A one-and-a-half-year-old olive keelback snake that had suffered barbed hook in its throat was operated upon. It was on the path to recovery, said Animal Husbandry Department veterinarian K. Asokan.
The snake, commonly found in water bodies, had taken in the hook while trying to prey on an earthworm that was pinned to be used as bait in fishing.
While it was able to digest the worm, it could not get rid of the hook, which had damaged its trachea.
Environmentalists had rescued the snake from a garbage mound where residents near the Ukkadam Big Tank had spotted it. They immediately took it to Mr. Asokan, who administered oral sedatives to operate and remove the hook.
At the time of operation, the sub-adult snake had had the hook for close to a week.
The operation lasted 15 minutes.
It was recovering well and being administered with oral antibiotics mixed in egg yolk. In next few days it would be released in a tank.
