TurtleCare is the Best Health Care

April 27, 2024 PT

Forget ObamaCare…TurtleCare is the Gold Standard

Now, let me say for the record…I like sea turtles. I am not a sea turtle hater. Furthermore, I absolutely support the efforts to rescue, rehabilitate, and release this protected species. However, in my recent time in the Keys, I could not help but realize that sea turtles definitely seem to dominate the efforts to protect endangered species in the Keys. The networks to rescue sea turtles and the health facilities to treat them are far more involved than any other facilities for other protected species. Further, I am sure you could make the case that turtle health care exceeds much of human health care. Frankly, TurtleCare is the best health care.

Establishing the Baseline

So, for whatever reason, there seems to be a lot of endangered/protected species down here in the Keys. I offer for your consideration the Lower Keys Marsh Rabbit and the Key Deer. Like the sea turtle, both species are endangered. But, the effort to protect them pales in comparison to the sea turtle. Other than a picture at a nature center, I have seen next to nothing in the effort to care and protect this rabbit. As for the key deer, there are lots more signs, lowered speed limits and some designated refuges. But, as you will see, that all pales in comparison to the sea turtle facilities.

The Turtle Rescue

As I am a big internet influencer, I was allowed a tour of one of the local turtle hospitals. The Sea Turtle Center in Marathon, Florida, is a top notch place for the rescue, rehab, and release of the sea turtle. So, let’s start with rescue. There are 24/7 hotlines to report turtles needing rescue. After reporting a turtle in disstress, then the turtle ambulances roll…

So, I went to one sea turtle hospital. In total, I counted three sea turtles ambulances. That is three complete ambulances for one hospital serving the greater marine area around Marathon, Florida. I think it’s safe to say that there are many unincorporated human areas not nearly as well covered. It’s good to be a sea turtle.

The Turtle Rehabilitation

As you now may guess, TurtleCare also consists of some very fine hospital facilities with some equally skilled staff. The surgical suites can handle all manner of turtle problems.

From what I could tell, the 3 most common turtle ailments are flipper problems, turtle tumors and bubble butt. By flipper problems, I just mean something bad has happened to a flipper, such as entanglement in fishing line or a propeller strike. In these cases, the hospital tries to fix, but amputation is often the solution. You see plenty of turtles missing flippers in the holding tanks. Also, there are these turtle tumors that seem fairly common. These tumors are typically caused by water pollution. These huge, gross tumors grow on the turtle. The turtle doctors have some kind of CO2 laser to cut them off.

And then, there is “bubble butt.” Technically, bubble butt is known as Positive Buoyancy Syndrome. Bubble butt is mostly caused by a boat strike or some gastrointestinal issue that causes gas build up. As you can see in the below, left picture, his butt has buoyed out of the water and his head in at the bottom of the tank. Sadly, bubble butt can be fatal as it makes it difficult to get air, as well as feed on the bottom.

The turtle on the left has untreated bubble butt. But, the turtle on the right has had his bubble butt treated. The squarish item toward the front is a floatation device. And , there is diver’s weight in the back. Thus, the turtle now has achieved neutral buoyancy. Who knew?

Finally…Release

When a turtle gets released, it’s a big celebration. People are invited to the party and they send the turtle on his way. Sadly, not all turtles get released back to the wild. For example, no bubble butt patients can be released. The plates on the shells slough off naturally. Any attachments to the shell to achieve neutral buoyancy will eventually fall off and need replacement. Also, turtles with missing/disabled flippers must pass a “swim test” to get released. So, those with bubble butt and swim test failures must remain as hospital guests (a.k.a. tourist attractions). Here are some guest pictures to wrap up this post.