Green (Chelonia mydas)

Stranding Location: Mount Pleasant, SC

Arrival Date: 07/24/2018

Age: Juvenile

Weight: 2.83 kg (6.2 pounds)

Case History

On Tuesday afternoon, this juvenile green sea turtle was caught on hook-and-line at the Pitt Street Bridge in Mount Pleasant. Thankfully, Thomas Hodgin was in the vicinity and sprung to action! He knew the best thing to do was to contact South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR), and seek assistance vs. cutting the line and letting the turtle go. He brought the turtle into the shade and waited for SCDNR volunteer transporters Mary Pringle and Barb Gobien to arrive. Sea Turtle Care Center (STCC) staff met them outside and brought Nagini to the medical facility for the vet staff to check her out.

Please see official instructions for sea turtle hook removal from SCDNR.

Treatment

Nagini looked to be in great body condition. She didn’t have any barnacles growing on her shell, and her weight was healthy for a turtle her size. Staff immediately took an x-ray to see where the hook was located. Thankfully, the hook didn’t travel far and was able to be removed without surgery. Nagini was lightly sedated and after only 15 minutes the hook was removed. Staff was surprised to see that, not only did this little turtle have a hook stuck in her throat, but a fish, too! Nagini was placed on a routine course of antibiotics to ward off any opportunistic infection. Staff waited for her to fully wake up before moving her to a new, temporary home.

Updates

July 28, 2018: Nagini has been doing great! The second she moved to a tank she became very active. The day after her arrival, staff offered some food. She wasn’t interested quite yet, but she was pooping so much! Fecal gives us good insight into what the turtle was eating prior to coming in and a chance to look for any plastic debris or parasites. Nagini made sure to give us a nice big sample to look through. A couple of days later she began eating fish and slowly started to eat her veggies. She stays fairly active in her tank and enjoys her new home.

August 15, 2018: Nagini is in a full tank in the basement and is definitely a favorite among staff and volunteers. She loves to eat her veggies and fish and has been started on vitamins. Nagini still has a couple more antibiotic injections to go, but overall she is doing wonderfully!

September 1, 2018: Nagini is doing great! She recently finished up her antibiotics, and she is still eating well. She loves eating her vegetables and sleeping on the bottom of the tank in her sea grass enrichment.

Release Date

September 21, 2018

Release Location

Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge