Mid-Day, call comes in from Ocean Water Sports, 4th Ave S, Myrtle Beach. "We just pulled a very tiny turtle out of the surf, it was rolling around in the waves" This started things in motions and the tiny turtle was soon on the way to the Sea Turtle Hospital in Charleston.
Loaded in the car and ready to go
A little endangered green sea turtle, it's carapace measure just over 12 inches. The turtle was covered in small "White Barnacles" mostly on it's carapace which was unusual. Generally when a turtle is very sick and emaciated, it's soft tissue such as head, neck and flippers are covered with small barnacles. So many barnacles were close to the edge of it's carapace that skin was erode away from the top of it's front flippers. Must have been very painful for this turtle to swim with the sharp edges hitting the soft tissue of it's flipper. This little turtle looked even smaller because it was so thin, very emaciated. Blood work also showed that it may have eaten something bad...maybe a sea urchin that could have started or at least contributed to it's problem.
At the Hospital...everyone gets involved, blood is drawn
Pictures are taken
Heart rate is checked, and rechecked......
Turtle is weighed and measured, just over 12 inches, around 7 pounds
Carapces is covered with small, white barnacles, but hardly
any on soft tissue of flipper and neck
Head and body is also covered in sand, this turtle had been rolling
around in the surf
Turtle takes a deep breath of air
Poor thing....not feeling very well
May 9th..update from the Sea Turtle Hospital:
"May 6, 2015: A 7-pound green sea turtle was found on the beach in Myrtle Beach and is one of the most emaciated sea turtles we have ever admitted. We are thrilled the turtle is still with us, although s/he is not out of the woods yet. This animal is so weak, we can only put him/her in water an hour at a time. This turtle has not been named yet…"
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