Featured Image Credit: Manu San Félix National Geographic
By Alice Morris
Taking a trip to the vet is complicated when you’re an eel!
Lucky for Lady the honeycomb moray eel, she has plenty of people to make the procedure as smooth as possible.
Lady had been suffering from a decreased appetite recently, so her caretakers brought her into the doctor to find out what the problem might be.
Transporting a full-grown moray eel is no simple task though. Lady had to be sedated and then transported on a stretcher to a special tank for her examination.
Dr. Brett Gardner, a Gauteng vet who previously worked at the Johannesburg Zoo, conducted an ultrasound, endoscopy, blood tests, and a series of x-rays.
For the duration of the examination, Lady was placed in a Fish Anesthetic Re-breathing System (FARS), a unique tank that continuously pumps water over the gills.
Dr. Gardner first took x-rays of Lady’s head to check for any abnormalities or growths around the esophagus, but everything appeared normal.
Lady’s gills appeared to be a bit pale upon examination, perhaps due to mild anemia caused by parasites.
Finally, Dr. Gardner also did a blood test on Lady, a difficult task due to her tough, eel skin.
Apart from a few loose teeth, Lady’s results didn’t raise any serious concerns. Dr. Gardner gave her Vitamin B and C injections, as well as a prophylactic treatment in case of parasites and then sent her on her way!
The team worked quickly and efficiently so that Lady could be returned to her home at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa as soon as possible.
Honeycomb moray eels are widespread throughout the Indo-West Pacific. They live on the outer slopes of coral reefs where they hide away during the day and slither off to hunt small fish and cephalopods at night.
Lady first arrived at the Two Oceans Aquarium in 1999 as part of a temporary exhibit called Fangs.
Here’s hoping Lady feels better in no time!