Monitor lizard rescued after getting stuck under air-conditioning pipe

A hapless monitor lizard was rescued after its neck was stuck under an air-conditioning pipe attached to a wall.

The reptile tried to pass through the narrow space between the pipe and the floor but its body was too big in Ang Thong province, Thailand on March 14.

It was stuck could not crawl back out because a cabinet was blocking its lower body and the space was too cramped for it to move.

The owner of the house heard strange noises coming from the corner of their house and found the animal struggling to free itself.

She said it must have been trapped inside the house when the gate was closed and was trying to search a way out but ended up being stuck under the pipe.

The woman said: ‘The lizard may have been looking for a way out when we closed the gate at night.

We found it there in the morning.’ The family called the animal rescuers as they did not know how to handle the 4ft-long lizard in the confined space.

When the rescuers arrived, they pulled out the animal while trying to calm it down as it had been on the uncomfortable position for at least six hours.

They checked it for injuries but it appeared healthy so they gave it some water before they placed it in a sack to transport back into the wild where it will be released.

The house owner thanked the team before they left and said that she will use her house number in the lottery as local superstitious beliefs suggest that animal encounters are lucky.

She said: ‘I will buy a ticket and will use my address as the lucky number.

The monitor lizard could have given some of its luck to our family.’