{"id":363628,"date":"2026-08-05T18:40:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/363628\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T18:40:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T18:40:11","slug":"zootampa-animals-find-relief-through-acupuncture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/363628\/","title":{"rendered":"ZooTampa animals find relief through acupuncture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ZooTampa animals find relief through acupuncture<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0ef9e7e2-0673-4d77-92c5-22a1e3663de5_1697751930.file.png\" width=\"48\" height=\"48\" alt=\"Allison Petro\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>TAMPA, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"0\">ZooTampa at Lowry Park is now incorporating veterinary acupuncture into treatment plans for animals with complex medical conditions. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"1\">The effort is led by staff veterinarian Dr. Alex Mason, who is certified in veterinary acupuncture. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"2\">While the practice is well known in human and pet medicine, ZooTampa is applying it to a wide range of wildlife species as a complementary therapy alongside traditional veterinary care.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"3\">One of the zoo&#8217;s standout success stories is Earl Grey, a 14-year-old black-bellied whistling duck that suddenly developed weakness in his right leg. <\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bedb0a4f-8dce-49fd-9622-cc41e2fd9dcf.jpg\" alt=\"Image no longer available\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" draggable=\"true\" class=\"css-fphibt\"\/><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/bedb0a4f-8dce-49fd-9622-cc41e2fd9dcf.jpg\" alt=\"Image no longer available\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-hr9vxw\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"5\">After three electroacupuncture treatments combined with fluids, vitamins and pain management, veterinarians observed improvements in his strength, coordination and ability to walk.<\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"6\">A roseate spoonbill chick recovering from a leg injury also regained normal limb function after receiving electroacupuncture in addition to medication and physical therapy. <\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"7\">The zoo is also treating Sloth, a rescued manatee with chronic nerve damage that affects one side of his face.<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1094c6e8-faa3-443e-a4c3-d04ae5561253.png\" alt=\"Image no longer available\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" draggable=\"true\" class=\"css-fphibt\"\/><img src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1094c6e8-faa3-443e-a4c3-d04ae5561253.png\" alt=\"Image no longer available\" width=\"100%\" height=\"auto\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"css-hr9vxw\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-node-id=\"9\">&#8220;At ZooTampa, each animal receives individualized care, and acupuncture gives us another way to support patients when traditional treatment options may be limited,&#8221; Mason said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ZooTampa animals find relief through acupuncture TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 ZooTampa at Lowry Park is now incorporating veterinary acupuncture&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":363629,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[89135,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-363628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-fields","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363628","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=363628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/363629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=363628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=363628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=363628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}