Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)
Stranding Location: Folly Beach, SC
Arrival Date: 8/30/25
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 2.02 kg (4.44 lbs)
Case History
Mistletoe was transported to the Aquarium after being accidentally hooked by a fisherman at the Folly Beach Pier. We thank the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) volunteers that transported this patient to us for help!
Treatment
On arrival Mistletoe was bright, alert and extremely responsive. Mistletoe, while a little underweight, was otherwise in good body condition with some older abrasions present on both her/his carapace and plastron. As with all hooked sea turtle patients that come into our care, our first step is to capture a radiograph to locate the hook. This revealed that Mistletoe had not one, but two fishhooks stuck in her/his oral cavity. We then obtained a small sample of blood to identify if s/he was healthy enough to undergo sedation to remove the fishhooks. Mistletoe’s bloodwork was clear and our team was able to dislodge the smaller of the two hooks fairly easily from the mouth. The second hook was much larger and required a different approach.
We injected lidocaine in the side of the neck before making a small incision where we fed the hook through. Mistletoe was very slow to wake up from the sedation and not strong enough to be placed in a tank of water overnight after this procedure. S/he was placed in a holding bin overnight to rest and recover.
Updates
September 2, 2025: After taking time to rest overnight, Mistletoe was much more active and ready to swim in water. S/he was placed in a tank in Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery™. It took Mistletoe a little bit of time to settle, but s/he quickly adapated and was successfully navigating the tank and taking good breaths in no time! Visit Mistletoe on your next trip to the Aquarium!
September 15, 2025: Mistletoe has made great progress in the last few weeks and has begun eating! At first, Mistletoe was a picky patient and would ignore fish and instead eat only squid and shrimp, but in the last couple of days s/he has started to show interest in salmon and mackerel as well. Come say “Hello!” to Mistletoe on the first floor of the Aquarium!
October 15, 2025: This month Mistletoe finished her/his antibiotics and we performed a physical exam to see how s/he was healing. Physically, Mistletoe looks great, but we’re waiting on bloodwork results to see how s/he is doing internally, too!