(Photo courtesy of the National Zoo)

Seems Bei Bei ate too much, too.

The one-year-old panda cub underwent an emergency bowel obstruction surgery this morning to remove a “dense, masticated lemon-sized mass of bamboo” from his small intestine. He is awake and recovering well, the National Zoo said this afternoon.

“Bei Bei’s prognosis is very good,” zoo director Dennis Kelly said in a statement. “The challenge will be for our team to monitor him safely and that requires his cooperation. We will keep everyone up to speed as he recovers.”

Zookeepers notices that Bei Bei was nauseated, sleeping more than normal, and not eating yesterday. They gave the cub anti-nausea medication and continued to observe him before deciding to take him to the vet hospital this morning. An ultrasound showed a blockage and the team realized that it needed to be removed. A volunteer veterinary surgeon performed the “life-saving surgery” to remove the mass of bamboo, the zoo said.

Bei Bei is back in his enclosure and will be given water before transitioning back to soft foods, like sweet potatoes, pears, and ground up leaf-eater biscuits. When zookeepers reintroduce bamboo to his diet, they will finely cut the leaves.

Known to enjoy a good hose down and sleeping through major events, Bei Bei is the youngest of the Zoo’s panda cubs. His three year-old sister, Bao Bao, is preparing to go back to China in accordance with the agreement with the China Wildlife Conservation Association.

Bao Bao, Mei Xiang, and Tian Tian will still be on view in their outdoor yards, but the panda house is temporarily closed as Bei Bei recovers. He’ll also be housed apart from Mei Xiang and kept off the panda cams in the coming days.