An Update on "Huntington"



I was surprised to learn about the health problem of my favorite patient when I first started my internship with the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program. She is a large loggerhead named Huntington and is recovering from an intestinal impaction caused by a dense mass of scallop shells, a natural prey item for loggerheads.



For those of you that remember when Huntington was admitted in May, she was positively buoyant (floating), thin, and lethargic. Loggerheads are known for their large heads and powerful jaws which they use to crush the hard shells of their prey. So how and why does one get harmed by shells? The answer remains a mystery.

Up until early August, Huntington couldn't dive below the surface of the water due to a large pocket of air trapped inside the intestines from the impaction. S/he floated with one side higher than the other due to the location of the impaction and the excess gas, which meant we had to keep her in only ~18 inches of water. If we filled her tank all the way up, she would have floated completely sideways!

Huntington passed the impaction thanks to various treatments including tube-feeding mineral and cod liver oils to lubricate the intestinal tract, as well as massage therapy, where we applied large vibrating massagers externally around the area of the impaction to stimulate movement. Because Huntington couldn't be fed during treatment for the impaction, regular fluids with dextrose were administered to keep her blood glucose at normal levels. These treatments occurred every 2-3 days for almost 6 weeks, quite a feat for a turtle that weighs 150 pounds!

Once the impaction passed, we were able to start feeding Huntington small amounts of food. This hungry loggerhead is now eating 4.5 pounds of food each day and is an amazing sight to see! She swims without any buoyancy problems, is very close to having a normal body weight and her blood work has greatly improved. She possesses a beautiful carapace beaming with its natural colors. This was an amazing recovery for me to watch and assist with, especially considering that this turtle likely would likely have died without our help. Watching these sick and injured sea turtles recover from illness or injury is the most rewarding part of my internship and I am looking forward to the day when Huntington is released back into the wild.



Romina Ramos
2013 Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern

Reflecting on Another Record Loggerhead Nesting Season - An Intern's Story about Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge

As part of my internship with the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program, I have the opportunity to participate in loggerhead nest protection with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. My first day out at Cape Romain was the buggiest day of the season.  Not just little everyday gnats, but immortal, flesh-eating, black flies that surrounded us and would bite right through our clothing. No matter how much bug spray we poisoned our skin with, they just kept on coming.  The 90-degree weather typical of early September here in the Lowcountry certainly did not help and, as you can imagine, digging up hundreds of old sea turtle eggs smelled just delicious. 

In order to get to this unihabited barrier island, we take a boat out at sunrise.  Once we’re out on the boat with the wind in our faces, we are usually lucky enough to witness the most beautiful, captivating sunrises you can imagine.  This is good, as it reminds me of why I wake up at such an ungodly hour to volunteer with U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s (FWS) loggerhead sea turtle nest protection efforts.  It’s the most beautiful view and being on the water is so serene. I can’t even explain how refreshed it makes you feel.

 

As soon as we arrive at Cape Romain, we inventory all of the sea turtle nests on the island.  This means we dig up each nest that has already hatched, count the number of hatched shells, bad eggs (eggs that never hatched), live turtles, and dead turtles. It can be determined if a nest has hatched by looking for hatchling tracks and a slight concavity or indent in the sand.  If we are lucky, we might come across a little live hatchling that may have gotten stuck in the roots or could not make it out with the rest of them.  I promise you, these little nuggets are the cutest creatures you will ever see.  Their willpower to get to the ocean is absolutely ridiculous.  Hatchlings have a long way to crawl before they reach the water, and along the way they need to avoid many predators such as ghost crabs, sea gulls, and raccoons.  The strength that they possess in those little flippers astounds me.  Though they are tough, it has actually been estimated that only 1 in 1000 hatchlings will make it to sexual maturity (adulthood).  In my opinion, having the opportunity to see these little hatchlings trek it to the ocean, makes the vicious flies worth enduring.

One of my most memorable experiences at Cape Romain this year was when we arrived to the island and heard the screeching noises of very excited sea gulls. Naturally, I just assumed the seagulls were ecstatic about a floating piece of bread some fisherman had dropped.  But I was clearly wrong. Jerry, a biologist with FWS, started yelling for us to grab buckets and to follow him.  We were sprinting after him with no idea what was happening, until I saw about 50 seagulls flying around a nest that was in the process of hatching.  I was getting to see a nest hatch! We shooed all the annoying seagulls away and watched as about 80 baby sea turtles emerged from the sand.  Absolutely incredible! As they began to crawl towards the ocean we would pick them up and place them in a bucket in order to later release them to the ocean where there were no seagulls around to snatch them up.

 

The exhausting day of field works comes to an end after we’ve checked all the nests, and we get back on the boat.  On the ride back to the dock at McClellanville, we often see great horned owls (my favorite), peregrine falcons, dolphins, bonnet head sharks, and many other beautiful animals along with the breath-taking scenery.  The last, most satisfying perk at the end of the long but amazing day is always eating my peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the car ride home, and looking forward to the next week of inventory!

Unfortunately, loggerhead nesting season has now come to an end and my time at Cape Romain has finished for this year.  But being able to witness a nest hatching is an experience I will never forget.  Times like these are the little pieces of natural beauty that one gets to experience on a day out at Cape Romain, and something that will be held onto forever.  Yes, you will most likely get eaten alive by monstrous black flies, but I promise you it will be worth every single bug bite.

 

 

Kelly Lane

STRP Fall 2013 Intern

 

 

Meet Peachy and Keen!

Many Sea Turtle Hospital visitors know that there are several non-sea turtle patients here in the hospital. On January 7, 2013 we took in two eastern mud turtles (Kinosternon subrubrum), a species native to South Carolina. “Peachy” is an adult female who was found emaciated in the wild. “Keen” is an adult male who was run over by a lawn mower.

Peachy and Keen arrived together and seem to enjoy each other's company.

For some background information, eastern mud turtles live in freshwater environments. They can be found in many areas of the United States from New York south to Florida and west along the Gulf Coast, as well as northward through the Mississippi River Valley. Mud turtles are omnivores, and they feed mostly in aquatic environments on organisms such as insects, mollusks, amphibians, as well as on aquatic vegetation.

Peachy is very feisty and has recovered quickly. Upon arrival, she weighed 110 grams and now weighs 138 grams! The weight range for an adult mud turtle is 88-263 grams and her current weight is appropriate for her size. Our veterinarian removed a small, round abscess from her left front leg last week and Peachy is healing well from her minor surgical procedure.

Peachy loves to eat the healthy fish and veggies we provide her with, and often snaps her beak in anticipation when she sees her breakfast approaching!

This picture gives a good view of the circular abcess that developed on Peachy's left front leg.

Keen’s recovery has been much slower than Peachy’s. He was put on antibiotics and also fluids for dehydration. Upon arrival, he weighed 97.5 g and now weighs 114 g. However, he is still very thin and prone to dehydration, as he spends all of his time basking under a UV lamp and is not drinking enough water. He has been a very stubborn eater but eats well with our help from tongs.

The white calcium-based paste on Keen's shell has helped to hold the fractured segments together, and will wear off over time.

The tip of Keen's beak was also damaged, but he is still able to eat well.

 Keen still has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but his will to live is strong and he has made progress. Come by and see Peachy and Keen on your next visit to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital!

Joni Vaughn

Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern

Reflections from our Departing Italian Intern

Hi everybody! My name is Sara and I am one of three South Carolina Aquarium's Sea Turtle Rescue Program interns this summer. I'm from Italy and I've decided to come here because I love sea turtles and I am so lucky because my application was accepted. I'm leaving America at the end of July so I would like to share some thoughts with you.

Sara holds our wild diamondback terrapin, Stumpy, while her amputated front limb is flushed.

Seing these animals everyday makes me very happy, and to have the opportunity to work with them makes me even happier! Now there are 9 turtles in the hospital, and it's very hard to say which one I prefer because, after I have spent almost 2 months with them, I can say that every one has a peculiar characteristic, something that makes him special.

Gumby makes me laugh as he loves to bite everything!

As interns, we have many different responsibilities around the hospital. We must ensure that the hospital is as clean and tidy as possible, we feed the turtles, do treatments, etc. Something new often happens that changes all the schedules and teaches me something, and I promise you that I'm never bored!

Our veterinarian taught Sara how to draw blood on Charlie, our largest loggerhead turtle.

One of the nicest things is the coming in of a new turtle. It may happen anytime, and when I get the call I start thinking ”How big will she be? What species? I hope she's well.” Unfortunately since I've been here I’ve seen some turtles that were not very well. Some have died after they came in and when it happens it's very sad, and I feel helpless. But it's a great feeling when I get to help a new turtle, and to watch them recover.

Sara (in blue shirt) helped flush George's head wound when he was admitted last Friday.

Also, I saw a lot of happy cases! There are new turtles like Pier, Charlie, Bulls Bay, and Hook, and they are all getting better! It's very interesting to observe the healing process - the first few days are crucial, the turtles may not feel like eating, but now Bulls eats a lot and Charlie has delicious taste - he eats only crabs!

Charlie is a picky eater! He eats only blue crabs for breakfast.

In conclusion, although these animals aren't like pets, they are giving me a lot of satisfaction! The only thing that I'm not yet able to do is teaching them to speaking Italian...but I'm working on it!

Sara Gori

STRP Intern

A note from Megan, a Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern

Hello everyone! As you may already know, the Sea Turtle Rescue Program could not run without it's roughly 16 volunteers. Among those volunteers are 2 interns working for college credit and/or experience within their field. I happen to be one of them, and I'd just like to introduce myself and in the future, keep you updated on some of the things that are happening around the Sea Turtle Hospital!

The Sea Turtle Hospital

My name is Megan and I've lived my entire life in Wisconsin, until now. I know, I know, there aren't very many sea turtle strandings in Wisconsin! But upon graduating from the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, with a major in Wildlife Education, I was looking for internships to further my career. Thankfully, I crossed paths with the South Carolina Aquarium and the Sea Turtle Rescue Program on the internet. After going through the application and interview process, and moving my entire life in one tiny little car down to Charleston (including my dog), I'm happy to report that it was love at first sight! I had never experienced sea turtles in close proximity before but on my first day working at the South Carolina Aquarium, I was in awe of them thinking what amazing creatures they are and how they need out help to thrive in the world's oceans.

Treating and wrapping the flipper wound on a 190-pound loggerhead, Dawsey.

Intern duties are varied. Most days include food prep and feeding our turtles a varied diet they need to become healthy again. The Sea Turtle Hospital has provided many firsts for the non-seafood-lover that I am...cutting up raw fish, de-tailing shrimp, and feeding live blue crabs to sea turtles (more on this later in another post!). Interns are also responsible for helping with general cleaning of the tanks and the hospital, helping with public tours that are given 5 days a week (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 11:30am and 1pm), never ending laundry, and many other random projects that need to be done. However, if there is a stranded turtle, we may come in on our day off to assist with the initial treatments. On the days that we're actually scheduled to work, our afternoons may be filled with treatments for that turtle. These treatments are time consuming but also very rewarding!

Above: Assisting in surgery to remove a stingray barb from the neck of an endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle.

Above: Giving physical therapy to a green sea turtle, Ripley, that is suffering from partial paralysis due to a boat strike very close to the spinal cord.

That is all for now, but please check back for updates on some of the exciting things happening around the hospital - like the different forms of enrichment for both our sea turtles and our "honorary turtles" that have taken up temporary residence in the hospital.

Megan Walsh
Sea Turtle Rescue Program Intern