Lobsterman Cheth Plaugher’s day turned out to be fruitful only after he spotted a 7-lb sea turtle in need of rehab.

The surprise of a sea turtle certainly livened up a frustrating day of lobstering for the Plaugher family on August 31.  About the size of a dinner plate, “Timmy” has a substantial amount of fibropapilloma tumors for such a small turtle.  Good news, though: we believe the eyes can be saved, meaning Timmy could be seeing a future back in the deep blue (pun intended)!

Though FP patients are typically in a weakened state, Timmy still put up a fight during his initial blood draw, pictured here with Rehab Technicians Stacey Venzel and Matt Brochhausen. We always like to see our patients giving us a hard time!

While the patient was extremely active whenever stimulated, and quite feisty during an intake blood draw, he had poor blood chemistry upon arrival.  After nearly a week at The Turtle Hospital, iron injections, antibiotics, fluids and a hearty appetite for squid have helped increase Timmy’s total protein and PCV, making him ready for surgery once things calm down here at the hospital.