Green (Chelonia mydas)

Stranding Location: Hilton Head Island, SC
Arrival Date: 8/7/24
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 5.84 kg (12.9 lbs)

Case History

This juvenile green sea turtle was found washed ashore at Fish Haul Beach Park during Tropical Storm Debby. In honor of and thanks to the Sea Turtle Patrol Hilton Head Island and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources for rescuing and safely transporting this patient to the aquarium during the storm, this turtle was named Debby after the tropical storm that brought her/him ashore.

Treatment

Upon arrival, Debby was active and alert, had a steady heartbeat and was taking strong breaths. This patient was in good body condition and had a mild epibiont load. Radiographs showed that Debby was full of gas and fecal material. Initial in-house blood work showed that Debby was clearly sick, but due to the tropical storm we had to wait a couple of days before we were able to send out blood work and take a CT scan.

Debby was given fluids, vitamins and antibiotics to start feeling better. Based on the patient’s level of activity, we decided to try Debby in water. We were initially concerned about potential buoyancy problems due to the amount of gas in the gut, so we started with a tank about a quarter of the way full. As suspected, Debby was initially caudally (back end) buoyant, but after a few minutes was able to level out in the water column and rest comfortably on the bottom of the tank.

Within a couple of hours, Debby defecated for the first time. These defecations were large pieces of stiff vegetation, with almost no fecal material, and Debby appeared to struggle passing it to some degree. We will continue monitoring these defecations closely for complications, but are hopeful that with improved hydration, Debby will begin digesting properly.

Updates

August 13, 2024: In the days following admit, in addition to the thick vegetation Debby was passing, staff also found foreign objects including a long piece of ribbon. In better news, Debby has begun eating consistently and so we are able to offer vitamins in addition to an oral gastrointestinal antibiotic to help heal the gut as it passes the foreign material.