The center’s tanks are divided into two areas: the rehab area for solitary recovery and “pap land” where many turtles can swim together. We had to decide who's incisions were big enough to warrant a "single room." We didn't want other turtles with larger wounds to be bothered. It was good news that most of the turtles could go into the big tank or “pap land.”

Once everyone was back in the water swimming, we started feeding. Surprisingly most turtles started eating - less than a day after surgery! Some are picky, so I taught the volunteers how to stick-feed them squid. Some turtles forget to eat while staying with us, so you have to entice them to take the food. We had great success teaching the volunteers and the turtles how to eat. We also released a very large green turtle. She was very excited to go back to the ocean.

Posted by Abbey Grobe, animal health