Green (Chelonia mydas)
Stranding Location: Hunting Island, SC
Arrival Date: 11/4/25
Age: Juvenile
Sex: Unknown
Weight: 2.05 kg (4.51 lbs)
Case History
This small juvenile green sea turtle washed ashore on Hunting Island in South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) was notified and sent permitted volunteers out to rescue the turtle. This patient was then safely transported by a team of volunteers to the Aquarium for treatment!
Treatment
Upon arrival, Sweet Pea was taking good breaths, had a strong heart rate and was a little chilly at 66° Fahrenheit. In addition, this little green had several areas on the carapace that were soft and discolored. One area, closest to Sweet Pea’s head, had some exposed tissue that we lightly debrided and cleaned. Radiographs were taken right away and we made a plan to capture a CT scan at a later date for more detailed imaging which will help us better assess the extent of this injury. With cooler water temperatures this time of year, we start to see patients coming in with lower than usual body temperatures. At this temperature, Sweet Pea is not considered a cold-stunned sea turtle, but s/he likely stranded due to the combination of chillier weather and the injury to the carapace. Sweet Pea is receiving fluids, vitamins, antibiotics and pain management medications.
S/he was a little too chilly for water, so we let Sweet Pea rest and warm up gradually in a dry dock bin overnight.
Updates
November 6, 2025: Sweet Pea warmed up enough by the following morning to put her/him in a tank, and it was a successful introduction! Sweet Pea immediately started swimming calmly and exploring the tank. Later that day, this little green even ate! We are excited to see positive progress already. You can come see Sweet Pea in Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery™!
December 12, 2025: Sweet Pea has been doing well! We have been doing regular wound care treatments on the exposed portions of the carapace. Recently, a piece of dead bone from one specific injury fell off and the area beneath it looks healthy! In addition, Sweet Pea continues to eat and take all of the medications well. This little green has finished the course of injectable antibiotics and is now just taking oral supplements in her/his fish diet. We are grateful for this transition from injectable medications to oral ones because Sweet Pea is a splasher and would get us soaking wet every time we had to pull her/him out of the tank!
January 15, 2026: This month, Sweet Pea has made major progress in healing the exposed portions of the carapace and can now receive different types of enrichment! That area remains soft and discolored, but Sweet Pea is on calcium supplementation which will give her/him the boost needed to harden the carapace. Sweet Pea is a star patient and takes these vitamins well! To give Sweet Pea more room to explore, s/he was moved to our deepest tank in Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery™.
February 15, 2026: Sweet Pea continues to be a star patient by eating the calcium vitamins like a champ! Calcium supplementation is extremely important for patient recovery, especially for Sweet Pea because we need her carapace wounds to harden. Sweet Pea has done an excellent job of this so far and currently there is only one small portion of the carapace that is still soft to the touch! While Sweet Pea still needs a bit more time in our care, s/he is heading in the right direction.
March 15, 2026: Sweet Pea continues to get closer to being ready for release! This past month we worked with SCDNR to PIT tag Sweet Pea. While this type of tag does not have the ability to track a sea turtle in real time, it does have an individual number that can be looked up by biologists if that patient ever encounters humans again. We apply these tags to every patient prior to release. Sweet Pea is very healthy and just needs one tiny spot on the carapace to heal before being cleared for release. Sweet Pea will see many calcium vitamins in her/his diet to help harden the carapace as fast as possible!