A "happy-go-lucky" father who died after eating a gecko as a dare also guzzled down a tape worm with the lizard, it has been suggested.
David Dowell was rushed to hospital with a salmonella infection he contracted after downing the reptile as part of a bet.
Within days of necking the lizard the 34-year-old was vomiting green bile and his testicles had swollen to the size of grapefruits, with a strange liquid leaking from them.
The dad-of-three's stomach became badly bloated before he died in "absolute agony" in December.
Although salmonella was blamed for his death, taxonomist Dr Diane Barton suggested something else was also at play.
The Asian house gecko parasite expert said a Spirometra tapeworm could have ravaged the young dad.
“Spirometra is in snakes, frogs and geckos and go into mammals like cats and quolls and attack and grow," she told News.com.au.
“These particular parasites are a problem.
“In their life cycle, they wander through the host, go through the tissues and get lost as they try to find their way to the lungs and end up in the meninges (the protective layers of the brain and spinal cord).”
The doctor claimed the worm could have grown up to four foot long.
Dr Barton's intervention could help the family find some closure six months on from Mr Dowell's death.
Allira Bricknell, who had dated David since she was 18 after meeting on a beach, said: "We don't know 100 per cent how he passed but on the actual death certificate, it did say ingestion of a gecko so I'm assuming it was that."
The distraught partner went on to praise the father of her children.
"He was very arty, very crafty," she said.
"He was a great person, he was the best person I have ever met, he was the best dad to our children."
"I don't think there was anyone who met him who didn't love the person he was."
Allira, from Brisbane, Australia, recalled how the gecko eating happened during a Christmas party at home in front of their devastated pals.
The grieving mum warned others against similar stunts for dares or bets.
"I don't want people harassing us because of this," she said.
“I want justice for David … or just answers. You don’t ever think anything like this could ever happen to you and then it does.”
On December 11, less than two weeks after the party, Mr Dowell died in surgery.
His family said he “basically rotted from the inside out”.
