Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

Stranding Location: Apache Pier, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Arrival Date: 10/25/2017

Age: Subadult

Weight: 64.64kg (142 pounds)

Case History

Clumpy had quite the journey getting to the Sea Turtle Care Center (STCC). South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) received many phone calls from concerned citizens about a sea turtle with a missing front flipper actively going for baited hooks and breaking the line! Finally, someone was able to rescue this patient via a dip net on the Apache Pier. SCDNR’s Kacie Ferguson made the 5-hour round trip drive to transport Clumpy to us for treatment.

Treatment

Upon admit, the most obvious injury was the partially missing right front flipper. Chief Veterinarian Dr. Shane Boylan quickly triaged Clumpy by conducting a thorough physical exam, a blood draw and taking radiographs. Clumpy’s partially missing flipper was most likely caused by an old entanglement injury. For the most part, Clumpy did a good job healing it on his own. However, some marine leeches took up residence causing an infection. Clumpy also had a significant amount of marine leeches present on the soft tissue inside of his mouth. Additionally, radiographs showed 2 hook fragments, one in the injured flipper and another in the esophagus. Blood work showed that Clumpy was anemic and dehydrated. Clumpy received Hetastarch, which was administered intravenously. Hetastarch helps pull in fluids and vitamins into the vascular space so they can be circulated through the bloodstream and throughout the body more effectively. Additional fluids and vitamins were given subcutaneously, or under the skin, to help re-hydrate him. Clumpy was started on an antibiotic regime to combat the infection present in the injured flipper. Clumpy was fairly active and was placed in a shallow tank of freshwater overnight to help kill the remaining marine leeches and aid in re-hydration.

Updates

October 27, 2017: Clumpy was offered a few pieces of fish and ate immediately! The salinity of Clumpy’s water along with his diet will be slowly increased over the next week. So far, Clumpy is settling in well!

November 1, 2017: We are so pleased about how well Clumpy is doing after the first week of being in our care. Clumpy loves to eat and has a serious appetite for salmon! We are continuing to increase his diet slowly, and he is now in a full tank! Clumpy is being pulled twice weekly for an exam of the injured flipper and to receive antibiotic injections.

November 15, 2017: Clumpy is doing very well. A couple of weeks ago, Clumpy passed several pieces of marine debris including pieces of wood, monofilament, fishing lures and styrofoam floats. He also had a very unusual fecal sample full of different types of fish bones as well as a stingray barb! We think that Clumpy was hanging around a pier eating scraps and snagging on fishing lines long before arriving at our hospital. He was pulled out recently for a few X-rays, and the two small hook fragments were removed. Clumpy has been put through a lot in his lifetime, but luckily he made his way to the Sea Turtle Care Center and is now on the road to recovery!

December 1, 2017: Clumpy has made his way up to Recovery! He’s loving his new temporary home. Clumpy’s missing right flipper is healing wonderfully. He’s continuing to eat great and stays very active in his new tank. Make sure to stop by Zucker Family Sea Turtle Recovery and see how he’s doing!

December 15, 2017: Clumpy has been doing wonderfully in his new tank in Recovery! Clumpy has been a guest favorite and he is very active and has quite the story. Clumpy’s missing front flipper is still on the mend but is healing well.

January 15, 2018: Clumpy is continuing on his road to recovery. Recently a couple of leeches were seen on him, so he had a freshwater bath for a few hours that day. We haven’t seen any other leeches on him since! Clumpy continues to eat well and stays extremely active. He keeps staff and volunteers busy drying the floors from all of his splashing!

February 1, 2018: Clumpy continues to improve weekly! Clumpy’s missing flipper still has a good amount of fibrin, which is like a protective layer, over the area that was detached but it still on the mend. Clumpy is a good eater and really enjoys any fish we put in his tank. Clumpy has gained about 10 pounds since he was admitted!

February 15, 2018: Clumpy’s front flipper continues to heal well, and he is one of our more splashy patients in Sea Turtle Recovery these days. Clumpy loves his fish pops, a type of enrichment we feed to our patients. Basically, it’s a fish popsicle! Come visit Clumpy in Recovery!

April 1, 2018: Good news for everyone’s favorite three-flippered turtle – Clumpy has been medically cleared for release! Since water temperatures are a little too chilly for release patients off of our coast, we will be releasing him offshore where he would naturally at this time of the year. Stay tuned on Facebook for a video of Clumpy’s journey home!

Release Date

April 2, 2018

Release Location

Offshore