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>Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
Stranding Location: Hilton Head Island, SC
Arrival Date: 6/15/18
Age: Juvenile
Weight: 6.3 kg (13.8 pounds)
Case History
This young, juvenile green sea turtle was spotted floating near a dock on Hilton Head Island. Captain Trent and fellow rescuers knew something was wrong as Luna was unable to fully submerge and kept repeatedly trying to dive down. They called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) stranding hotline (1-800-922-5431) to let them know they found a sick and/or injured sea turtle. One of the rescuers paddled out on a kayak to get Luna. Despite floating, she was surprisingly quick and agile! Once on board the kayak, she was brought back to the dock where they waited for SCDNR staff member Emma Schultz to arrive, and transport the turtle to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center.
Treatment
Luna Lovegood arrived with an already healed boat-strike wound to her carapace. She had three distinct propeller strikes that transected over her spine. Given the location of the injury, it is very surprising that she possessed full mobility of all four limbs. The healed boat strike and spinal involvement has caused her shell to heal with a minor outward bend. This coupled with her chronic floating is a condition that has colloquially been dubbed “Bubble Butt Syndrome.” This ailment is usually tough to treat, particularly if there is lung or coelmic (body cavity) air involved. Many turtles with Bubble Butt Syndrome end up as permanent residents, as they are chronic floaters and deemed non-releasable. The triage process was quick because she was in relatively decent body condition. Her blood work looked good, too. It was evident that despite her inability to dive, she was still able to actively forage. Luna received radiographs, fluids and vitamins and was started on a course of antibiotics. She was placed down in ICU to rest comfortably overnight.
Updates
June 16, 2018: The following day, Luna received a CT scan to assess the spinal involvement and root cause of the floating. There was significant gas present in the GI tract, as well as a lot of fecal material. After reviewing the imagery, Dr. Bryan suspected Luna was floating due to all of the intestinal gas.
June 20, 2018: Luna was tube-fed some mineral oil and simethicone to help alleviate some of the accumulated gas and assist with gut motility. She continues to defecate regularly and has started to gobble up small pieces of salmon.
June 25, 2018: Somewhat surprisingly, Luna is able to completely submerge herself and rest on the bottom of her tank! Although the tank water level is only about a foot deep, this is a very promising sign. She has also started to eat her veggies, which is great as we strive to feed green sea turtles a 5:1 ratio of veggies to fish.
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