"She had put her bathing suit out to dry on the balcony of her hotel room, and the next morning, packed up her belongings in her suitcase," PHS/SPCA spokeswoman Buffy Martin Tarbox said. "Unbeknownst to her, a baby iguana had decided to nest in her bathing suit and accidentally hitchhiked to California."
The iguana was only a baby, but adults of the species have been known to grow up to 5 feet long, PHS/SPCA said.
Tarbox said the group reached out to state and federal wildlife agencies to determine the best course of action for the iguana.
"We were advised that no mandatory quarantine was necessary and he didn't need to be returned to Mexico," she said. "After treating him for dehydration, he was transported to an animal sanctuary which specializes in such reptiles by the woman who found him."
