Cuyahoga's Story
Boat strike
Cuyahoga is a sub-adult green sea turtle rescued in Boynton Beach, with several boat propeller strike wounds across their carapace, exposing bone and coelomic lining, and even causing a laceration to their lung. A typical ailment during the healing process following an injury like this, this patient also experienced issues with buoyancy which caused the hind portion of their body to float at the water’s surface. Cuyahoga will continue to receive treatment with our friends at the Loggerhead Marine Life Center to continue their rehabilitation and healing process.
Name: Cuyahoga
Species: Green (Cm)
Age class: Sub-Adult
Admission date: 8/09/22
Ailment: Boat Strike
Weight: 40.6 kg
Updates
8/09/22: Admitted for rehab, Silvadene and honey applied to wounds and dressed with bandages. Dry docked overnight.
8/10/22: Change dressing & clean wounds. Begin supportive care regiment, fluid therapy, and daily honey applications. CT scans at Palm Beach Veterinary Specialists.
8/17/22: Passed monofilament in fecal. Treating carapace wounds with daily laser therapy.
8/25/22: Added 150g weight to carapace to control buoyancy.
8/27/22: Floating even while resting, increased weight to 300g.
9/1/22: Continue supportive care and Cold Laser Therapy. Monitor buoyancy issue, showing signs of sitting flat on the bottom.
9/6/22: Off of medications and laser therapy.
9/30/22: Moved to larger tank and carapace weight removed. Turtle sitting flat on the tank bottom when resting, but still floating when active.
10/1/22: Wounds healing well, but patient continues to float at the surface. Occasionally flat on the tank bottom, continuing to monitor progress.
10/4/22: Veterinary exam and wound debridement, removed some necrotic bone and tissue.
11/17/22: Weight vest with 400g added and patient moved to mangrove tank for observation.
12/9/22: Patient moved to shipwreck tank for observation. Diving and surfacing well without problems.
2/1/22: Continuing to monitor buoyancy and swimming behavior.
3/14/23: Patient transferred to Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach.
