An Australian tourist’s holiday in Bali ended horrifyingly when doctors were forced to pull a tropical spider out of his stomach.
Later that day it had risen two or three inches higher up his body, he said.
When he first went to doctors on Sunday they told him it was an insect bite and gave him some cream, NT News reported.
By Monday morning the trail had started to blister.
Thomas told NT News:
"It takes a lot to deter me, but I do feel violated.
"It was a very bizarre experience just to know something like that was in my body for a couple of days."
The spider, which was dead when it was removed, has been sent off for tests, and Thomas is expected to learn what species it was in the coming days. He summed up his experience on Thursday:
The Bunbury Mail said Thomas was now hoping his friends would help him raise enough money for a Spider-Man tattoo on his chest.
A number of scientists in Perth have now cast doubt over Thomas' claims and said the red trail may have been caused by a mite rather than a spider.
Arachnologist Dr Volker Framenau told WA Today: "We thought it may have been something like a mite, there are a few different parasitic mites out there, which can sometimes look a bit like a spider."