Overview
- Zoo veterinarians removed a recurring fibrosarcoma and then applied electrochemotherapy—bleomycin plus controlled electrical pulses—to target remaining cancerous cells in a 15-foot reticulated python.
- The operation required bespoke logistics for a large reptile, including anaesthesia in the animal’s habitat, two operating tables joined to create space, and active warming during the 90-minute procedure.
- Chester Zoo reports the 23-year-old snake has regained normal appetite and behaviour and that a recent veterinary check found no signs of the cancer returning.
- Electrochemotherapy works by using electrical pulses to make cancer cell membranes briefly more permeable so the chemotherapy drug bleomycin can enter cells more effectively, which can allow lower drug doses to be used.
- The treating team says this may be the first use of electrochemotherapy in a snake and intends to publish full procedural details so other veterinary teams can evaluate and, if appropriate, adopt the approach.