Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)

Stranding Location: Myrtle Beach, SC
Arrival Date: 4/22/2025
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 6.98 kg (15.35 lbs)

Case History

This juvenile Kemp’s ridley was accidentally hooked by a fisherman at the Myrtle Beach State Park Pier. South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) were notified and a permitted volunteer was deployed to transport the animal safely to the Aquarium for treatment.

Treatment

Upon arrival Ranunculus was rather feisty! This is always a good sign with new patients because normally this means the animal has a strong heart rate and good respiration rate. Another positive was that the fisherman taped the exposed line to the patient’s carapace! This is incredibly helpful for us because it provides us with a direct pathway to where the hook is located. We lightly sedated Ranunculus for a hook removal attempt shortly after arrival. Unfortunately, this was unsuccessful as the hook was too deep for us to access through the oral cavity. We decided that our best course of action was to allow Ranunculus to rest and make another attempt the following day when s/he was more relaxed. After all treatments were completed, we placed Ranunculus in a tank of water for overnight.

Updates

April 26, 2025: The following morning, we took another look at Ranunculus to evaluate the location of the hook. The radiograph showed that the hook had not moved overnight which indicated it might be embedded in the esophagus. We prepped Ranunculus for surgery and in just a couple of hours we had successfully removed the hook! Ranunculus was slow to recover from surgery so s/he rested in a wet dock overnight. By the next morning s/he was awake and ready to be placed back into her/his tank! To give Ranunculus’ throat time to heal, we did not offer food items for a couple of days but kept her/him hydrated and stable with fluid and vitamin injections.