Doctor performs kidney surgery on egg-eating snake
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mongabay.com
February 22, 2007
In early February Dr. Robert Moore performed microsurgery on an adult African egg-eating snake at the Bronx Zoo’s Animal Health Center in New York.
Snake surgery at the Bronx Zoo. Photos by Julie Larsen Maher, staff photographer for WCS |
Dr. Moore used an operating microscope that magnifies the size of the surgical field.
Physical examination and radiographs showed that one of the snake’s kidneys was abnormal so Dr. Moore surgically removed a portion of the kidney.
An adult African egg-eating snake is about the thickness of an adult’s pinkie finger, and has highly flexible jaws that allows the snake to swallow quail-sized eggs, up to three times the size of its head. It is one of only two groups of snakes known to feed exclusively on eggs.
The African egg-eating snake is a popular pet in the United States, but it cannot be bred in captivity. As such all snakes available in the pet trade are wild caught.
The Bronx Zoo is the flagship of the largest network of metropolitan zoos in the country. It is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), a nonprofit group that works to save wildlife and wild places around the globe.
Snake surgery at the Bronx Zoo. Photos by Julie Larsen Maher, staff photographer for WCS |
Mongabay was given express permission to use quotes, information, and photos from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) for this piece.
