Juvenile green FP turtle “Tini” was moved recently from a tank to a quadrant in the main tidal pool (known as “Quad 2” to the Rehab staff). After FP turtles have recovered from their intial surgery to remove the external tumors, they are moved into the larger, natural setting. Here, they can build up an immune response to the FP virus. We continually monitor the turtles in Quad 2 to check for any tumor regrowths. Building up an immunity to fibropapilloma can take time–more than a year–but we continue to care for these turtles anxiously awaiting the day for their release. Tini, a shark attack survivor as well, now has a bunkmate, George, who is both a boat strike and FP survivor working on an immune response to the virus.
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