The Turtle Hospital

(Hidden Harbor Marine Environmental Project, Inc.)
Marathon, Florida

In 1993 a bar called Fanny's was fully renovated and is now the building know as The Turtle Hospital. Today The Turtle Hospital is the only state certified veterinary hospital in the world just for sea turtles. More than half of the hospital equipment has been generously donated by local hospitals and doctors, private individuals and organizations such as SIMA (Surfing Industry Management Association) which has donated a new radiograph (x-ray) machine and a new turtle ambulance in 2002, and the Sea Turtle Preservation Society of Brevard County which donated a new radiograph developer.

The Turtle Hospital was solely funded by Hidden Harbor Motel until 2001 when tourism dropped off after 9/11. The hospital is now funded by personal donors, grant and foundation money as well as the Guided Educational Experiences.

One of the main objectives of The Turtle Hospital is education through outreach programs to local schools. The hospital presents a slide show about sea turtles and the dangers they face along with a tour of the facility. The hospital conference room also provides meeting space for Save-A-Turtle, a local turtle conservation group, and special veterinary/rehabilitation symposiums.

When the hospital has a new patient it is first taken into the Prep room, where it is cleaned, weighed, photographed and measured. The turtle is then radiographed to determine the presence of foreign objects such as plastic bags or fish hooks or internal fibropapilloma tumors.

Blood is then taken and analyzed in the hospital lab room for a chemistry profile on the turtle. Blood analysis reveals the overall general condition of the turtle and often reveals infections.

The turtle may then be scheduled for surgery. The operating room contains an anesthesia machine, endoscope, pulse oximeter, electric scalpel and laser. The most common surgeries are laser for removing fibropapilloma tumors and flipper amputations (usually caused by fishing line and trap rope line entanglement). Also, many endoscopies are performed to detect internal fibropapilloma tumors or ingestion of foreign objects.

While Turtle Hospital volunteers can treat many common problems, veterinarians are needed to diagnose and to perform the surgeries. All of the veterinarians volunteer their time. Our primary veterinarians are Dr. Douglas Mader and Dr. Geri Diethelm of the Marathon Veterinary Hospital.