Salty the Sea Turtle

The Tybee Island Marine Science Center's loggerhead sea turtle, Salty, was found on Tybee Island as a straggler (a hatchling that didn't make it to the ocean with the rest of the nest) in August of 2010. As he (or she, we don't actually know) has grown, a congenital shell deformity has become more pronounced. I have been working with the vet at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island to treat Salty's symptoms. He has been floating and unable to dive properly so we decided to start him on weight therapy. We attached a piece of Velcro to his shell using epoxy and used a neoprene weight pouch to attach weights to the Velcro. We also started feeding Salty in a "basket" made of mesh so that he can dive to eat but the fish cannot get to his food. Two weeks ago I took Salty to a hospital in Brunswick for a CT scan. It was really neat to see the scan and how Salty's deformity is affecting his lungs. We don't know what the future holds for Salty but will continue to use the weight therapy and encourage diving. Click here to see an article from when we first started treating Salty.

Salty is buckled up and ready for a trip to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
















Salty's velcro.
















Salty eating in his new feeding "basket". We call it his playpen!
















Salty was lightly sedated for his CT scan.
















Salty's scan is on the left monitor. You can see him in the scanner in the top right corner of the photo.
















A 3-d image of Salty. You can see his curved spine and asymmetrical shell.