A greedy goanna bit off more than he could chew when he mistakenly scoffed six golf balls during a raid on a northern NSW chicken coop.
The lace monitor, dubbed Tiger, snuck into the chicken coop at Billinudgel north of Byron Bay and swallowed the six balls, along with three eggs.
The engorged lizard was taken to a wildlife hospital on the Gold Coast where he managed to avoid going under the knife after coughing up the golf balls on his own.
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital senior veterinarian Michael Pyne said the lizard narrowly avoided going under the knife.
"We thought we'd be going into surgery for sure but in this instance, the goanna vomited them up on his own," he told AAP.
He said it was common for people to use golf balls to calm a broody chook and wildlife often eat the balls by mistake.
"As far as the lace monitor is concerned, it's been under a chook, it smells like a chook so that's good enough for them."
He said the lizard would have had a "bit of a belly ache" after his meal.
"He would have known there was something wrong, let's put it that way."
After coughing up the balls and spending a night in the hospital, Tiger was released safe and sound back in northern NSW.
"Hopefully the chicken coop is a bit more secure to protect both the chickens and native wildlife, but I know it can be difficult.
"Where there's a will there's a way and goannas just love their eggs."
Australian Associated Press
