On Friday June 24th, local resident Sam Sutton was working on a boat at Murray’s Marina on Stock Island when he noticed a Loggerhead struggling to dive. He immediately called The Turtle Hospital and administrator Ryan Butts responded.
Upon arrival they easily located the 85 pound Loggerhead listlessly swimming in the shallow marina struggling to dive. Luckily they were able to rescue the injured turtle and she was taken back to The Turtle Hospital for evaluation.
Staff quickly noticed a deep propeller wound to the back of her carapace (shell). Although the injury appeared to be several months old, the open wound may have gotten infected while healing. Luckily, x-ray’s revealed no internal damage or foreign object ingestion. Treatment will include antibiotics, vitamins and rest. Staff expects a speedy recovery!
The Turtle Hospital would like to sincerely thank Captain Spider for helping to raise money for our current 43 sea turtle patients! Long time local Captian Spider hosts a casting call twice a week in Marathon at several different bars and restaurants in the area. The game involves casting a line with a weight towards different colored targets in the water. Each target is worth a certain amount of points. The winner chooses from several great prizes but each player knows the small $5 donation to play this fun and addictive game helps benefit a local charity or non-profit. In two of the Captain’s latest casting calls nearly $300 was raised to help benefit The Turtle Hospital.
Thank you!
Tommy Price, an eighth grader from Hollywood Florida was visiting his grandmother on Grassy Key. He went out to the jetty to do some fishing and instead found a large (105 pound) loggerhead turtle floating listlessly near the shore. Grandma called the Turtle Hospital and staff swam out and netted the lethargic animal.
Tommy Boy (the turtle) is very weak, has “lockjaw” and possibly compromised vision. Blood work is pending to determine if the animal has encountered some toxins. Treatment will include physical therapy to force the jaws apart, antibiotics and vitamins.
UPDATE June 22nd:
Sadly Tommy Boy has passed. A necropsy will be performed to determine cause of death and tissue samples will be sent to a lab to hopefully help identity the possible toxin which caused the lock jaw.