Sweet Onion

Green (Chelonia mydas)

Age Class	Juvenile
Gender	Unknown
Date Stranded	February 24, 2023
Location of Stranding	Sarasota Bay, Sarasota County
Date of Arrival	February 24, 2023
Number of Days of Care	11 days

Final Disposition

Euthanized

02/24/2023 Turtle was found floating near the Ringling Bridge in Sarasota Bay, Sarasota County. Animal has kyphosis (deformity of the spine) due to a healed boat strike on the carapace. Animal was transported to Mote for rehab. Blood work shows a very low white blood cell count so "Sweet Onion" was started on injectable antibiotics and subcutaneous fluids. Animal is also very lethargic and exhibiting possible signs of red tide toxicity.

03/04/2023 Sweet Onion is still being kept in very shallow water due to buoyancy issues and lethargy. Turtle is eating well.

03/06/2023 Sweet Onion was water-tested in deep water. Due to the kyphosis, oit was determined this animal had permanent buoyancy issues and was medically non-releaseable. Due to poor prognosis, turtle was euthanized.