An adorable tiny gecko survived in a sealed box for three months after its 4,800 mile journey from China sealed in a shipping container to a warehouse address in Kent.
Nicknamed 'Thin Lizard', the 10cm reptile was found in the sealed container which was dispatched three months ago.
It leapt out at a musical instrument importing company in Maidstone, Kent, on 24 January.
RSPCA officers came to the rescue and collected the Asian house gecko bringing it to the charity's Brighton reptile centre.
Geckos, like other reptiles, need a specific temperature gradient suitable for the species, as they are ectothermic, meaning that they rely on their environment to warm up or cool down as needed.
This gecko was lucky to survive so long - particularly over the winter months - without specialist equipment to regulate temperature.
Rescuer Clive 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.”
