Caring for Sea Turtles Great and Small

Picture a sea turtle returning to the ocean. The creature’s awkward, labored motions on the sand give way instantly to grace and beauty as she returns to her home environment. If the turtle has recovered from an injury and is being released by humans, there will usually be a crowd of well-wishers looking on. The crowd will cheer joyfully as the turtle swims off into the blue.

For the devoted caregivers who help sick and injured turtles, a moment like this is the conclusion of a process; and the process may have included some surprises along the way.

For more than 10 years, sea turtles have been getting the best of care at Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Healing Center. Every year, more than 100 turtles receive treatment there; approximately 30 percent of those turtles are from the coasts of Indian River County. Now, ingenious new therapies are complementing traditional treatment, providing more options for the veterinarians, staff, and volunteers who help these creatures. With the Brevard Zoo working toward the goal of a new aquarium—including an expanded Sea Turtle Healing Center that will be open to the public—it seems like a fitting time to peek behind the scenes at how sea turtles are being helped right now.

What do sea turtles, kangaroos, bears, and eagles have in common? They have all been through Brevard Zoo’s new CT scan machine. Sea turtle program manager Shanon Gann says that the machine was a “must.” She explains, “We used to go to a veterinary clinic nearby to use their CT, but it’s an emergency clinic, so there can be a backlog.” The scans provide precise data down to the 2-millimeter level, along with 3D images. There is also a positive ripple effect from the acquisition, because the zoo has made the CT machine available to other wildlife rehabilitation facilities, including the Florida Wildlife Hospital.

An important therapy for some sea turtles is tube feeding. A sick or injured turtle that has washed ashore is often dehydrated. Feeding tubes are used to provide nutrition, hydration, and broad-spectrum antibiotics. Vitamin therapy is also important. “There is a sea turtle multivitamin, if you can believe that,” says Gann with a laugh.

One patient that is benefiting from tube feeding is Daffodil, a juvenile green sea turtle with digestive issues and general debilitation. Before each feeding, she is weighed on a small scale. “It’s important to get their weight to make sure they’re moving in the right direction,” Gann explains. Volunteers are carefully trained in how to properly hold a sea turtle to place her on the scale and then put her back on the tray where she receives her feeding.

Daffodil is being fed with a mixture of Pedialyte—yes, the same Pedialyte used for human babies—and two different zoo formulas. One is for herbivores, but there is a little carnivore formula added into it, reflecting a sea turtle’s omnivorous diet. Daffodil also receives antibiotic injections. She can be observed lifting her head while veterinary work is being done; that’s how sea turtles breathe when they surface, and the instinctive gesture seems to help calm them.

Another young green sea turtle being helped at the center is Truffle, who has a parasitic infection. Truffle is getting two different medicines to flush out the infection; one of them is used primarily for horses. “Sometimes things are a little off-label with sea turtles,” says Gann with a smile, explaining that the zoo’s veterinarians ingeniously deduced that this equine medication could be effective for sea turtles, too.

All this may seem very modern, but other therapies have an age-old history. Medicinal leeches sound medieval, and indeed, the use of leeches for bloodletting was a popular treatment during the Middle Ages. Even now, though, medicinal leeches have benefits for sea turtles. They are used when a turtle has been wounded, for example, by being tangled in fishing line. However, the purpose is not to remove the blood, but rather to draw it toward the injured area. When fishing line wraps tightly around a flipper, it cuts off circulation. Once the line is cut, circulation may still be lacking in that flipper. The leeches are placed on the injured flipper because they will draw the blood toward them. And these are not just any leeches—they are medical-grade leeches, a particular species that has anticoagulant properties in its saliva.

Another therapy that may sound medieval is the use of maggots. “They are small and white, and they come in a jar,” Gann says. What does a veterinarian do with a jar of maggots? They can be used to get rid of dead tissue on an injured flipper. While maggots consume dead tissue, they do not harm live tissue. “And we put pantyhose over the flipper to contain the maggots,” Gann adds. Undoubtedly, both the maggots and the pantyhose are surprising aspects of sea turtle medical treatment.

More appetizing is the use of honey—a healthful substance for humans and sea turtles alike. “Honey has been used by humans since the ancient Egyptians,” says Gann. The honey used for the turtles is raw and unfiltered, including manuka honey from New Zealand. This type is made by bees that take the nectar of the manuka tree, which itself is valued in herbal medicine. “The medicinal properties are infused into the honey,” Gann explains. But, she adds, “We’ve found that local honey works great, too.” Thus, Brevard Zoo has its own apiary.

So, how does one give sea turtles honey? By adding it to their food? On the contrary, the honey is not taken orally by the turtles; it is applied topically to wounds. Then the turtle basks in the sun while the honey is absorbed. One turtle, named Prosciutto, seems to especially enjoy this treatment, sitting quietly in the sun for an hour with part of a flipper covered in honey. A turtle that does not seem to be at ease, however, will be left out for just 15 minutes or so before being returned to the water. Honey has antimicrobial properties and, in addition, draws toxins out of the wound with an osmotic effect. According to Gann, “Honey is a gem!”

And then there is the sea turtle chiropractor. Dr. Ashley Mincey of Wild Life Chiropractic in Melbourne is a chiropractor who specializes in animals and works with veterinarians. She has been called in for sea turtles suffering from rigidity and muscular issues. Through examination, she determines what types of movements a turtle may be avoiding due to discomfort or overexertion. Then she helps to rebalance the patient and increase the range of motion, just as a chiropractor aims to do for human patients.

There have been times when the Healing Center has faced an unusually large number of patients. Can you imagine treating a thousand sea turtles at once? Thankfully, they were hatchlings, making the numbers manageable. In some years, hatchlings that are heading out to the sargassum line, where they will take refuge in the seaweed until they grow larger, are pushed back to shore by storms or currents. Fortunately, the help these hatchlings need is only temporary, and most are able to be released.

Having so many turtle hatchlings on hand at once is something no one forgets. Andrea Hill, marketing and communications director for Brevard Zoo, recalls one special little turtle she met a few years ago. “One hatchling came in as part of a group of a thousand, and he was missing a back flipper. But he was just as fast as the others; in fact, he was swimming on top of them.” A determined creature!

On the other end of the size spectrum are adult leatherback turtles. A leatherback hatchling was once treated at the center, but an injured adult leatherback would have to be treated on the beach, using a triage approach. This is due in part to their enormous size: a leatherback can be 6 feet long and weigh 1,000 pounds. In addition, leatherbacks generally do not do well in any form of captivity, so on-site attention followed by immediate release is their best bet.

What can Vero Beach residents do to help sea turtles? Following the cautions about beachfront lighting provided by organizations like the Sea Turtle Conservancy can help prevent hatchling disorientation. “Hatchlings move to the brightest light,” Gann explains. That is meant to be the reflection of moonlight or starlight in the water, not the lights of beachfront houses.

Also, avoid bringing plastic bags to the beach; even if you put them into a trash receptacle, they can blow away or be picked out by raccoons and then tossed to the winds. When you are boating, be careful not to lose fishing line.

Finally, Gann points out that supporting the sea turtle license plate program can be a real help; important funding for Sea Turtle Healing Center purchases has been provided by license plate proceeds.

When a sea turtle returns to the ocean, it is a moment of victory. For a previously sick or injured turtle to be able to be released, there is a story behind that moment. It is a story that may involve surprising and creative medical treatments, and that certainly involves a labor of love.