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Woman's shocking find in suitcase after Thailand holiday

When you come home from a Thailand holiday, most people just hope to bring home a nice tan.

But student Hannah Turian, 20, did a little more than that after returning home for the popular holiday destination to find her luggage had an unsuspecting addition – a large toad.

She believes the stowaway amphibian hopped into one of her shoes before she packed to travel more than 8000 kilometres from Bangkok back home to Cardiff, UK.

The shocked young woman found the creature peering back at her from among her clothes before quickly calling her family to help catch it.

The young student got quite a fright when opening her suitcase at home. Source: Australscope/Viral News
The young student got quite a fright when opening her suitcase at home. Source: Australscope/Viral News

Footage she posted online shows the animal hidden in her clothes as she shrieks with fright before the animal went hopping around her bathroom floor.

Ms Turian said she named the toad 'Robbert' before it was captured and handed over to a reptile expert to be cared for. They said the toad was healthy and recovering well following an estimated 35 hours on the road and in the air.

"After the toad had gone, we just sat in our lounge and were like, 'what has just happened?'," she recalled.

The Cardiff University student was in Thailand visiting her aunt after teaching English there for a month.

She told local media she flew into Heathrow Airport before returning to her student house in Cardiff on Saturday night, August 6, and unpacked her suitcase the next morning.

"When I first saw the toad moving I was on the phone to my mum, I just closed the suitcase, and ran out," Ms Turian said.

"Me and my housemate then carried it upstairs into the bathroom. We unzipped the suitcase, and there's a toad sitting in the corner of it looking at us.

"When I arrived my suitcase got scanned before I could leave the airport. So I don't know how it wasn't spotted."

Hannah had spent a month in Thailand teaching English. Source: Facebook
Hannah had spent a month in Thailand teaching English. Source: Facebook

Misguided toad finds new home in Wales

Thailand is currently experiencing its annual rainy season, with flooded roads and canals, and toads often emerge following heavy rainstorms.

The 20-year-old said after finding the toad she checked the RSPCA website, but joked that "it didn't have information about smuggling a toad from Thailand".

She posted on Facebook and was told about a nearby rescue centre for reptiles.

Reptile expert Jackie Hamilton, 40, who owns 150 different species and has been working with them since she was 16, drove over to Ms Turian's home to collect the animal, saying it was "the first time" she has heard of one travelling back from Asia.

She identified the reptile as the non-venomous Common Asian Toad.

"They are usually found in Thailand and neighbouring areas. They often live in built-up areas, so it is not a surprise that this one found its way into Hannah's shoe," Ms Hamilton said.

"Because the toad had been in a suitcase, we flushed him over with a two-litre bottle of spring water. We also offered him a couple of different bugs, so we could feed him up a bit.

"He was quite happy about that."

It is unknown how he is adjusting to his new home on the other side of the world.

Australscope

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