Hudo, a Komodo dragon at the Cincinnati Zoo, is celebrating its 18th birthday on Thursday. “Hudo is the grandson of Naga, one of two Komodo dragons that came to Cincinnati as a gift from President Suharto of Indonesia to US President George HW Bush in 1990,” said the zoo. The Komodo Dragon also gained attention in November when it underwent successful double cataract surgery to restore its eyesight. On November 19, a team of five veterinarians took Hudo to MedVet Cincinnati for double cataract surgery: “We noticed clouding in his left eye and less than two weeks later his right eye went cloudy,” said Ryan Dumas, reptile keeper at the Cincinnati Zoo, in a statement. “He stopped responding to movement and his behavior changed dramatically. It was obvious that he couldn’t see. Officials at the zoo said the 17-year-old Komodo dragon knew its habitat well enough to move without sight, but since Komodo dragons are highly visual animals, his care team agreed that being blind could have a serious impact on his quality of life. Dr. Vanessa Kuonen Cavens, an ophthalmologist with MedVet, later confirmed that the cloudy blockages in Hudo’s eyes were cataracts and that corrective surgery was possible. Zoo officials said it was clear that the risk of the procedure was worth the desired outcome: “I love restoring and preserving the gift of vision for all of my patients and I looked forward to working with the Cincinnati Zoo, to share my expertise and passion, “Cavens said in a statement. “Hudo is the most unique animal I’ve had cataract surgery on. We had a great team from the Cincinnati Zoo consisting of zookeepers, Dr. Greg Levens and his veterinary team as well as our anesthesia team from Ashley Wiese, DVM, MS, DACVAA and Abby Blubaugh. Because of our collaboration, Hudo can see again! ”
CINCINNATI –
Hudo, a Komodo dragon at the Cincinnati Zoo, is celebrating its 18th birthday on Thursday.
“Hudo is the grandson of Naga, one of two Komodo dragons who came to Cincinnati in 1990 as a gift from President Suharto of Indonesia to US President George HW Bush,” said the zoo.
The Komodo Dragon also gained attention in November when it underwent successful double cataract surgery to restore its eyesight.
On November 19, a team of five vets and vets brought Hudo to MedVet Cincinnati for double cataract surgery.
“We noticed a clouding in his left eye and less than two weeks later his right eye also became cloudy,” said Ryan Dumas, reptile keeper at the Cincinnati Zoo, in a statement. “He stopped responding to movement and his behavior changed dramatically. It was obvious that he couldn’t see. “
Zoo officials said the 17-year-old Komodo dragon knew its habitat well enough to move without sight. However, because Komodo dragons are highly visual animals, his care team agreed that blindness would have a serious impact on his quality of life.
Dr. Vanessa Kuonen Cavens, an ophthalmologist with MedVet, later confirmed that the cloudy blockages in Hudo’s eyes were cataracts and that corrective surgery was possible. Zoo officials said it was clear the risk of the procedure was worth the desired outcome.
“I love restoring and maintaining the gift of sight to all of my patients and I looked forward to working with the Cincinnati Zoo to share my expertise and passion,” Cavens said in a statement. “Hudo is the most unique animal I’ve had cataract surgery on. We had a great team from the Cincinnati Zoo consisting of zookeepers, Dr. Greg Levens and his veterinary team as well as our anesthesia team from Ashley Wiese, DVM, MS, DACVAA and Abby Blubaugh. Because of our collaboration, Hudo can see again! “
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