When Bob the St. Augustine gator hears his name, he looks up with wide eyes and waddles over to zookeepers.
However, the 660-pound middle-aged alligator let veterinarians at UF College of Veterinary Medicine know he wasn’t in the best mood Thursday while closing his eyes, exhaling and hissing. Preliminary findings found evidence of osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone.
During his visit to the Gator Nation, the 38-year-old alligator, whose feet and tail hang off the scale, visited the hospital for radiographs to evaluate his right hind leg.
“He looks even bigger than he is, and he’s big,” said Sarah Carey, UF Veterinary Hospital spokesperson. “I mean trust me, he’s huge.”
It’s not the first time an alligator has visited the UF vet hospital but it is believed this is the first time staff has seen an alligator of such massive size, Carey said.
About three weeks ago, zookeepers at St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, where Bob lives, noticed the 12-foot alligator wasn’t using his hind right leg when exiting his pond, said Gen Anderson, a park general curator. Without restraining him, zookeepers tried to move his leg to find out what was wrong.
When the zookeepers noticed Bob’s leg, they prescribed him meloxicam, a pain reliever, Anderson said. Two 15 milligram tablets were tucked into a frozen rat instead of injecting Bob with medicine. UF vets were due to go to the park that same week for his bimonthly checkup. During the visit they recommended that Bob visit UF for radiographs.
Bob became a local sensation, garnering more than 19,000 views on a video posted on Facebook and more than 1,300 likes on the UF College of Veterinary Medicine Twitter page.
“It’s kind of funny that this alligator stuff has gone viral because we do this regularly,” Anderson said. “He was a large, difficult animal to take in, but everything seems to be ending up in a very positive manner.”
While alligators usually pout for a few weeks after a visit to the vet, despite his injury, Bob continues slithering in the swamp with his fellow gators, Anderson said.
Brought in before noon Thursday, Bob was mildly sedated with anesthesia and X-rayed at UF’s large animal hospital, she said. After his three-hour appointment, Bob began his two-hour drive back to his swampy home in the park.
With a team of about 10 park reptile staff, Anderson said Bob was restrained and carried to a passenger van without seats.
After arriving at the hospital, veterinarians rolled him into the back entrance, Carey said. The facility ensured there were no other animals around for their safety.
“We just want everything to be safe for everybody and reduce the stress levels as much as possible for everyone – including the alligators, of course,” Carey said.
When she saw Bob wheeled into the hospital’s hallway, she said she admired the effort, concentration and focus it takes to manage a case like this.
“It made me proud to work there, yet again,” Carey said. “Gators helping gators.”
Asta Hemenway is a third-year senior majoring in Journalism. Born in Tallahassee, she grew up Senegalese American. When she’s not writing or doing school, she loves watching Netflix and Tiktok in her spare time.
