The Turtle Hospital. Rescue, Rehab, Release.

Whit’s End

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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.

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