A housewife was shocked after finding a monitor lizard hiding under her washing machine.<br /><br />Arunee Cherdnaimueng, 64, heard the reptile rummaging around in her kitchen in Udon Thani, northeastern Thailand last Sunday (December 14) morning.<br /><br />She thought it was a small snake or gecko so she tried to pull it out herself but could only see its tail poking out from a pipe under the machine.<br /><br />The pensioner contacted the local rescue team who grabbed the lizard but it wriggled free and scampered up a pipe.<br /><br />They eventually caught it and took it outside, where excited neighbours had gathered because the traditional belief is that financial luck will come after a house is visited by a monitor lizard.<br /><br />Arunee said: "I worried that the lizard might be stuck under the tiles and die, so I called the rescue team to come and catch it. <br /><br />"Because the monitor lizard came to my house, it is a lucky sign and I am thinking about buying some lottery tickets with my house number in them."
