Forget Thin Lizzy and meet Thin Lizard – a 4in gecko now being cared for by RSPCA staff at the charity’s Brighton reptile rescue centre.
The staff at the Patcham centre nicknamed the well-travelled gecko Thin Lizard after it survived a 4,800-mile journey from China inside a box of musical instruments.
The tiny creature made the trip inside a sealed ocean shipping container which was dispatched three months ago.
It was found at a musical instrument importing company in Maidstone, Kent, on Monday last week (24 January).
The RSPCA’s Clive Hopwood came to the rescue and collected the Asian house gecko, bringing it to the charity’s Brighton reptile centre in Braypool Lane.
Mr Hopwood said: “The staff were unpacking a box when the little gecko scuttled out.
“The box had been part of a shipment that had travelled over from China in a sealed ocean shipping container in October but the box wasn’t unpacked until three months later.
“It’s amazing that this little gecko survived such a long journey and such a long time shut inside the sealed packaging but they were able to confine him and then called us for help.
“I took Thin Lizard to our experts at Brighton Reptile Rescue who have identified him as an Asian house gecko and will find him a specialist home.”
The RSPCA said that Thin Lizard was lucky to survive as reptiles are ectothermic, meaning that they rely on their environment to warm up or cool down as needed.
The charity hopes that his journey will remind holidaymakers always to give their suitcases a thorough check before flying home.
I bet it is hungry !