Though the Aquarium is currently closed to the public, our animal care continues behind the scenes. We’re virtually turning our walls into windows and bringing you along to shadow our staff, and hopefully teaching you a little thing or two along the way!
We want to introduce you to Dr. Shane, our senior veterinarian at the Aquarium! Dr. Shane cares for all the animals at the Aquarium, but today we’re going to focus on a couple of animals he’s checked up on recently!
Let’s start with a little science lesson and learn about two of the species he works with:
Spotted Turtle
- Grows to a carapace (upper shell) length of less than 5 inches
- At maturity, females have orange eyes
- Can live up to 25 years in the wild
- Can have up to 100 yellow spots on its carapace
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
- The most critically endangered of all sea turtles
- Weigh up to 100 pounds at maturity
- As hatchlings, are dark in color, nearly purple or black
- Like to feed on crabs, other shellfish and jellyfish
Dr. Shane examines the x-ray of a spotted turtle.
It takes a team to check up on our larger patients!
Dr. Shane makes sure there are no concerns visible on this spotted turtle.
Dr. Shane examines Nobi to see how he's healing.
You have to snap x-rays quickly before the patient walks away!
Dr. Shane also performs surgery on our patients that need it.In these trying times, we’re lucky to have staff, like Dr. Shane, that are so dedicated to ensuring our animals still receive top-notch care. Please consider donating to our Emergency Relief Fund to help us continue caring for our 5,000+ animals that call the Aquarium home.