Huggie Wuggie
Huggie Wuggie
Arrival Date: June 6, 2024
Patient Profile
Name: Huggie Wuggie
Species: Green Sea Turtle
Weight: 7 pounds
Reason for visit: Predator Attack
Location Found: Tavernier Marina, Tavernier, FL
Status Report
06/08/24: While in their boat preparing to leave the marina, two young children aboard spotted a small sea turtle severely injured and in need of help. The family quickly helped to pick up the young turtle out of the water and get him out of further harm’s way in the busy marina. Once aboard they found the young turtle had been attacked by a predator and sustained a severe wound to his front right flipper. The Turtle hospital Rescue and Rehab team met the family and rushed the newly named Huggie Wuggie to our hospital for care. Radiographs showed Huggie Wuggie’s right front limb suffered a broken bone and was badly mangled. Rehab staff first stabilized Huggie Wuggie as he was quite in shock from the attack, providing intravenous fluids to rehydrate, a splint and bandaging, and blood work to provide further understanding of his status. Huggie Wuggie will rest on land in the hospital tonight to help him stabilize.
06/11/24: Today Huggie Wuggie went for a CT scan to help Dr. Norton has a better understanding of the damage to his front right flipper. Unfortunately the results of the imaging showed this limb was viable and would need to be amputated. Dr. Norton performed the surgery this morning, while losing a limb is not ideal, Huggie Wuggie can survive and live a full life even with only three limbs. Rehab staff have been diligent in monitoring the young sea turtle, and providing lots of support and care as he recovers. Make sure to wish Huggie Wuggie a speedy recovery during your next visit to The Turtle Hospital.
06/21/24: Huggie Wuggie has been a perfect patient for the rehab team, he is currently receiving daily bandage changes along with exams. This is to ensure his surgical site is healing well. While he is still adjusting to his new environment here at The Turtle Hospital, the rehab team has placed a shade over his tank to help provide coverage and make Huggie Wuggie feel more safe. His has also improved in his eating during feeding time and does well for taking his medications. Stay tuned for more updates on our young patient.
7/20/24: After a recent exam with Dr. Norton, Huggie Wuggie’s amputation site has healed wonderfully and no longer needs a bandage to the area. Huggie Wuggie also received a tank upgrade to have more space to swim around and build up more strength as he learns to swim with only 3 flippers. This little dude is great patient for his rehab team, always excited to eat all his veggies and does well from his check ups. We have high hopes for Huggie Wuggie and will continue to support him in his journey to return him back to the ocean.
08/13/24: We are excited to announce Huggie Wuggie has been approved for release. Great job little buddy we are so proud of all your hard work. A release date has not been set just yet, but Huggie Wuggie will continue to practice his swimming for his upcoming Swim Test. This is the test he must pass to be able to be released, it is composed of 3 things. He must have 1 good eye, 3 strong flippers, and be a strong swimmer to evade his main predator- sharks. Sea turtles can do sprints of up to 30 mphs! Continue to cheer on Huggie Wuggie as he grows stronger each day in preparation for his release back into the wild.
09/01/24: After a few weeks of hard work, Huggie Wuggie is all set for release. He will be taking a ride with our local Marathon coast guard to be released into the everglades, here Huggie Wuggie will have a safe space to explore and grow away from larger predators. At this time, the weather is not very good, once our team receives the all clear from the coast guard we will be making the journey out to sea. Serena, another green sea turtle here at The Turtle Hospital will be riding along for her release as well.
Release
Today is the big day. Huggie Wuggie and fellow sea turtle Serena were released into the everglades on September 8, 2024. The Marathon coast guard team was very excited to participate in their release and see these two begin their next adventure out at sea.
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