Clay Davenport
Cerebral Nomad
SAN FRANCISCO A desert tortoise at the San Francisco Zoo is moving a little more quickly after getting four bladder stones removed from his underbelly.
The 40-year-old tortoise named Cactus came back to public display this week after having surgery. Veterinarians cut into his shell, removed the bladder stones and resealed the incision using fiberglass. They say he's recuperating nicely, but the wound will take two years to heal.
One of the stones was as big as a baseball, which zoo officials say could have threatened Cactus' life.
Joe Fitting, who directs the zoo's Animal Resource Center, says bladder stones are common in captive and wild tortoises because they don't urinate often so they can retain water.
The desert tortoise is the state reptile of California.
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The 40-year-old tortoise named Cactus came back to public display this week after having surgery. Veterinarians cut into his shell, removed the bladder stones and resealed the incision using fiberglass. They say he's recuperating nicely, but the wound will take two years to heal.
One of the stones was as big as a baseball, which zoo officials say could have threatened Cactus' life.
Joe Fitting, who directs the zoo's Animal Resource Center, says bladder stones are common in captive and wild tortoises because they don't urinate often so they can retain water.
The desert tortoise is the state reptile of California.
Link to story