When Linda DesChamps of Shelburne brought home a new cactus plant from the Yarmouth Wal-Mart she didn’t realize a cold-blooded hitchhiker was coming with her.

Showing off the new plant to her daughters on Tuesday, March 27, she also had no idea that in seconds everyone would be running around the family kitchen and she’d be screaming.

Her daughter Laura noticed something strange behind the plant. She thought it might be a plastic lizard added for decoration and reached out to touch its head.

That’s when the scared gecko sprang from the plant and started running across the counter.

Then the screamfest started.

Wally, the gecko, was introduced to the Shelburne family amidst a lot of screaming.

“I can’t tell you what I was saying …but I was definitely screaming,” said Linda.

The wayward lizard was captured after a few minutes of scrambling, screaming and running. A margarine tub was pulled from a recycling bag and holes were poked into it to serve as the gecko’s temporary home.

“We didn’t know what to do with it,” said Linda.

Once the excitement died down, the family called the Yarmouth Wal-Mart to see if the retail giant would provide a terrarium. They also called the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to see if there was any health danger from the wayward gecko.

Both answers were negative.

Relaying the story at the Loyalist Inn, the Shelburne business she and her husband Wendall own, Linda was offered a complete terrarium from an amused customer.

Wally, (named after the store he escaped from), now has a warm home reminiscent of the hot area he came from.

Linda said Wal-Mart representatives said the gecko could have hitchhiked by truck to the Yarmouth store from as far away as Mexico.

She notes that next time she buys any plant or other item she’ll be examining it closely before bringing it home.