This is the amusing moment a monitor lizard was found chilling on a house gate in Thailand.

Footage shows the reptile lounging on top of the sliding metal gate of the home in Chonburi province, on February 6.

The homeowner's daughter, 16, said she was coming home from school when she noticed the lizard lying on the gate with its legs dangling on either side.

She said: 'At first I thought it was just a doll because it wasn't moving at all. Then I saw it flick out its tongue. I called my father and he called rescue volunteers to catch it.'

The reptile catchers arrived at the scene at around 6:30 pm. They went to the back of the house, where the lizard was said to have slipped under tiles near the corner of the concrete fence.

However, before the officers could grab it, it skittered over to the adjacent house before crossing the street and disappearing into the tall grass.

Rescue volunteer Nattapol Phunkham, 28, said: 'The monitor lizard's hiding place was narrow, making it difficult to capture. It was also very agile and nimble. It ran away and climbed over to the back of another house quickly. We couldn't catch up to it.'

Asian water monitor lizards normally live in canals, swamps, sewers and ponds in cities in Thailand. They feed on fish, snakes, frogs and scraps of food left by humans.

The reptiles are aggressive when threatened and have a mildly venomous bite which sometimes carries harmful bacteria. The Godzilla-like reptiles are also a protected species in the country so their population thrives.