Current Hospital Patients

Jacksonville (or “Jax”) is a juvenile, green sea turtle who was found entangled in Volusia county on Aug. 24. Jacksonville was transferred to CMA from Volusia Marine Science Center on Aug. 27 to space limitations they were experiencing with recent strandings. CMA will continue out the remainder of their rehabilitation.

Jaws is a juvenile green sea turtle who was found washed ashore in St. Johns county on Aug. 10. Jaws was transferred to CMA from Whitney Lab on Aug. 27 due to space limitations they were experiencing with recent strandings. CMA will continue out the remainder of their rehabilitation. Our goal is to get Jaws ready for fibropapilloma tumor removal surgery!

Hinsdale is a juvenile green sea turtle who was found floating in St. Johns county on Aug. 25. Hinsdale was transferred to CMA from Whitney Lab on Aug. 27 due to space limitations they were experiencing with recent strandings. CMA will continue out the remainder of their rehabilitation.

Guayana is a juvenile, sea turtle, who was found floating near Crystal River with injury to their carapace (shell) and head. Guayana has a good body condition and minor fibropapilloma tumors present. They were active and alert at the intake examination. Over the next few days, we will be performing diagnostics to assess the extent of their injuries internally and monitoring their behaviors.

Franklin is a juvenile, green sea turtle who was found entangled in fishing line near New Port Richey on August 4. The entanglement thankfully did not cause any injuries as it was mainly wrapped around their fibropapilloma tumors. Franklin has a moderate amount of fibropapilloma tumors present that will be addressed with our CO2 laser once they are healthy for surgery.

Topaz is a large, subadult Kemp’s ridley, who was found entangled in fishing line near Fort Desoto on June 4. The fisherman who found Topaz reported that they were struggling to surface. Upon the rescue, it was observed that the fishing line was attached to a large crab trap that was pulling Topaz underwater, increasing their risk of drowning. Topaz has a ligature injury on their right front flipper from the entanglement but is otherwise in good body condition.

Pumpernickel is a subadult green sea turtle who was found floating near Indian Rocks on Jan. 17. It was reported that they had trouble staying submerged. Pumpernickel does have a previous injury to their caudal carapace (shell) that is completely healed. They had a large amount of epibiota (algae and barnacles) just on this portion of their carapace which tells us they have been buoyant for some time. Over the next few weeks, we will be performing diagnostics to better assess the cause of their buoyancy.