Serena
Serena
Arrival Date: May 5, 2024
Patient Profile
Name: Serena
Species: Green Sea Turtle
Weight: 36.9 pounds
Reason for visit: Positive Buoyancy Disorder and Predator Attack Wound
Location Found: Key West
Status Report
05/05/24: Serena arrived at the Turtle Hospital after a good samaritain spotted her off Key West island missing her right front flipper possibly from a predator attack, along with deformation to her shell. Our Rescue and Rehab staff performed initial diagnostics and got to work creating a care plan to start Serenas road to recovery.
05/16/24: Serena is adjusting well to her stay at the Turtle Hospital, receiving wound care to her right front flipper, along with daily exams to ensure she is improving.
05/18/24: Serena has been enjoying Mackerel, Caplin, and Squid during her feeding time. Today Serena enjoyed some swim time outside her hospital tank in a smaller separate space in our tide pool. She really enjoyed swimming alongside the resident fish that reside in our tide pool as well and more space to exercise. To ensure she continues to improve Serena was later placed back in her hospital tank to rest.
05/21/24: As Serena has shown more improvement the rehab team gave her a tank upgrade to our larger oblong hospital tank. This allows her more space to practice her swimming and daily exercise. Serena continues to eat well, even practicing her foraging skills! Her injured front right flipper continues to look better each day, rehab staff will continue wound care for support. Serena is scheduled next week for her physical exam, stay tuned for results!
06/20/24: This month Serena was upgraded to a larger oblong tank for her stay here at The Turtle Hospital. So far our little lady is doing well, she’s continuing to gain weight and grow. Her front right flipper is healing very well, requiring less frequent wound care as it is almost healed. Serena has improved in her swimming skills and is loving the larger oblong tank for more space to play. Currently Serena is still displaying trouble with her buoyancy due to her deformation to her shell, at this time there is no clear answer for what the solution may be for her particular situation. The Turtle Hospital will continue to research and discuss with other organizations for the right option for Serena. In the meantime, our rehab team will continue to ensure she receives the best care during her stay. Make sure to stay hello to this little lady during your next visit to The Turtle Hospital.
07/15/24: Another wonderful day for Serena, she is continuing to become stronger everyday. With more space to move in her oblong tank she has been showing off her strong swimming skills to guests as they visit our facility. After an exam with Dr. Norton, Serena was approved to be taken off all supportive medications and will stay in observation. Her rehab team will continue to care and monitor her until a decision is made if she can be released back into the wild or transferred to an aquarium or zoo somewhere around the world. Green Sea Turtles can live to be up to 100 years old, with that our team wants to make sure she has all she needs if transferred to a new facility. If she proves to be able to go back out to sea, her rehab team will make sure she is strong and healthy to make that journey out to sea. In the meantime, Serena enjoys all her yummy veggies and squid. As guests come to visit she is always showing off her swimming skills and coming up for a picture. Make sure to get her good side!
8/20/24: It’s been a busy week for Serena, after much review Serena has been approved for release. She has been moved to the larger hurricane tanks on premissises to enjoy more space to practice her swimming and continue to grow and become strong. She will be going up for her swim test soon as well, but luckily she has a cheerleader in her tank with her. Ms. Bender, one of our Fab Five here at The Turtle Hospital is also swimming with her in the large hurricane tank. Bender came to our facility many years ago tangled in fishing line and debris was unable to get out of the way of an income boat. Resulting in Positive Buoyancy Disorder (“Bubble Butt”). The two have been getting along great as Bender loves to help a fellow sea turtle out by keeping them company and support as they work to head back out to sea. Serena in the coming days will continue to receive supportive care from her rehab team and practice her swimming as we wait for her pending release date. Make sure to follow our Facebook and Instagram for updates on releases so you can join us on the beach as we say goodbye.
Positive Buoyancy Disorder or “Bubble Butt” as our turtle team refers to, is the result of a traumatic force as it strikes the sea turtle’s shell. This results in air within their body to become trapped in spaces within their body such as tissue or organs. This air within them prevents them from controlling their buoyancy naturally and prevents them from diving from the surface. Injuries such as this can cause their shell to also become misshapen with a dome like shape at the top. Those who are injured with “Bubble Butt” unfortunately cannot return to the wild, here at The Turtle Hospital we place weights on their bucks to help in reducing how much they float to help them dive and swim more normally. This process is a temporary fix as their shells are ever growing and the weights are unable to stay on permanently.
Did you know we named the disorder after a green sea turtle rescued by the team whose name was Bubble Butt.
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