Meet Stella, one of our newest patients at the Turtle Conservation Centre
On 24 October 2024, a Cape Nature ranger alerted our Turtle Rescue Network to a green turtle found in Plettenberg Bay. Immobile and covered with algae, her rescuer was uncertain about this turtle’s chances. There were also some strange gashes on her carapace (top shell) that looked as though a shark or another large marine predator had tried to take a bite of her!
The turtle was transported to Robberg Vet, the Turtle Rescue Network Point in Plettenberg Bay. Dr Bernice van Huyssteen, our vet at the Turtle Conservation Centre, gave instructions for first-response care via WhatsApp. These included a freshwater bath in lukewarm water to allow the turtle to rehydrate and regain a stable body temperature. A huge "thank you" goes to Chanel Visser, CapeNature ranger, for her incredible care.
When it wasn’t possible to get a lift to Cape Town the same day, it was decided that the turtle would fly to the Turtle Conservation Centre! On the morning of her flight, the turtle had another freshwater bath, and some honey was applied to her wounds. She flew in a comfy box with lots of air holes and lined with towels.
One of our Sea Turtle Aquarists, Ayesha Cornelius, fetched the precious cargo from the airport in the morning. When Ayesha arrived back at the Turtle Conservation Centre with the turtle, our team immediately took her to the clinic to assess her health and provide vital care. This included a thorough health check and another freshwater bath. It was encouraging to see the turtle actively drinking, boosting her rehydration after the flight. Another sigh of relief came when the turtle defecated – this is a good sign of a working digestive system.
During the health check, the team applied some wound care to the turtle’s carapace and plastron. A mixture of fresh turmeric, honey, and F10 veterinary disinfectant is the Turtle Conservation Centre’s “go-to” anti-inflammatory and antibacterial wound treatment. Once the arrival process was over, the turtle was placed in a warm pool of seawater with a steady oxygen supply and left to rest.
Once the turtle had stabilised, she was named Stella by the team and officially joined her fellow rehabilitation patients at the Turtle Conservation Centre. Still, her rehabilitation journey was far from over.
In the first few weeks of Stella’s care, the turtle team noticed that she was extremely buoyant on her right side. This means she was floating in her pool with the right side of her carapace sticking out substantially at the surface. This is how the team discovered that Stella had a pneumocoeloem, an air pocket in her body cavity. Typically, a pneumocoeloem is caused by a tear in the lung – this may have been a result of blunt force trauma such as a boat strike or a shark bite.
Dr Bernice’s first call was to balance Stella out by removing the excess air from her right side using a syringe. Despite this initial success, Stella’s extreme buoyancy returned a few days later. This prompted a visit to “Turtle Dad”, Dr Peter Berndt’s radiology practice where he could CT scan Stella. The scan revealed an active infection in Stella’s lung, which is causing leakage into her body cavity. Therefore, to correct her buoyancy, the infection needs to be treated with antibiotics first. Dr Bernice started Stella on two types of antibiotics, which she hopes will cure the infection and give Stella a better chance at returning to full health. Stella is quite suspicious of the team’s efforts to help, though, and her antibiotics have to be carefully hidden in her food, or she spits them out!
While Stella recovers, Dr Bernice will continue to remove small amounts of air from her body cavity to keep her balanced while the antibiotics work at the infection. This prevents Stella from building uneven muscle mass to compensate for her buoyancy, giving her a bit of relief. Her last appointment yielded positive news: Dr Bernice couldn’t find any air to remove! This may point to some improvement in her lungs, too.
Stella is scheduled for another CT scan in the next few weeks to check up on her lung infection. Our Turtle Conservation Centre is optimistic for Stella’s future – she is feisty and has a good appetite! When she is ready, Stella will be released back into the ocean.
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