The Asian water monitor lizard emerged from the toilet bowl and looked around for about three minutes before disappearing back down the drain.
Jason Kingman and his girlfriend Chantima Chairisuk were astonished when they spotted a Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) in the toilet of their home in Pathum Thani, Thailand, on January 21. Jason reported that his girlfriend called him after noticing something moving under the toilet seat.
“I thought ‘that’s strange,’ but I didn’t expect it to be a monitor lizard. I was really surprised to see it. There are many monitor lizards living in our garden, but this is the first time I’ve seen one in the toilet,” Jason, a man from Kent, England, who was traveling in Thailand, shared.
It likely returned through the sewer and was found in a nearby ditch.
The Asian water monitor climbed out of the toilet and surveyed its surroundings for about three minutes, occasionally flicking its tongue to explore. The creature then turned around, crawled back down the pipe, and vanished. Jason and Chantima did not encounter the monitor lizard again. It is likely that it returned through the sewer and was found in a nearby ditch.
“There were some people spraying insecticide outside. I think the monitor lizard wanted to escape, so it came into our toilet. In the end, it left our house without harming anyone,” Chantima said.
The Asian water monitor (Varanus salvator) lives in canals and ponds in major cities of Thailand. There, they feed on fish, snakes, frogs, and leftover food discarded by humans. They often become aggressive when threatened. Their bites can be mildly venomous and may carry harmful bacteria.
