Green (Chelonia mydas)

Stranding Location: Wadmalaw, SC
Arrival Date: 12/9/24
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 5.73 kg (12.6 lbs)

Case History

About a week ago a couple started noticing what they thought was a sea turtle in their pond. You read that right, a sea turtle in a pond! This is definitely not the place you would expect to find a sea turtle. Once they were sure their eyes weren’t playing tricks on them, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) was contacted and someone went out to investigate! Sure enough, it was a juvenile green sea turtle! There was saltmarsh habitat surrounding the pond with one small pathway into the pond that this sea turtle must have used and wasn’t able to get back out. SCDNR transported the little green to the Aquarium!

Treatment

Once this juvenile green sea turtle made it to the Aquarium, we jumped into action. We were surprised with how active this patient since s/he was a very chilly 58 degrees Fahrenheit! Sea turtles cannot process medication as efficiently when their bodies are below 65 degrees Fahrenheit, so our first goal was to warm this patient up slowly. We were able to do a physical exam, CT scan and run a blood glucose test. Our exam revealed ulcers on both eyes, an abnormal glucose value and pneumonia. We also identified small, raised pink patches on the skin in the inguinal (hip) region. These patches are potentially fibropapillomatosis, a highly contagious skin disease prevalent in green sea turtles. Until we can confirm what these patches are, we enacted strict quarantine protocols for this patient to prevent the spread of this disease to others.

Updates

December 11, 2024: We’ve spent the last couple of days warming Eggs up to a more normal temperature. Once we hit that goal, Eggs was started on all necessary medications. Eggs is now in a half of a tank of water and is doing well! In the next couple of days, we’ll start offering food. Wish Eggs the best of luck!

January 15, 2025: Eggs has been doing fairly well here at the Aquarium! We’ve seen positive improvements, such as having a great appetite, defecating frequently and taking vitamins like a champ! We have also seen some improvements in the pink skin lesions, but also some regression in other areas. Because of this, we are treating Eggs as if s/he has fibropapillomatosis, and are continuing our quarantine protocols. Thankfully, we have not seen a change in strength or demeanor.