Beechworth resident nurses injured goanna back to health

But with the help of some kind-hearted humans, the 15-year-old reptile has since made a remarkable recovery and has been returned to his natural forest habitat.

And his new home comes with a few perks - he now has four walls and a roof in his bush box.

Vlad suffered horrific injuries in the accident on Buckland Gap Road by an unknown driver but was spotted by another motorist who took the reptile to nearby Beechworth Wildlife Stays where he was nursed to health by co-owner Sue Hiatt.

"He was in a very bad way when he came in, I got the local vet to look at him and she thought , 'oh, I don't know about this', but she sewed him up and gave him some antibiotics and he came good," Mrs Hiatt said.

"At first he was snarling and hissing and scratching - well, they're wild animals so you expect that.

"When I used to attend to him or his medication and his injection, I did it nice and early in the morning when he was cold and not very active."

"After the initial treatment, we took him to see some other vets."

Mrs Hiatt, who tends to many other species of native wildlife at her property, said in Vlad's case she consulted the Healesville vet clinic and Melbourne Zoo for further advice.

"We deal with a huge array of wildlife here but we wanted to get some specialist expert advice for Vlad," she said.

"We do have a crocodile and kangaroos and wallabies but this is the first time we've nursed a goanna back to health after being injured."

"I really wanted everything to work out for him, he's an old guy, he's still got a lot of years left in him and, you know, they do end up being absolutely enormous.

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"We thought we have to fix him and get him to a safe place to live."

While Vlad was being rehabilitated he lived in a wooden box that has since moved back with him to the forest.

"He got used to sleeping in that box, so I gave him that home in his new environment in the bush," she said.

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