AnimalScan - Advanced Veterinary Imaging

Larry the alligator didn't seem too thrilled with being plucked today from the Lehigh Valley Zoo to be taken for an MRI.

Larry arrived at AnimalScan in Wilson Borough with a band of duct tape wrapped around his snout and emitting some annoyed breathing that sounded more like hissing.

But prolonged medical troubles have afflicted the 40-pound gator and the visit was for his own good.

Since the Lehigh Valley Zoo acquired Larry about two years ago, veterinarians have been trying to identify the lesion on his spine, said Dr. Steven Marks, a veterinarian who consults for the zoo. The lesion hasn't responded to antibiotic treatment and X-rays have been inconclusive, Marks said.

Experts who reviewed the MRI concluded the lesion was a case of scoliosis, a curving of the spine, according to a report from AnimalScan.

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