Today was a surgery day. Typically we do surgery 1-2 times a week; depending on the turtles that we currently have. We’ll do multiple surgeries in 1 day, sort of like a sea turtle assembly line.

Some green sea turtles awaiting surgery

Then once they are done with surgery, they get to recuperate inside the emergency room. Below is Olivia, one of our rehabbers, checking the heart rate of Smelly Cat. The normal heart rate for a sea turtle is about 24-28 beats per minute (bpm). But right after surgery the heart rate can fluctuate, so we need to regularly monitor the turtle. If the turtle needs to be under anesthesia, then they are also intubated (the tube coming out of her mouth). This way we can breathe for the turtle until they are completely conscious again.

Olivia and Smelly Cat