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

Sweet Onion

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.

Happening at Mote

Fin Fact

Manatees make sounds—in fact, they make five different calls: squeaks, high squeaks, squeals, squeak-squeals, and chirps. They even have “graded” calls, meaning they can adjust a single call to convey more nuances of what they’re doing or how they’re feeling. Think of how a cat adjusts its “meow” when startled, happy, or excited. Mote scientists study manatee vocalizations to better understand the behavior of these imperiled mammals.

@motemarinelab #motemarinelab