A stepmum accused of forcing her husband’s 11-year-old son to eat a dead gecko has been seized by police in Brazil after he was rushed to hospital in agony.

The boy, from the city of Formosa, located in Central Brazil, had been staying with his dad and new wife on a custody visit away from his mother.

But when his father had left for work, reports local media, his stepmum and her mother killed and gave him the reptile to eat on Sunday, 5th November.

The truth only emerged when the boy told his horrified grandmother he was feeling ill when he was back home.

She told local media: “They told my son that they used to eat geckos in the past and that nothing serious could happen.

“So they killed and they forced him to eat it. This happened on Sunday, 5th November.”

Outraged, the mum continued: “The next day, my boy started to feel very sick. That’s when he told his grandmother what had happened.

“He asked if she had ever eaten a lizard and if eating one made her feel sick.”

The boy’s father confirmed the bizarre incident, and claimed he had left the boy in the care of his partner and her mother.

His mother rushed her son to the hospital on Saturday, 11th November after days of “constant vomiting”.

Medics diagnosed him with a severe intestinal infection and he was hospitalised in a serious condition.

A negligence report against the stepmum and her mother was filed at the 2nd Formosa Police Station following the incident.

If found guilty the pair face up to one year in prison for exposing the child’s life to imminent danger.