Mare TV, a popular German television program and educational magazine, recently spent a day at The Turtle Hospital learning about sea turtles in the Florida Keys. The Program will help promote sea turtle and marine conservation throughout Europe, as well as offer a glimpse of what life if like for people who live and work in the Keys. Pictured below are crew members from Mare TV and Turtle Hospital employees, Tom Luebke and Ryan Butts, holding Randy Rudy, a Hawksbill sea turtle.
Shan’Jon is a sub-adult Loggerhead sea turtle. Shan’Jon came to the hospital on January 5th, 2007 from Little Knock ‘em Down Key. He was found floating with no apparent physical injury. Upon observation at the hospital, it was found that Shan’Jon was suffering from a condition known as lockjaw. Loggerheads sometimes come in without the ability to open their jaw. The muscles have been affectively paralyzed due to the ingestion of an unknown toxin. Once a turtle has been diagnosed with lockjaw, it will undergo physical therapy for a number of months until it can open it’s mouth by itself. Shan’Jon had, in addition to lockjaw, a severe lung infection. He will receive antibiotics until the infection subsides and physical therapy until the jaw muscles loosen.
UPDATE: Shan’Jon is now able to open his mouth freely and his bloodwork is showing that his infection is on the wane. He will be up for release soon.
UPDATE: After being treated here at the Turtle Hospital for one year and two weeks, Shan’Jon was released on January 19th, 2008 off Pigeon Key. The Hospital crew were assisted by Monroe County Commissioner Sylvia Murphy. Shan’Jon was last seen swimming strongly and confidently into the Atlantic Ocean.
Candy (Feb 22, 2008)
Home owners in Tavinier reported a turtle floating off the end of their 500 foot dock. Turtle Hospital staff responded and picked up a 156 pound sub adult Loggerhead Sea Turtle. X-rays indicate an intestinal impaction which is being treated with mineral oil and Metamucil. The turtle is eating offered squid which makes oral medications easier. As with all turtles undergoing active treatment, antibiotics and vitamins are also administered by IM injection.
Update – March 8, 2008 Sadly Candy did not make it. Staff performed a necropsy and found a 2.5 by 10 inch hardened mass in the intestine and a great deal of infection.
“Shelly” a juvenile Green Sea Turtle was rescued from a canal in Key West on Dec 30, 2007. Reported “floating” by local residents, this turtle has severe Fibropapilloma tumors and a large fish hook in the lower intestine. Dr. Doug Mader with staff from the Marathon Veterinary Hospital and Turtle Hospital staff performed several surgical procedures. An endoscopic inspection was done to look for internal tumors. This procedure inserts a video camera into the body cavity to allow inspection of the internal organs. Fortunately, no internal tumors were found. The fish hook (found by X-ray) was successfully removed. Laser surgery was performed to remove tumors from the eyes and front flippers. Due to the number of tumors, Shelly will return for at least two more surgery sessions. Shelly will remain in our care for a year after the last surgery to ensure no re-growth of tumors.
Richie Moretti, founder and director of The Turtle Hospital, recently received the prestigious IFAW Animal Action Award. The award, given on behalf of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), was presented to Mr. Moretti on October 4th, 2007, in Santa Monica, California. The award is granted to animal advocates who passionately work to protect animals and their habitats. Since the hospital’s inception in 1986, Mr. Moretti’s diligent work has resulted in over 1000 sea turtles successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
In addition to the award itself, Mr. Moretti and The Turtle Hospital were featured on the television show Animal Rescue hosted by Alex Paen on Animal Planet Network.
We, the staff at The Turtle Hospital, would like to congratulate Richie, and thank you, the public, for helping to make his dream a reality.
Pictured Above: IFAW President, Fred O’Regan and Hospital Director, Richie Moretti (right).
The Turtle Hospital was hit hard by Hurricane Wilma in October of 2005, however we are still standing on this, the second anniversary of the storm’s passing! In fact, the storm provided a surprising opportunity and an exciting new vision of the future for the hospital!
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The hurricane brought relatively little wind, but it carried a massive storm surge which flooded the entire island. Fortunately, we did not loose a single turtle. We placed the younger and more critically injured turtles in kiddie-pools safely inside the hospital. The permanent residents and all larger turtles stayed in the main pool. In the wild, sea turtles instinctively know to lay low during hurricanes. They basically sleep on the sea floor for up to five hours which is usually enough time for the storm to pass. The 100,000-gallon main pool is 15-feet deep, so the turtles knew exactly what to do…they just slept right through it.
Unfortunately, the facilities did not fare as well as the turtles. Prior to Hurricane Wilma, the hospital was funded by the Hidden Harbor Motel (located adjacent to the hospital). The motel suffered major flood damage and had to be closed. However, inherent in every constraint is an opportunity! After the hurricane, the Turtle Hospital became a 501(c)3 charitable organization. As we are no longer supported by the motel, the hospital is now completely non-profit. We survive solely on tours, gift shop sales, and donations. We offer multiple tours every day of the week where guests have the opportunity to see and learn about the hospital facility and meet the turtles. We are also constantly expanding the gift shop where T-shirts are still everybody’s favorite. However, we rely most heavily on donations. Like any non-profit, without charitable donations from businesses, clubs, organizations, and individuals we would not be able to survive. If you would like to make a donation to The Turtle Hospital and you do not live nearby, you can write to us at 2396 Overseas Highway, Marathon, FL 33050. We cannot express the measure of our gratitude. Thank you for helping to preserve the sea turtle population and the vitality of our oceans!
The Turtle Hospital recently admitted our first leatherback sea turtle to the facility. The giant leatherback maxed-out our scale; weighing in at over 600 pounds and nearly 7 feet long. He was by far the largest patient the hospital has ever treated. Two fishermen found the leatherback with it’s right-front flipper entangled in the buoy line of a lobster trap. Sharks were spotted circling the turtle as the fishermen approached, and they noticed it was missing it’s left-front flipper entirely. Upon realizing this very rare animal required urgent care, they called the Turtle Hospital. The fishermen protected the turtle in it’s inescapably perilous condition until staff arrived to help heave the massive creature into the boat.
The leatherback sea turtle is a pelagic swimmer, which means it is usually found only in deep, open water – usually beyond the continental shelf. The waters of the Florida Keys are relatively shallow and are only rarely frequented by leatherbacks. This turtle was probably passing through the Florida Straits, travelling between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, when he was snagged by the buoy line. In the struggle to free himself, sharks were alerted to his presencea shark or possibly several sharks, severed his now missing flipper.
Upon arrival at The Turtle Hospital, he was given the name Schaft, after Sue Schaf, the hospital’s long-time animal care specialist. Schaft the leatherback came in on Sue’s last day at the Turtle Hospital. Sue is now applying the knowledge and experience she gained here at the Turtle Hospital to a new venture.
The first challenge was to address the animal’s injuries. The front-right flipper was damaged due to the entanglement, however it was indeed functional and our surgeon, Dr. Doug Mader, was able to save the flipper. The front-left flipper however, was entirely absent and was treated as an amputation. The second challenge was to find an appropriate tank to house the 600-pound turtle. The Hospital was only two days from completing the construction of two brand-new 30,000 gallon emergency tanks when Schaft arrived. Either of which would have been perfect. Leatherbacks, being pelagic swimmers, require very large tanks, so large in fact, that very few leatherbacks have ever been successfully rehabilitated in captivity. Without the ideal tank, we enlisted the help of our friends at The Dolphin Research Center about 10 miles north on Grassy Key. Once there, we placed Schaft into a very large pool with the aid of a forklift. Once gently placed into the massive tank, Schaft was monitored on 24-hour watch.
UPDATE: Schaft was monitored constantly during his stay at The Turtle Hospital/Dolphin Research Center and the staff worked diligently day and night to save his life. Unfortunately, his injuries proved too severe and he was unable to make a recovery. The rare leatherback turtle was immediately driven to the University of Florida where he was able to make a final and enduring contribution to his species. The precious knowledge acquired from the study of this one individual will aid the leatherback population long after his natural life. Schaft will live on in the science and study of leatherback turtles and in our hearts forever.