Janice
Janice
Arrival Date: July 27, 2024
Patient Profile
Name: Janice
Species: Green Sea Turtle
Weight: 24 Pounds
Reason for visit: Healed Predator Attack & Lethargy
Location Found: Islamorada, FL
Status Report
07/27/24: This afternoon we received a call from a resident on Islamorada, she found a young sea turtle floating in the channel behind her home with a large wound to her rear. Our rescue team rushed to the home to find a juvenile green sea turtle lethargic and a large bite wound to her rear that has since healed. With a new name of Janice, she was brought to the hospital for initial intake diagnostics such as radiographs and bloodwork to better understand her status. With initial blood work showing concerning results, rehab staff sent samples off for further review. In the meantime while new results are pending, Janice received intravenous fluids and was placed in her hospital tank with shallow water to help her adjust to her new surroundings. Currently Janice is experiencing lethargy, lack of coordination, and is very shy at the moment.
08/02/24: Janice has been adjusting well to her new surroundings, still a bit shy but is eating well. Bloodwork results have returned showing Janice has a biotoxin in her system, this explains the symptoms she has been experiencing. A biotoxin is something that naturally occurs in the environment, but due to factors such as (but not limited to) pollution or climate change this can cause these substances to appear more frequently, out of season, or increase in range of effect. For Janice, the team suspects this biotoxin to be an algae bloom. Algae blooms when ingested by animals can cause lethargy, lack of coordination, confusion, and other neurotoxin effects. Resulting in the animal unable to care for themselves properly, and becoming susceptible to secondary illness or injury. Now that the team knows what is causing Janice to feel unwell, they have quickly created a new care plan to help get her feeling better. This will involve lots of supportive care to help flush the biotoxin from her system and provide her with a well balanced diet to keep her strength up. Great job rehab team! Stay tuned for more updates on Janice.
Neurotoxins are substances that can damage, destroy, or impair the functioning of the nervous system
08/14/24: It’s been almost 2 weeks since we received the results for Janice’s bloodwork and with the new care plan in place she has been significantly improving. The Rehab team has increased the water depth to her hospital tank, as Janice has become more active and needs more room to show off her wonderful swimming skills. To keep things interesting for her, the rehab team has placed an enrichment toy in her tank that holds fresh seaweed. This will help Janice to practice her foraging skills and keep her mentally stimulated as she works to pull the food out of the toy. We are so happy to see such a turn around in Janice, she will continue to receive supportive care till her bloodwork comes back clear. As for her healed predator attack wound, the area looks good with no concerns at the moment. While she will always have a piece missing from herself, there is nothing health wise to worry about. Make sure to say hello to Janice during your next visit, she is in the hospital tank with the underwater window and loves to pose for selfies.
8/20/24: To help in Janice’s recovery she has been moved to one of the larger quads in our main pool. The main pool is the original swimming pool of the hotel that was converted into a live tide pool directly connected to the ocean. This space is home to our current non-releasable sea turtles and has 3 separate spaces in the shallow end for use for our patients. Janice has so far been enjoying this new environment as she is able to swim with fish, eat the seaweed that grows, and practice her camouflage skills by blending in with the sand, rocks, and algae at the pool floor. We are happy she is improving during her stay and can’t wait till she gets the green light from Dr. Norton for release. In the meantime, see if you can spot her during your next visit. She’s very good at hiding.
09/08/24: This week Janice now has a new roommate, a very large green sea turtle by the name of Cooter B. They have already become best friends and enjoy taking naps together, foraging for sea grass and rarely leave each other’s side. Dr. Norton gave Janice a check up to see how she is progressing in her care. So far she is doing well, improving in eating since having Cooter B by her side, and becoming more active. We are very happy to see her doing well and hope she continues so she can work towards her swim test in the future.
09/28/24: This week Janice, like many of our patients and resident sea turtles, were relocated throughout our hospital tanks on land in preparation for Hurricane Helene. Janice was moved from the lower main pool where she had resided with now released green sea turtle Cooter B, to the hurricane tanks with resident Fab Five member Bender. Here she was also housed alongside patients Mary and Melania, two young green sea turtles. Janice and fellow sea turtles all did very well through the storm as the hospital only experienced strong winds and heavy rain. We are thankful to have not been hit worse by the storm and currently open to the public as normal for our guests to visit our patients. Make sure to visit our Instagram for videos of our team working together to prepare for the storm.
Release
We are happy to announce Janice was released back out to sea on October 3, 2024 alongside a few fellow sea turtle patients who have successfully recovered from their injuries and illnesses. She was released back to the reef off the coast of Key Largo. We are so happy this young lady made it back out to sea to continue her adventures out at sea.
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