Palmer has improved dramatically!

Five months ago, Palmer came to us on death's door. The lethargic loggerhead was skin on bones, severely anemic, had no detectable blood glucose, and the bony carapace was soft around the edges from being metabolized by the turtle for survival. These severely debilitated turtles are tough - over a month into rehabilitation and we still weren't confident "she" would live. But slowly she started making that turn for the better, putting on a small amount of weight and blood parameters climbing, little by little. As you can see by the comparison photos below, she has come a long way now!

For the first two months, Palmer was floating at the surface of her tank. In the photo below, she was cleaned of the barnacles and algae but was still so lethargic that most who saw her like this didn't believe she was alive.

And look at her now...almost 20 pounds heavier, flapping her flippers and getting us wet as we take her out of the tank. That's what we like to see!

We are all thrilled with the progress that Palmer has made. She will continue to improve over the winter months and will hopefully be ready for release next summer. Until then, book your reservation for the South Carolina Aquarium and Sea Turtle Hospital tour and come see Palmer for yourself!

PS - Thanks for the amazing photos, Barb!

Kelly