As reported by Lancs.Live, a customer at Lidl made a very unexpected discovery after a shopping trip. Nikata Moran, who is a nurse from Fallowfield went shopping at a Lidl store in Manchester. When she returned from her trip, she unpacked and organised her groceries as per usual, putting her strawberries inside the fridge.
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However, two hours later, when she opened her fridge, she spotted a ‘little head’ atop the fruit. Upon further investigation, it turned out to be a living gecko! The tiny lizard has since been identified as an Egyptian gecko (Tarentola annularis).
Luckily, the customer could ensure that the baby reptile was okay, even handing it over to the proper authorities.
The bizarre find among the strawberries
The customer recounted how she spotted the head of the tiny lizard in her pack of fruit saying,
I got the strawberries out of the fridge and something move out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a spider or something.
When I looked again I saw this tiny gecko, I couldn't believe it. It seemed very alert, so I managed to get it onto a spoon and pop it into a plastic container, where it moved very, very fast.
Though the tiny gecko lost a bit of its tail, it was in good condition. She continues,
Apart from the little piece of tail, which I found in the punnet, it seemed uninjured, I just can't get over the journey it had, ending up in my kitchen!
The lizard has been handed over to RSPCA
The customer put the tiny reptile in a plastic cup and called RSPCA.
Rachel Henderson, inspector at RSPCA collected the creature from the customer and took it for examination to the vet. She says,
When I was told I would be collecting a stowaway gecko I must admit I was expecting to be greeted with something slightly larger! When I opened the box I had to look twice to see where the lizard was.
She also thanked the customer for her timely actions saying,
….we’d like to thank Nikata and the other organisations who helped us with this little lizard.
The exotic reptile has since been handed over to Reptilia Exotic Animal Rescue in Ossett, West Yorkshire.
As per a spokesperson at Reptilia, geckos being accidentally imported are actually way more common than we realise. They state,
We have a few of them with us at the moment that have come from various continents. They seem to adapt very well to captivity and are seen to thrive in bioactive settings.
This little one has settled in well and will be ready to be rehomed once he has passed his quarantine period.
Sources used:
Lancs.Live: ‘Lidl shopper's surprise as stowaway gecko travels 3,000 miles from Egypt to Manchester’
