MANGALURU: A team of veterinarians led by Dr Yashaswi Naravi from Little Paws here successfully conducted surgery on a spectacled cobra (Naja naja), also known as Indian cobra, and removed a small plastic box that it had swallowed unwittinglly.
Dr Yashaswi told TOI: "Snake rescuer Snake Kiran from Bantwal who spotted it in a burrow and suspected that it was injured because it had not moved from the spot for two days. The cobra, aged about 10, was trapped in a burrow. Once rescued, Kiran suspected that since the cobra had two large wounds on its body, the snake would require cleaning and suturing. So he brought the snake to our clinic."
"On examination, we found an unusually big solid mass in the caudal part. Radiograph confirmed that it was an intestinal foreign body. Preparations were made for the surgery and the cobra was sedated, intubated and the surgery was performed on June 4 under anaesthesia to remove the foreign body," she said.
"We were surprised to find a plastic box (that is used to keep lime stone powder, especially among those who chew betel leaves). A few eggshells were also found. The cobra may have swallowed the box, which was kept along with the eggs from a human settlement and later felt uneasy and stayed in the burrow. Post-surgery, the cobra was under post-operative care for 15 days. During this period, it was on fluids and daily dressing was undertaken," Dr Yashaswi said.
"Fortunately, the snake was rescued on time. It was released back to the same place from where it was rescued," she added.
The team included Dr Keerthana Joshi, Dr Nafisa Kousar, Dr Anirudh and Dr Meghana Pemmaiah.
"There have been several instances of plastic causing harm to domestic and marine animals. Plastic ingestion can block the digestive tracts or pierce the internal organs of wildlife. Eating plastics can also choke and starve animals," Dr Yashaswi observed.
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