A reticulated python at Chester Zoo, named Jodie Foster, has fully recovered following cancer treatment normally used in humans. The 4m (15ft) snake received electrochemotherapy after a cancerous tumour was found in its jawbone.
The veterinary team at Chester Zoo, in collaboration with specialists from the University of Liverpool, adapted the treatment for the reptile. This is believed to be the first time such a procedure has been used on a snake.
Zoo keepers became concerned when the snake's eating habits changed and it became less active. Tests confirmed a malignant tumour, a fibrosarcoma, in its jaw. Although the tumour was initially removed, it later reappeared.
Ian Ashpole, veterinary officer at Chester Zoo, stated that further surgery alone was unlikely to be sufficient when the tumour returned. The electrochemotherapy was administered to target any remaining cancerous cells after the tumour and part of the jawbone were surgically removed.