Heath

Age Class	Subadult
Gender	Unknown
Date Stranded	February 4, 2021
Location of Stranding	Sarasota Bay, Sarasota County
Date of Arrival	February 4, 2021
Number of Days of Care	29 days

02/04/2021 Some boaters called in a report of a turtle swimming in uncoordinated circles at the top of the water. Staff of Sarasota Dolphin Research Program were out on the water and retrieved the animal and named it "Heath". Upon admit at Mote, the animal had a physical exam and blood work. There is evidence of an older healing boat strike to the back of the animal's carapace. Turtle is lethargic and has a heavy epibiota load indicating it may have been floating for quite some time. The animal's blood glucose was very low, likely because it hasn't been eating recently. Heath was adminitered dextrose intravenously, given subcutaneous fluids, and injectable antibiotics. Turtle is now in a rehab. tank in very shallow water.

02/06/2021 Heath is still very lethargic and has shown no interest in eating sea food, lettuce, or sea grass yet.

02/09/2021 Heath ate some squid today.

02/11/2021 Heath is eating all sea food offered and even ate some lettuce today! He is still being kept in shallow water because he is still positively buoyant.