Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)
Stranding Location: Murrells Inlet, SC
Arrival Date: 4/3/25
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 7.36 kg (16.23 lbs)
Case History
Geranium was admitted after being caught on hook and line at Huntington Beach State Park. Our thanks to everyone involved in the rescue and transport of this sea turtle to the Aquarium.
Treatment
Upon admit, Geranium was in good body condition and otherwise healthy besides having swallowed a fish hook. After a physical exam, we took radiographs to determine where the hook was located, how large the hook was and if there were multiple hooks. In this case, Geranium had only swallowed one fish hook, but it was extremely large and in a precarious spot. The hook was sitting so low in the esophagus that it was close to important organs such as the heart, lungs and stomach. We then took a blood sample and administered antibiotics, vitamins, fluids and pain medication. Based on Geranium’s bloodwork and behavior, we chose to let Geranium calm down overnight in a shallow tank of water before surgically removing the hook the following morning.
Updates
April 8, 2025: The next morning, we sedated Geranium and made an initial attempt to remove the hook orally. This was unsuccessful, so we prepared Geranium for surgery by intubating and placing her/him on anesthetic gas. We made an incision on the lower neck near the plastron (lower shell), and were able to get ahold of the shank (long straight part) of the hook. Once we found the shank, we had to very slowly and carefully remove the barb from the tissue it was embedded in. Luckily, we were able to successfully remove this hook! It was one of the largest hooks — and in one of the trickiest spots — that we’ve ever experienced!
May 15, 2025: Geranium has been an interesting turtle to care for. Some patients behave a little outside of the “norm” and require more specific care. In Geranium’s case, this means we have to leave her/him completely undisturbed, otherwise s/he will stop eating! We quickly learned that we cannot scrub or net this patient’s tank in the morning before offering food, and when we feed, we leave the tank running (which is the opposite of our normal process). With this individualized care plan, Geranium is eating great and is behaving much more relaxed and comfortable. Geranium was tagged recently and had the sutures removed from her/his neck! Geranium needs a bit more time to heal from surgery and you can visit her/him on the first floor of the Aquarium.
June 15, 2025: Geranium continues to be an interesting patient to care for! We have continued to cater to Geranium’s preference for eating with the tank running and not having the tank scrubbed or netted out before feeding. This routine has been working well and we have seen Geranium’s weight start to trend upwards over the last couple of weeks! We’ve continued to monitor Geranium’s incision site regularly, and at the last recheck it was fully healed! This puts Geranium one step closer to release!