ALLEN PARK — So you cover a Lions safety for almost five seasons and turns out he’s a zookeeper — of sorts.

Who knew this about Louis Delmas?

Well, Kevin Ogletree for one who wouldn’t accept Delmas’ invitation to stay with him until he moved his pet gator out of the house

. Mojo the 5-year-old alligator is now at a pet shop awaiting a trip to the Detroit Zoo which will be his new home.

Delmas’ affection for wild animals goes back to when he was 9 and living in Miami.

“When I was younger I was swimming in the lake and then I caught an iguana — I thought it was an iguana,’’ Delmas said. “I took it home and put it in the back yard. My brother came home and he was like ‘Lou, what are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I got an iguana.’ He said, “it’s a (expletive) gator.’’’

Then the brother killed it.

“It was a baby alligator, I thought was an iguana. Ever since then I wanted an alligator,’’ Delmas said.

Then when he got to Detroit he got an albino python who died unceremoniously two years ago. (Yes, he had an alligator and a snake for pets at the same time. They both ate live rats so it was convenient.)

Didn’t catch the python’s name, but here’s what happened.

“Snakes when they are full and not hungry, they would not eat no matter what,’’ Delmas said. “My dumb behind, I put a rat in twice a week. (Then one day) he ate the first one, the second one he sat there and let the rat feed off him. Basically the rat chewed him to death.’’

Ahh, the circle of life.

His gator, named Mojo, also ate live rats. “It’s no excitement if it’s dead,’’ Delmas said.

A pet shop breeds certain rats to feed the slithery creatures.

“They’re big —  real, real big — like cats,’’ Delmas said.

OK, enough. 

Now we know another side of Delmas. Not sure if that’s a good thing.

(Follow @PaulaPasche on Twitter. Order her book,  “100 Things Lions Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die’’ here. It’s also available at bookstores.)