Brandy is the largest turtle we have ever treated at the Turtle Hospital. Brandy is a 350-pound Green sea turtle, and she is between 60 and 80 years old. It is very rare to see a Green this large in this part of the world. They can grow up to 500 pounds, however most of the Greens were harvested for turtle soup prior to the 1973 Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species Act was passed only 35 years ago, therefore most Green sea turtles are under 35 or 40 years old.
Brandy came to the hospital with a severe flipper injury. She was found by fishermen about 50 miles west of Key West with two lobster trap buoy lines wrapped around her left front flipper. She was admitted to the Turtle Hospital on August 28th, 2007, and the flipper was amputated three days later. Although Brandy’s shoulder is healing as it should, she is still fighting off a major infection. We do expect her to make a full recovery, minus one flipper, and she will return to the wild soon. Turtles can survive while missing one flipper. Just like a three-legged dog, they adapt and learn to swim just fine with only three flippers remaining.
Aug 17, 2007
Hokie was reported floating in a Marathon canal, April 2007. Turtle Hospital staff responded and were able to net the turtle and transport it back to the hospital. X-rays reveled an intestinal impaction and fishhook lodged in the throat. The impaction was cleared with mineral oil.
Dr Doug Mader removed the hook by sedating the turtle and working with the endoscope and long “grabbers”.
Hokie was released just North of the 7 Mile bridge by staff.
Aug 7, 2007
Team Daco was rescued by a fishing team while out on a Captain Pip’s charter boat in May of 2007. The Loggerhead Sea Turtle was found floating and was brought back to the dock. X-rays at the Turtle Hospital revealed a lung infection. Treatment with antibiotics was successful and the release was performed near Sombrero Light.
Whit is a sub-adult Green sea turtle. He came to The Turtle Hospital on August 7, 2007 because he was floating and very bloated. Upon arrival, x-rays were taken and it was found that he has a fish hook snagged inside her intestine. With the hook so far inside, we cannot manually remove it. We will have to wait for it to either pass (with the aid of mineral oil and metamucil), or wait for it to simply rust out. In addition to the fishing hook, he is also a floater, which indicates he was hit by a boat and now has a pocket of air trapped inside his body cavity. He has small lead weights now attached to his shell. The weights are adjustable so we are able to achieve the best buoyancy control possible.
UPDATE: Whit’s hook is almost gone, however, due to the trapped bubble of air, it is still uncertain whether Whit’s End will be a released back into the wild, become a permanent resident, or transferred to a world-class aquarium.