BUBBLES
Bubbles, a juvenile green turtle, was found struggling on the sea surface by fisherman on Easter Monday behind San Pedro near Secret Beach and was turned over to Hol Chan Marine Reserve personnel. The turtle has been attacked by an unknown predator. Hol Chan Marine Reserve contacted the Alicia Eck Nunez of the Belize Fisheries Department who contacted Linda Searle, Director of Ecomar, to receive and care for the injured turtle.
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On April 3, 2024 Brittany Garbutt, Hol Chan Marine Reserve marine biologist, brought the turtle into Belize City via watertaxi and delivered it to Linda Searle of Ecomar. The turtle was immediately taken to Animal Medical Center for assessment and Dr. Sasha and Dr. Katerina Skalova did the initial assessment.
The turtle was found to have two amputated flippers, the right front flipper and the rear left flipper. In addition the turtle was very dehydrated and very lethargic upon arrival and could not even lift its head to breath. Fluids were administered and the wounds were in cleaned and stitched up. Pain medication and antibiotics were also administered. Blood work was also done, and the PCV value was found to be very low at 12%. The decision on whether or not she would be a good candidate for rehabilitation was discussed with the consultants. The primary question was can she swim? When placed in the tank, Bubbles was able to move around as gracefully as a turtle with 4 flippers! The turtle was cared for at the turtle rehab facility set up by ECOMAR and the Belize Fisheries Department in Belize City. Linda Searle and Samantha Smith cared for the turtle daily. Every day the wounds were treated with chlorhexidine and honey, and every three days the turtle received medication and fluids. After about three days at the rehab facility, the turtle began to eat. The favorite food of choice was sprat and the feeding was done every morning between eight and nine and also every afternoon between three and four. Also in the tank was a salad garden that Bubbles could eat turtle grass. Eventually Bubbles developed a voracious appetite, eating approximately 14 small sprat in the morning and sometimes as many as 18 small sprats in the evening. |
She improved on a daily basis and was soon swimming around and diving effortlessly. With a couple weeks the wounds on the turtle were beginning to heal. The decision that she was ready to be released was based on the fact that she was very active, swimming up and down the water column, and feeds on spart and seagrass, the tissue was growing over the wounds, and the recent blood test indicated that the PCV value increase 25.5 % on May 28.
Two months later bubbles has almost doubled her weight from 1100 g when she arrived to 2050 g, and weighs almost 5 pounds when released today on May 30. Bubbles immediately started swimming when she was released and it was hard to keep up with her in the sea! If anyone sees Bubbles, please report her location!
The story of bubbles is very interesting because it involved a worldwide team of consultants. Besides Dr. Sasha and Dr. Kate from the Animal Medical Center, additional consultants were Dr. Terry Norton and Nina Nahvi from the United States and Dr. Kimberly Stuart from St Kitts.
Locally Mr. Gregory Soberanis Sr and Emmanuel Williams Jr must be recognized for supplying lots and lots of sprats for feeding Bubbles.
Two months later bubbles has almost doubled her weight from 1100 g when she arrived to 2050 g, and weighs almost 5 pounds when released today on May 30. Bubbles immediately started swimming when she was released and it was hard to keep up with her in the sea! If anyone sees Bubbles, please report her location!
The story of bubbles is very interesting because it involved a worldwide team of consultants. Besides Dr. Sasha and Dr. Kate from the Animal Medical Center, additional consultants were Dr. Terry Norton and Nina Nahvi from the United States and Dr. Kimberly Stuart from St Kitts.
Locally Mr. Gregory Soberanis Sr and Emmanuel Williams Jr must be recognized for supplying lots and lots of sprats for feeding Bubbles.
