A MUM has been left astounded after finding her son’s lost pet gecko – an incredible 16 months after he first went missing.
Emma Louise had long given up hope of ever finding son Billy’s 18-month-old pet gecko Diego after he escaped his vivarium in March 2022.
Despite seeing and hearing traces of the evasive little reptile over the following few months, by the time a year passed the family feared the worst, with 14-year-old Billy devastated at the loss.
However mum Emma, 47, couldn’t believe her eyes when she went to put her bins out last Wednesday, only to be met by Diego calmly sitting in their front garden.
Emma from Banbury, Oxfordshire originally took to social media in March last year in a desperate appeal to locals to help find their escapee.
A full 16 months later though, Emma updated her status to reveal that their pet had defied all odds and was safely back with them.
The full Facebook post – which Emma updated with the good news yesterday – reads: “My son’s leopard gecko has escaped his vivarium somehow.
“I’m searching the house. Weird question but someone might know. Could a fully grown gecko get down stairs, or will it still be upstairs?
“UPDATE: Found him! In the front garden! After 16 months on the run!”
The post has since received over 4,700 likes and more than 800 comments from users left astounded by Diego’s against-the-odds return.
One user wrote: “Note to self – check any new houses I live in for snakes and lizards- apparently they don’t go far once lost.”
Another wrote: “This post has freaked me out! I now feel I need to knock on every door on my road to see who owns snakes so I know if I may ever find one in my sofa, always freaked out about one coming up the toilet.”
A third said: “Bet he’s buzzing that he’s been free for over a year and now you’ve trapped him in a prison cell again.”
Another commented: “Omg that’s amazing. How did he survive winter?”
Speaking today Emma said: “He went missing mid March 2022, no idea how he got out in the first place.
“My son went to feed him one evening and he just wasn’t there. Still cannot work out how he got out.
“We did hear him under the floorboards over that summer, and looked for him by drilling holes in the floor but couldn’t retrieve him.
“I saw him once but he bolted through a hole in the airing cupboard floor before I could catch him.
“Didn’t really hear him after November, so thought he had hibernated, and started listening out in March but didn’t hear him again, so assumed the worst.
“We were actually due to get rid of his vivarium last weekend, but last Wednesday I was bringing the wheelie bin in and he was just sitting in my front garden.
“I thought he was a crisp packet or something – it was early evening and I was putting the bins away because it was bin day.
“I just glanced down and it took about two seconds to realise it was a lizard, and another two to realise it was our lizard. I still can’t believe he survived the winter and wasn’t even injured. Very surreal.
“He just sat there while I picked him up and hastily put his vivarium back together. My son was very surprised to see him again. We are all pleased to have him home.
“My son was devastated when he went missing. We searched for weeks, even took out bathroom panelling. We heard him from March 2022 until about November 2022 then didn’t hear him again.
“We even had a cat at the time so he was lucky not to be eaten!”
