Emma!

Congratulations to the first Green sea turtle winner of our 3^rd annual contest!

Each year, the Georgia Sea Turtle Center shell-e-brates its anniversary with a Patient of the Year contest. For a $1 donation, guests can vote on their favorite sea turtle patient that best represents our mission of Research, Rehabilitation and Education.

Emma is no stranger to the GSTC. In 2009, Emma was found floating in the river near Fernandina, FL. Thanks to Jason, an employee of the Fernadina Port Authority, Emma was safely delivered to the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch for transport to the GSTC. Emma (short for emerald) has a very severe boat strike injury to his/her carapace. The fracture runs about 2/3 of the way down his/her carapace, paralleling her spine. The lung is actually visible from the wound. As part of our rehabilitation efforts, treating her with a sterile honey coated bandage called Medi-honey (often used in human burn victims) and Vacuum Assisted Wound Care (VAC) has expedited Emma’s recovery.  She is most likely the most severely wounded sea turtle that we have treated to date. Boat strike injuries are found in over 20% of the stranded sea turtles that are seen on the Georgia coast and are a huge issue worldwide. Emma is a remarkable survivor and has served as an ambassador for all boat strike-injured turtles. By educating the public on responsible boating and water recreation, Emma’s story has opened the eyes of many guests to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Perhaps that’s why she received 29 votes!

Tying for second place with 25 votes each were Caretta Hope and Amy! Both Loggerhead sea turtle patients have been long-time favorites over the past year.

Caretta Hope was found in the Matanzas River in St. Johns County, Florida on June 11, 2009. Named Caretta Hope by our first sea turtle campers of the summer, the turtle was missing both rear flippers! Her injuries had already healed upon arrival. However, the red blood cells present in her body were extremely low. She was treated with Procrit, a medication used in human cancer patients to stimulate cell growth and she fully recovered. Caretta Hope was released with a satellite transmitter on July 14, 2010 and is now swimming happily where every sea turtle should be!

You may have met Amy on one of your visits to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.  As the smallest sea turtle patient, Amy resides in a special tank just inside our exhibit gallery. Amy was found by 2008 turtle patrollers that excavated a hatched nest right here on Jekyll Island. As they put her on the sand to make her triumphant crawl to the ocean, patrollers noticed that she was unable to move her front flippers. Tucked underneath her body, they were completely paralyzed. 2 full years of physical therapy have resulted in 60% mobility in Amy’s front flippers! Although she’s not able to swim as well as other sea turtle patients, she’s well on her way to a full recovery. Her petite size and have won over the hearts of many GSTC guests.

Come by to visit Amy and Emma and pass along your get-well wishes. Follow Caretta Hope and her ocean travels by visiting http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=262

~ Kelly Price, Education Specialist

To Those Wondering:

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center has seen some interesting patients in its three years of existence.  We’re constantly treating cases such as boat strikes, shark bites, cold stunning, gastrointestinal issues, vision impairment, debilitated turtle syndrome, ingestion or entanglement of marine debris, ingestion of or entanglement in fishing gear, as well as the various “mystery turtles” that demand out-of-the-box thinking and much research on the part of our staff.

As of June 29th, 2010, we have ten patients in the hospital who arrived floating.  Of course, each turtle is unique in some way: species, symptoms, and so on.  We have to use our observational skills along with the scientific method to determine what we can do to help every animal in our care.  Diagnosis begins with an overall exam, cleaning off of any epibionts (animals living on the turtle), a blood draw and analysis, and x-rays.  The vet and rehab staff will compile a list of all symptoms a patient has.  Then, they will begin to treat those symptoms.  They are also required to piece together a story for the education staff, who need to know what happened in order to inform guests.

Some cases are obvious: a boat strike looks like a clean slicing wound, or a series of parallel prop wounds (equidistance from one another).

Some cases are not so apparent: a turtle who is floating who has no air its body cavity or gas in its GI tract.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s current patients (as of June 28th, 2010) who arrived floating are Griffin, Al, Ghus, Bubbles, Erika, Carning, Caton, Ed, Frye, and Thalassia.  Yes, these ten sea turtles were stuck at the water’s surface, but that does not mean “floating” has one specific cause.  It’s really an observational diagnosis; there can be multiple maladies that lead to floating.

Here are some examples:

Griffin has suffered a brain injury similar to a human stroke.  He may not remember how to dive on a regular basis.  He regularly gets “dressed up for dinner” (technically breakfast) by wearing a neoprene suit on his carapace.  We weight the suit and draw his towards the bottom of his tank by use of food prompts.  He responds well to this physical therapy program.

Al was named for the algae on his shell and for his favorite food (algae).  Al was floating from gas build-up in his intestines.  We gave him Regulin and Cisapride, drugs for gut motility.  Honestly, working with turtles can be a real gas.

Ghus (short for “esophagus”) ate plenty of mono-filament (recyclable) fishing line that was partially passing through the gastrointestinal tract.  We removed the line during a day-long surgical procedure.  That has nothing to do with his or her floating condition.  It turns out that Ghus has a lung tear.

Bubbles had a fracture on the bottom shell (plastron) and was found because concerned citizens knew that a floating sea turtle is not healthy.

Erika has air trapped between tissue layers.  We’ve aspirated air from her body cavity many times, and the air keeps replacing itself!  We still do not understand why the air is trapped in such a way or why it continually comes back.  We are currently trying to determine possible infectious causes of her illness.

Carning had air trapped in its body cavity, around the vital organs.  We aspirated air, and that seemed to help.  Carning is now one of our more active turtles.

Caton. Oh, dear.  She’s an odd one.  She arrived with intestinal blockage (impaction) that was causing gas build-up in her gastrointestinal tract.  We gave her a drug called Cisapride, which was for gut motility.  In an extremely abbreviated story: she defecated and dove.  However, there is no short story in a hospital setting.  Caton is our first turtle to refuse release…twice!  We even removed her satellite tracking device.  So disappointing.  Maybe, she’ll “scute outta here” the next time we try to release her.

Ed is a female.  We performed laparoscopic surgery to find out why this juvenile green sea turtle was stuck at the water’s surface.  We found a hematoma (bruising between layers of tissue) causing the lung to curl, which may or may not have been why Ed was floating. Ed began diving on her own relatively soon after surgery.

Frye wears “goggles” and needs glasses.  Okay, “goggles” is a metaphor for the nictitating membrane that protects Frye’s eyes from salt sting.  The second statement refers to Frye’s vision impairment.  Frye spends the majority of his or her time at the top of the water, bobbing like a buoy.  We are trying to find a permanent captive home for our Soleil Moon Frye.

Thalassia eats where she lives and lives where she eats.  She was aptly named for her home and food: a type of sea grass.  Thalassia has what looks like old boat strike wounds that had healed in the wild.  The propeller injury may have interrupted the gastrointestinal tract, causing leafy blockage and gas build-up.  It also could be the reason Thalassia has trouble using her rear flippers to steer.

The Georgia Sea Turtle Center staff have treated other floater patients with torn lungs.  If we calculate that in, then floating can be caused by a lung tear, a brain injury, gastrointestinal issues, or air trapped in the body for some other reason besides a lung tear.

Questions commonly asked of our Education staff include:

1. Do sea turtles eat something in the wild to remedy their gas? (Great question!  We ourselves do not know.  Sounds likes a great research topic.)
2. Is gas common? (We don’t know.  We see only a small percentage of the entire sea turtle population.)
3. Are stroke-like events due to age? (Probably not.)
4. How do they get air in their bodies? (Sometimes a blunt force trauma like the hull of a boat or getting struck by another turtle can jostle the innards enough to subsequently pull a muscle away from the lung.  Other times, we simply don’t have an immediate answer.)
5. WHY IS FLOATING BAD FOR SEA TURTLES? They can not dive for food, nor can they avoid predators.  Other potential issues include: greater risk of boat strikes, or marine debris entanglement.

If you happen to see a sea turtle floating in the ocean, call 1-800-2-SAVE-ME (if you live in Georgia).  To find other states’ sea turtle stranding networks, follow this link to the seaturtle.org stranding network locator.

Thank your for taking the time to read this BLOG and for doing your part to help these beautiful endangered species.

Honestly,

Amanda Noble

Education Member

Hello Turtle Enthusiasts!

Here at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, we think learning is important for kids of all ages.  One way we boost the visitors’ experience is by use of crafts.  Therefore, we established a program known as Turtle Tales. On Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m., we read a children’s book (about turtles) and create a related craft.  Then, they can take their craft home with them as a means of remembering one concept or fact they learned while here.

Let me give you an example.  The month of February included  Valentine’s Day.  Our craft was so popular, I couldn’t keep up with the demand. Supplies ran out, and I looked for a quick replacement.  Luckily, we had created a get well card as a kind gesture to give sick or injured staff and volunteers.

However, we are a sea turtle hospital.  I felt it was appropriate for patrons to make cards for our turtle patients.  Again, guests could bring these cards home as a way of remembering their favorite patients.  Many people left their cards on our wall, which created a heartfelt display honoring and highlighting some of our patients. These were some of my favorites!

Thank you for sharing!

Amanda Noble

AmeriCorps Education Member

This January there was a large cold stunning event in Florida during which approximately 5,000 turtles were stranded. Some of those turtles came here to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

(Photo courtesy of Florida Fish & Wildlife)

Among them were Fria, Titimela, and Boreous. All three were green sea turtles and their names mean ‘cold’ in foreign languages. Fria and Titimela were juveniles from Indian River Lagoon, FL and Boreous was a sub-adult from Eddy Creek,FL.

On an absolutely beautiful March 24^th day, part of the GSTC staff and AmeriCorps Members made the four hour drive down to Mosquito Lagoon on the Cape Canaveral National Seashore in Florida to release these three. The turtles were placed in foam-padded tubs and transported in the back of GSTC van.

Boreous on his way to the water.

Boreous, the first to go, was placed on the sand a few feet from the shore. He immediately made his way to the water and swam off.

Titimela taking a breath.

Titimela and Fria were placed in the water. Fria took off right away, while Titimela swam a few small circles before venturing off into deeper water. The team watched from the edge of the water, as the turtles each came up to breathe, until they were all out of sight.

Jessica carrying Fria to the water.

The day was complete and all three turtles had made it to the sea. It was an amazing event filled with lots of pictures and smiles. Although it was bittersweet to see them go, we know they are better off swimming in the open ocean where they are free to roam the waters. We wish them all the best in their travels.

(From L to R) Rachel, Steven, Jessica, Elissa, Chrissy, Renee, Lisa, Christina, Joseph

Keep checking back on our website and BLOG for information on upcoming releases!

Sincerely,

The GSTC Staff

EMMA’S DILEMMA

The ocean is the home to a little turtle I know.

I must warn you that her story contains some sorrow.

My little friend’s name is Emma, and she has a dilemma.

Sometimes, turtles get injured when they surface to breathe air.

A boat moving forward may bump into one there.

A propeller moves a boat forward; that is it’s purpose.

Emma and a boat collided at the ocean’s surface.

Injured Emma had washed ashore. We say, “She stranded.”

Don’t worry. She was not left abandoned.

Scientists picked her up and brought her here, fast.

The vet and rehab staff weren’t sure how long she’d last.

Her wound was severe; so she looked rather sickly.

We use honey to help heal Emma quickly.

A vacuum on her bandage at night helped Emma to sleep tight.

We wanted her shell to scar and be well.

Now, here is the issue.

She has infection in one type of tissue.

She is losing strength in her bones, which means she is fragile.

Wild sea turtles need to be strong and agile.

We worry for little Emma because of her dilemma.

We are still using honey on Emma’s shell.

We are also giving her antibiotics so that her infected bones won’t swell.

If you are saddened by Emma’s situation, you may feel compelled to make a donation.

We would appreciate any help we can get so that we will be less likely to fret.

If you live near, come and see our Emma, dear.

If you live far away, do not delay.  Read Emma’s story on this site, today.

~Amanda Noble, Education Member~

If you find a turtle on the beach that looks sick or injured, like Emma:

Call 1-800-2SAVE ME

For more tips, follow this link:

http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/about-us/found-turtles

If you would like to know more about Emma, visit the GSTC or follow this link :

http://www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org/our-patients/sea-turtle-patients/current-patients

Thank you for your concern.

The release of Talbot yesterday (12/28/09) at the Cape Canaveral Sea Shore was successful!  With the support of the Georgia Aquarium, she was given a satellite transmitter prior to her release so we, and YOU, can follow his/her journey on seaturtle.org, just CLICK HERE!

Unfortunately Caton’s release yesterday was not successful. When placed on the sand, she did not take the initiative we expected to enter into the water. After giving her ample time to enter the sea on her own, we tried to assist her by bringing her a little farther out, however she became very lethargic and susceptible to the waves that kept pushing her back onshore. After 30 minutes of trying to release her, Dr. Norton did not feel comfortable with her behavior and decided to bring her back to the GSTC.

At this time, we are unsure as to why Caton reacted in this manner, nor do we know when we will try to release her once again, however it will unlikely be before the spring. We will continue to monitor her progress and, hopefully, get here released next spring/summer.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding!  On behalf of the GSTS Staff, we hope you have a safe and happy New Year!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

Many of you are probably familiar with Griffin, an adult male loggerhead sea turtle who has been a patient here for the past 2 years (arrived on Nov. 16, 2007!). He has been a patient here longer than any other sea turtle and won the Patient of the Year award in 2008.

Griffin was originally stranded off Daytona Beach,FL and was taken to the Volusia County Marine Science Center. He was unable to dive and could not eat on his own. After several weeks, the staff at the Marine Science Center decided that they would like to transfer him here to see if ‘new eyes’ could help find the mystery problem. We received him, and after some initial x-rays, found that he had a lot of gas in his GI tract.  We also treated him for a bacterial infection. He finally began, and continues to, eat on his own but also continues to float and has difficulty diving.

Griffin was taken for multiple MRIs over the past 2 years in an effort to help determine the cause of his floating. The GSTC staff was unable to determine a specific cause from those results, however it appears that he suffered a vascular event, similar to a human stroke. For those of you who know about strokes in humans, often the person has to ‘re-learn’ everything from walking, to talking, to eating.  Well, this is the same situation Griffin appears to be in.

Griffin has been receiving physical therapy twice daily on his front flippers to assist in maintaining the muscle tone. The staff is also pushing him underwater when feeding to help encourage diving behavior.  However, none of these efforts seem to be improving Griffin’s condition.  If he can’t dive, hunt for food and eat on his own, he cannot be released into the wild.

The GSTC staff has made a few attempts to create a weight belt, much like SCUBA divers use, to assist in ‘re-training’ Griffin on how to dive.  There are many variables one needs to take into account when constructing a weight belt for a sea turtle, something that has never been done before so far as we know! It has to be well fitted, not constricting of flipper movement, or abrasive in any way to the turtle, etc.  Our attempts proved unsuccessful.  However, Dr. Norton was at a workshop and began a conversation with some engineers from Georgia Tech, Savannah Campus, who seemed very interested in Griffin’s situation and the challenge presented to them.

After a few months of work, the engineers finally had a creation to try out on Griffin…his first fitting!  So on Friday, November 13, 2009 they came to the GSTC and fitted Griffin with the weight belt they had designed.  Once secured on Griffin, he was placed back in his tank, with a few staff standing close by in the tank as well, to assist if/as need.  Unfortunately, all did not go as planned and Griffin had difficulty staying upright.  It appears the weight kept shifting and the neoprene straps we not secure enough once wet.

Don’t worry yet, this was only the first attempt!  The engineers removed Griffin’s custom weight belt and have a few ideas on how to modify it that may solve the problems we encountered on this first fitting.  So, stay tuned and we’ll update you as information becomes available!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

That’s right!  We are planning to release 3 turtles: Pumpkin, Night Watch and Skidaway on Sunday, September 20, 2009 during the last day of Jekyll Island’s Annual Shrimp and Grits Festival!

As most of you probably know, Pumpkin (LEFT), a sub-adult Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle, was supposed to be released on May 13, 2009 during our Annual Nest Fest event.   However, due to complications observed after the transmitter placement, we decided not to release Pumpkin, in his/her best interest.

Now that Pumpkin’s infections have cleared up and he/she has been taken off of antibiotics, has sunk to the bottom of her tank, and is eating normally, it’s time to let her go!  You’ll be able to track Pumpkin after his/her release on www.seaturtle.org (please be patient, it usually takes a few days for the tracking page to come up) and you’ll also be able to adopt Pumpkin as an Option #2 turtle through the GSTC’s Adopt-a-Sea Turtle Program! (*Option #2 adoptions help to offset additional costs attributed to the satellite transmitters after release. We have to pay for ’satellite time’ and data management for as long as the turtle transmits a signal!)

Night Watch (RIGHT), a young sub-adult Loggerhead sea turtle, is also ready for release.  She was found by the Georgia Bulldog (a sea turtle research vessel) and brought to the Center for care.  He/she has responded very well to treatment and is ready for release!

Night Watch will not be getting a satellite transmitter due to her size and prominent dorsal ridge that is still evident on her carapace (shell). This ridge is normal for loggerhead sea turtles of this size class, and with time, will eventually smooth out.  This ridge would require us to place the transmitter off-center and could yield in inaccurate data, not to mention potentially making the turtle feel ‘off balance’. Night Watch will still receive a final exam, flipper tags and a PIT tag.

And last, but not least, Skidaway.  Skidaway is a small, juvenile Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtle.  This is the rarest and most critically endangered species of sea turtle in the world!  Skidaway has been with us since June 2009 from the Tybee Marine Science Center.  Skidaway will also not be receiving a satellite transmitter due mostly to her size…the transmitter is too big and weighs too much for such a small turtle!  She will receive a PIT tag.

Details:

When: Sunday, September 20, 2009

Time: 3:00 pm

Location: North side of the Convention Center on Jekyll Island, GA

This event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, space is first come, first serve!  So come on out and say good-bye and good luck with us to 3 wonderful patients!

Sincerely,
Stefanie Ouellette
Marine Field Programs Coordinator

*Please note that all releases are subject to change at any time (date, time, location, etc.) in the best interest of the turtle(s).

Dr. Norton feeling for fish hook before surgery.

Close to 5 PM on July 3, 2009, a juvenile Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle was rushed into our hospital.  I happened to be standing at the treatment window talking about the snapping turtle who was getting bandage changes, when the doors flew open and an intern came in with the little sea turtle.  I noticed right away the intern was holding onto a string coming out of the turtle’s mouth.

A family was fishing off of Jekyll Island when they accidentally hooked the Kemp’s Ridley, who has been named Utah.  Utah swallowed the hook, so we held on to the line with forceps to prevent the hook from going any further.  We didn’t waist any time attempting to remove the hook.  Utah had x-rays done, and we also put a tiny camera down his throat to see if we could remove the fish hook without surgery.  Unfortunately, the fish hook wasn’t going to come out that easy.  Dr. Norton had to make an incision in Utah’s throat to remove the hook.  The surgery went well, and Utah is recovering just fine.  Utah is still at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center while the turtle heals, so come visit before this brave little turtle goes back to its ocean home.

Nicki Pinnell
Education Intern ‘09

Utah in recovery tank after surgery.

Simone-BEFORE

Simone-AFTER

After almost a year being under the watchful eye of the GSTC, Simone and Duffy were given the all clear by Dr. Terry Norton to return home to the great blue sea.

Both turtles have made a miraculous recovery from when they first came in, it was hard to believe they were the same turtles from when they first came in, to their release.

Duffy-BEFORE

Duffy-AFTER

I personally remember when Simone came in, as I was on patrol, walking the south end when all of a sudden around 4:00am we heard someone calling turtle patrol on the radio. I was one of the three that night and we all had a confused look on our faces when we responded to the radio transmission as who would be calling us. It turned out to be Jeannie Miller letting us know she just picked up a turtle found on Little St. Simon’s Island, GA and wanted one of to go check on her before the vet staff arrived later in the morning.

I was the one to head into the Center around 5:00am, and sitting in one of the blue dry-dock tubs at the Center was this turtle (Simone) completely covered in barnacles, not moving except a breath every now and then. In under a year’s time she made a complete turn around to being one of the most energetic turtles, very beautiful, and with a unique personality.

SIMONE

It was great to see her take a few crawls back facing the crowed as to say good-bye and thanks before making a grand entrance into the sea (she actually created a small wake).

DUFFY

Duffy’s story is also an amazing one. She was captured on the Georgia Bulldog close to the same time as Simone. She had a huge hole in her rear right flipper (RRF) that Dr. Terry Norton could put two hands in very deeply and you could see the severed femur. With a lot of TLC and an experimental treatment packing the wound with honey and honey comb, Duffy made a miraculous recovery. When placing the transmitter on her, Terry took one last look at her wounds, where you could barely put a few fingers into the RRF and maybe about knuckle deep. Duffy also had her own unique personality who was always fun to treat

We at the GSTC wish them the best of luck in their new adventures and will miss them, but we are glad they are home.

Thank you to all those who helped out with the release, and for all those that were able to make it out to watch the turtles return home.

Sincerely,
Simon Dilts
Sea Turtle Patrol Intern 2009