Brie | South Carolina Aquarium

Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)

Stranding Location: South Litchfield Beach, SC
Arrival Date: 7/1/23
Age: Subadult
Weight: 31.52 kg (69.34 lbs)

Case History

A very sick loggerhead sea turtle stranded on South Litchfield Beach and was found by a beachgoer who called the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). Members of Georgetown Police Department, Midway Fire Department, S.C.U.T.E and SCDNR were all key to this turtle’s rescue. This patient had a really great group of people in the community who saw to it that this turtle received care and was able to be transported to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center™.

Treatment

Debilitated Turtle Syndrome (DTS) cases are some of the more difficult because these animals have been sick for a very long time. This normally means that there are several obstacles for the turtle to overcome. In Brie’s case, she was extremely thin, had a slow heart rate, was covered in hundreds of leeches, had a low red blood cell count and many other secondary issues. She received multiple antibiotics, vitamins and fluids to start her treatment process. Brie also received an ultrasound to determine if there was any motility (meaning the contraction of the muscles that mix and propel through the GI tract) in Brie’s gut. Often times, DTS cases do not have good gut motility because their body isn’t absorbing nutrients appropriately. During this ultrasound we found that Brie did not have any movement in her gut.

In sea turtles that are not fully grown adults, we typically cannot determine sex but on ultrasound we got lucky and were able to locate ovaries —Brie’s a female! Based on Brie’s heavy leech load and low blood values, staff felt it was extremely important to reduce the number of leeches that were attached to her, quickly. Staff spent at least an hour physically removing them from her. After all treatments and exams were completed, staff did not feel comfortable putting Brie in a tank of water, so we decided on a shallow freshwater bath. This was also a good solution for the remaining leeches, as they are saltwater organisms that cannot survive in freshwater. We set her up to be comfortable for the night and regrouped in the morning to adjust treatment plans if necessary.

Update

July 5, 2023: It was touch and go with Brie for a while. Her prognosis is still guarded, but she has made some progress over the past few days. The freshwater bath worked, and all of the leeches fell off or were removed the following day! During this time, Brie received a CT scan which showed us that her GI tract is completely filled with fecal matter. Throughout the last few days, staff were closely watching Brie’s respiration and heart rates to make sure she was not declining. One morning, her heart rate slowed significantly so we rushed her up to see the vet team. We then administered more fluids, antibiotics and intralipid. Intralipid is the most broken-down form of fat. This treatment is administered in order to give the body something to process and convert.

After this IV treatment was finished, it was time to try Brie in shallow water. Sea turtles are an aquatic species, so once they are taking good enough breaths, it’s better for them to be in water. When placed in her new temporary home, it took Brie a few minutes to orient herself but ultimately, we knew we made the right choice because she looked much better in the water. Her activity levels were higher, she was taking good breaths and she even ate a piece of shrimp for us! Later that day, she had a major blow out (a.k.a. a heavy poop) and we were so excited to see that she was starting to clear some of her GI tract. With all of those positives, we are extremely grateful. Though DTS cases are some of the hardest to rehabilitate, we’ll keep doing our very best to make sure Brie gets everything she needs!

July 20, 2023: Brie is slowly but surely making progress in her rehabilitation. Since our last update, Brie has started defecating more frequently and is getting slow diet increases. With debilitated turtles, it is important to not feed them too much right away because their digestive tracts aren’t able to handle large amounts of food. Therefore, we have to limit what we are offering in order to not cause further issues. That being said, she is eager to eat what we are offering and continues to do well with the diet increases. Brie is also getting water depth increases and has so far tolerated two new depths! We are grateful for Brie’s progress so far, but we still have a long way to go. Send all of your positive healing vibes her way; she definitely needs it!