Sea Turtle Hospital News
We’re all enjoying our spectacular North Carolina October weather, but Mother Nature will undoubtedly surprise us with a cold snap or two soon. And that means we’ll start to see our first influx of cold-stunned turtles.
Hopefully most of these critters have started migrating either farther out to the Gulf Stream or headed south toward the Gulf Coast. But there are always stragglers for any number of reasons; the eating is still good along the beaches or maybe it’s their first year here along the inshore waters and they’re just not picking up on cues like a gradual cooling. Being reptiles they cannot regulate their body temperature, so when the air or water temps drop quickly they can’t warm themselves up and can suffer from a form of hypothermia called cold stunning. Their heart rate decreases, along with their circulation and they become lethargic. They are unable to move to warmer waters and are the mercy of the tides. Cold stunning may lead to shock, pneumonia, frostbite, and potentially death.
It’s usually the little guys that get hit first and the hardest – they don’t have a lot of body area and the cold takes over pretty quickly. That’s why our initial wave of patients is usually small Kemp’s ridleys and greens. Their injuries and body condition depends on how long they’ve been out there in the cold and how much they’ve been battered by the wind, surf and sand. Treatment might be as simple as a slow warm-up with some preventative antibiotics to years of follow-up for organ and bone damage. We’re not too quick to release them, based on over two decades of treating cold-stuns. A turtle may appear to be recovering quickly when they suddenly develop pneumonia or bone lesions. Every patient is different but luckily almost every one we’ve had under our care has eventually been released.
These little turtles tend to wash up on beaches or into the marshy areas of the waterway so we rely heavily on our locals and visitors to alert us to a stunning. If you see a turtle that is not moving please do not assume that it’s dead; it could be cold stunned. If it’s a little guy gently pick it up and relocate it to a car, garage or other unheated area of your home. DO NOT try to warm it up – the shock of a quick temperature change could send it into shock. We’ll send our staff out to rescue any and all turtles, big and small when you give us the word. Call one of the following numbers if you suspect you’ve come across a local cold-stunned turtle: Hospital contacts are Terry Meyer @ 910-470-2880 and Jean Beasley @ 910-470-2800 . We will also pick up on the hospital line ( 910-329-0222 ) if the call comes into us early in the day. The state of NC has a stranding hotline that picks up 24/7: 252-241-7367
We’re still seeing nice crowds during the two days we are open - Thursdays and Saturdays from 1-4 PM. We will be closed on Thanksgiving but open on Friday, Nov. 29. And although our turtles are the true stars of the facility we also have a gift shop loaded with turtle-themed merchandise, much of it exclusive to our hospital. We have T-shirts galore, both short and long sleeve and sweatshirts, loads of plush animals and lots of jewelry and gift items. We have a great selection of stocking stuffers too. And for the person who has everything we have several of our patients up for adoption. But you don’t get to take them home! You can visit our gift shop anytime during tour hours without charge. Bring yourself and your shopping list soon because the last day to visit us will be Saturday, Dec. 14.
The Sea Turtle Hospital Update is written by Karen Sota
