Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)

Stranding Location: Huntington Beach State Park, Murrels 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!