Viserion | South Carolina Aquarium

Viserion

Dec 11

Viserion

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

Stranding Location: Eastville, VA

Arrival Date: 11/29/2017

Age: Juvenile

Weight: 36.65 kg (81 pounds)

Case History

This juvenile loggerhead was cold stunned and stranded on 11/18 at the Savage Neck Nature Preserve in Virginia. Once found he was quickly brought to the Virginia Aquarium where he was treated for hypothermia. With a body temperature of only 54.6 F, Viserion was slowly warmed up over the course of the next few days. Once he was stable, arrangements were made with South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) and National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) to transfer this turtle and two other loggerheads, named Drogon and Rhaegal, here to the South Carolina Aquarium. On 11/29, the three loggerheads arrived in style via private jet piloted by Paul Schubert. Paul has generously donate his time and services to transport turtles not just to our aquarium but to other facilities as well. Sea Turtle Care Center staff anxiously awaited the arrival of the three cold-stunned loggerheads from Virginia, picked them up at the Mt. Pleasant Regional Airport and transported them the final leg of their trip to the aquarium.

Treatment

Once at the aquarium, Viserion’s vitals were checked. Out of the three turtles he was certainly the most active! After a thorough check by Dr. Shane Boylan, Viserion was placed in a shallow tank to rest comfortably overnight.

Updates

December 4, 2017: Viserion is doing great! Like Rhaegal, he seems to have taken well to life in South Carolina. He’s being super active and took to eating right away. Viserion is receiving an antibiotic injection every three days.

December 15, 2017: Viserion is extremely feisty and strong when pulled for his antibiotic injections! Viserion is getting diet increases and overall doing great!

March 1, 2018: Good news for Viserion! Viserion received a CT scan this week, and the results showed that his lungs looked free for any pneumonia, or infection in the lung. Hopefully Viserion will be a release candidate in the next few weeks!

March 15, 2018: Viserion is just trucking along in his rehabilitation and doing great overall! Hopefully, it will not be too much longer before he is scheduled for a pre-release exam!

April 1, 2018: Viserion continues to thrive in rehab, and we are hoping he will be a release candidate very soon.

April 15, 2018: Viserion continues to thrive, and we are going to pull him for tagging next week as well! Way to go, Viserion!

May 15, 2018: Viserion continues to do well and will be pulled to reevaluate his vitamin D levels in the next few weeks.

June 1, 2018: Viserion was pulled on Wednesday, May 23 for a monthly weight, measurement and blood pull. We will be sending off the blood to be analyzed for vitamin D levels. Before a turtle can be medically cleared for release their blood work results need to be evaluated. If even one level is outside of the releasable limits the patient will need additional rehabilitation time. This stringent release criteria is essential for releasing a sea turtle in its absolute prime.

Release Date

June 8, 2018

Release Location

Folly Beach County Park

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