turtles - not that our volunteers are complaining in any way about it.
We do have quite a few New England Kemp’s and “local” greens in our Sick Bay that are taking some extra time to recover from their exposure to the first arctic blast a few months ago.
If you’ve been to visit us or read this column you’ll know that cold-stunning can do a lot of internal damage that doesn’t show up until weeks or months later. Long after the frostbitten flippers and carapaces have healed and the scrapes and bruises have vanished serious problems can manifest. Our staff may report that a particular turtle is not using his flipper(s), or that a joint that looked fine the day before has become swollen and inflamed. That’s when it’s time for a trip to our radiograph room and a look inside to see what’s going on.
What our turtle vet, Dr. Craig Harms may find is bone lesions as shown on radiographs (commonly known as X-rays.) Many times these lesions are somewhere in the flippers, which is why we see so many turtles reluctant to use what’s ailing them. Sometimes the tissue around it may become infected. Patients with bone lesions are in for a very long recovery, and a very long (and expensive) course of multiple antibiotics. At some point Dr. Harms may prescribe cold laser treatment to facilitate healing. What we hope for is that, with time, the lesions heal and the turtle begins to regain their range of motion. Sea turtles are good at adapting to their disabilities and find ways to compensate. It just takes time, and patience on everybody’s part.
And speaking of time: the cold-stuns we get are usually pretty small, sometimes salad plate size. And after a few days in nice warm water with a hearty breakfast served by a loving staff they can get a bit rambunctious (read: out-of-control!) when they are out of their tanks for their daily treatments. Critters this small have very fragile flipper tips that can split and break if they hit something hard. When that happens it’s just one more thing we have to treat that makes them even madder. To prevent it from happening our staff sits with turtles on their laps during the 5-minute wait time for the treatment to take effect. That takes three or four volunteers out of commission for the time it takes to placate these babies. But their flippers no longer hit anything hard – and our volunteers have the cuts and bruises to prove it!
Maybe we’ll get lucky and our relatively warm winter will continue.
However, please be on the lookout for any turtle you see stranded on the beach or in marshy areas. It could be a victim of cold-stunning. It may look dead but don’t assume that it is just because it is not moving. Gently pick it up and relocate it to an unheated area like your garage or car. Do not try to warm it up as a quick rise in body temperature will send it into shock. It’s important that the critter not lay exposed on the beach for hours, subject to weather and predators. Call our Director of Beach Operations, Terry Meyer at: 910-470-2880 or Jean at: 910-470-2800. You may also call the State of NC hotline for stranded, sick and injured turtles at: 252-241-7367 (picks up 24/7) or our hospital during operating hours: 910-329-0222. If you are local we will quickly send one of our volunteers to retrieve the turtle for follow-up care at the hospital.
