked.

Mr Pelley is handing the animal over to wildlife officers from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. ( ABC News: Cameron Best )

For now, the crocodile is just "walking around my lounge room", Mr Pelley said.

"I've got five daughters. They're interested, from a distance," he said.

Mr Pelley already has a baby crocodile of his own, which is about 50 centimetres long and "crawls around my lounge room floor".

"But it's used to being handled," he said.

The easiest way to get a crocodile in Melbourne would be to import it from Darwin at a cost of about $460, Mr Pelley said.

One Northern Territory crocodile farm recently set aside about 100 baby saltwater and freshwater crocodiles to sell as pets for Christmas gifts.