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CMAST
LOGGERHEAD

Caretta caretta

Juvenile
  ADMIT
6-17-07
 		RELEASED
Weight  21.6  kg  
SCL:  54.0 cm
SCW:  cm  

THE STRANDING

 Bad Luck to good luck story:  Injured Sea Turtle is lucky enough to be rescued by a veterinarian.  A seaturtle veterinarian, Craig A. Harms, DVM, PhD, DACZM   As if this wasn't good enough, the rescue took place in front of the
NCSU Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) laboratory in Morehead City.

Dr. Harms shares his observations:

photo courtesy Dr. Harms

  Turtle was observed inside of rock wall at the NCSU Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) laboratory in Morehead City over the course of 2 hours in the same spot struggling to surface to breathe, with minimal escape response, but submerging in the murky water just enough to avoid easy capture.  Tim Ellis, Melisa Wong and Craig Harms deployed a beach seine to bring the turtle to shore for examination.  Wendy Cluse arrived shortly thereafter to complete the stranding report and transport to The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center.

  Turtle is responsive, but weak and thin, and the carapace is heavily covered with vegetation, mud and barnacles.  Soft tissues are not encrusted with epibiota.  There are two major fractures to the left caudal carapace, with additional fissures from these making the caudal left quadrant unstable.  Some of the fractures are continuous with lacerations of  the inguinal skin.  Initial weight before cleaning was 22.6 kg; after hosing off mud and picking off vegetation and loosely-attached barnacles, the weight was 21.6 kg.  Actual weight probably closer to 21.0 kg once remaining epibiota is removed.   

  The turtle is anemic, severely hypoproteinemic.  Turtle needs to feed.  Carapace injury does not appear to impinge on the spinal column.  Fractures are not displaced and may stabilize on their own without the need for surgery, but we will be able to tell better once barnacles have been removed following freshwater bath.

The turtle had already been tagged and according to the database this turtle was
found at a power plant in 2005, tagged, and released uninjured.

 
THE TREATMENT The turtle initially received antibiotics and was offered food, which she declined.
She was placed in shallow fresh water to aid in the removal of the additional epibiota.
 

  



In shallow water for the night.  Declined offered food.
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