Angell Animal Medical Center’s Avian and Exotics Medical Team come to the Rescue after “Rosemary” Breaks her Legs
BOSTON, May 25, 2017 – Fortunately Tarantulas have eight legs—more than a couple to spare—and no one is more grateful for the extra appendages than a tarantula named “Rosemary Fern McCrevan” and the students at the STEM Academy in Lowell, Mass. whose resident five-year-old arachnid needed to have two them amputated.
Rosemary was in the middle of a molt—the process all spiders undertake every year to replace their exoskeleton—when her well-meaning keeper unwittingly flipped her from her back to her belly, which caused multiple fractures to two of her legs.
“Tarantulas flip onto their back while molting and it’s essential that they stay there until the process is complete to avoid trauma to their limbs,” said Dr. Anne Staudenmaier of Angell Animal Medical Center’s Avian and Exotics service. “Rosemary was badly injured in the process and likely would have died had she not been treated.”
The Avian and Exotics team confirmed the fractures to Rosemary’s first and third right limbs and—even though the legs ultimately would have grown back—Dr. Staudenmaier opted to perform the surgery to alleviate the pain of the fractures and eliminate any possible future complications.
Surgery at Angell
Dr. Staudenmaier performed the delicate one-hour operation to remove the fractured legs and Rosemary left the hospital to recover in her aquarium at the school on April 28.
Jessica Weintraub, who teaches third grade at the school, is relieved that Rosemary is back home. “I’m thrilled to have her back where she belongs, and thankful that she has pulled through,” said Weintraub. “She’s as near and dear to our students as any other animal and I’m so relieved that she will be okay.”
The sand in Rosemary’s aquarium has been replaced with paper towels until her next molt, to provide more stable footing and to help her recover more quickly.
Dr. Staudenmaier believes Rosemary will do fine as a now-six legged spider. “Animals of every species—spiders included—show remarkable ability to persevere and adjust to changed situations. She is recovering well from the surgery and I believe she’ll live a normal, pain-free life—for perhaps as many as another ten years.”
For more information about Angell Animal Medical Center’s Avian and Exotic service readers may click here.
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