Nurse shark pup: A rescue animal

[Reefbuff01]

I still think we should do surgery to get that hook out. I honestly don't think he's going to start eating on his own until it gets removed, and I would love to see that little guy end up on display!

Thanks for the van pic too

[Zoodiver]

Well look who showed up finally!

[Reefbuff01]

Sorry, haven't been on MFK in a while.

I think I should also get credit for the identification of the shark leech.

[Jabba954]

How invasive is the surgery to retrieve the hook? How deep is it?

[Zoodiver]

It's imbedded in the stomach wall (from what we can tell). We scoped it on Tues.

Surgery is simple. Because we know the location, it's a quick cut to get inside, locate the hook through the stomach wall, cut and extract. Disolving stitches inside, and tougher on the dermal layer. The hard part becomes getting the shark food afterwards because tube feeding can catch and tear the stomach. But we're pretty good with tubing sharks at this point.

[meghanashley]

That is really awesome (the rescue bit) I can't believe how chill he seemed being carried around, is that because he's just so worn out or has become used to being handled?

[Zoodiver]

He's a fighter, don't let the video fool ya! He was a bit narced from the ride over.

[meghanashley]

oh, that makes sense, and good to hear he sounds like he needs to be a fighter to pull through all of this. I showed this video to my 6 year old last night and he has now added shark rescuer to his lists of occupations when he grows up.

[kdrun76]

I tubed a sand tiger with out narcs a few times, that required several sets of strong hands on the gurney and a real taste for adventure. I bawled like a baby when it had to be euthanized, I had so much energy invested in that darn fish.

Do you have access to a human gastroenterologist? They may have the equipment and skill to get that hook out using an endoscope. I had good luck doing that with a gray seal once.

[Reefbuff01]

It was scoped a few days ago. Blood was seen in the stomach. The hook is most likely through the stomach wall making it very risky to get out with an endoscope without tearing it. As Zoodiver said, surgery would be the best way to go.