Galapagos

Species: Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

Arrival Date: June 24, 2019
Stranding Location: Jupiter, FL

Initial Weight: 223.74 lbs.
Current Weight: 222.71 lbs.

Issue: Unintentional Boat Strike / Buoyancy Disorder

Galapagos is an adult male green sea turtle patient that was found floating and unable to dive offshore of Jupiter. The turtle has an old unintentional boat strike injury to the back of his carapace, and fresh boat strike injuries on his right marginal carapace. The wounds will be treated topically with betadine, honey, and therapeutic laser. Galapagos will receive antibiotics and be monitored closely as the buoyancy disorder and boat strike injuries are treated.

PROGRESS KEY:

Good Condition
Fair Condition
Poor Condition

Patient requires continued treatment but is progressing well.

Minor adjustments have been made to the patient's treatment.

Patient is off all medications.

PROGRESS NOTES:

Final Update - Recently the hospital team made a difficult but necessary discussion regarding Galapagos' quality of life.

Galapagos came to LMC in June of 2019 with a healing boat strike injury and a fresh boat strike injury to the carapace which was causing a buoyancy disorder. For two years Galapagos received optimal care and the love and dedication of our hospital staff. His size and his vibrant personality inspired our many guests and left an indelible mark on all at LMC.

Unfortunately, after a long stay as a patient, escalating ailments meant he was no longer a candidate for release nor would he have the quality of life he was deserving of in captivity, and our hospital staff made the difficult but necessary decision to humanely euthanize. While we are saddened by his passing, we will remember Galapagos with incredible fondness and we are so grateful to all who adopted him and made his long-term care possible.

12/06/2021 -Galapagos’ quality of life is being discussed. In his current medical state, he is not releasable. We have worked hard for a long time to stabilize his ongoing infections and have tried a multitude of therapies. Also, due to his continuing buoyancy issues, the turtle has developed a large and seemingly painful abcess on the back of his neck, making him inappetent once again.

11/29/2021 -

11/22/2021 -

11/15/2021 -

11/08/2021 -Galapagos has been consistently eating well and gaining weight. He continues his external weight therapy. Galapagos’s last blood culture did test positve for bacteria, so he is on systemic antibiotics to fight the infection.

11/01/2021 -

10/25/2021 -

10/11/2021 -

10/04/2021 - Galapagos continues to make good progress. His external weight therapy has resumed, albeit with lighter weight. His bacteriophage therapy is complete and the infection in his blood remains absent. Galapagos’ prognosis remains good.

09/27/2021 -

09/20/2021 -

09/13/2021 -

09/06/2021 -Galapagos continues to make good progress. His external weight therapy has resumed, albeit with lighter weight. He is continuing on a second round of bacteriophage therapy. Galapagos’ prognosis remains good.

08/30/2021 -

08/23/2021 -

08/16/2021 -

08/09/2021 -Galapagos continues to make good progress. His external weight therapy has been discontinued and he is responding nicely. We are refining the rest of his therapy and are very hopeful with his continued progress. Galapagos’ prognosis remains good.

08/02/2021 -

07/26/2021 -

07/19/2021 -

07/09/2021 -

07/02/2021 -Galapagos continues to make acceptable progress. He has completed the first portion of a novel therapy to treat an infection in his blood and results of that treatment are very promising. Galapagos’ prognosis remains guarded.

06/25/2021 -

06/18/2021 -

06/11/2021 -

06/04/2021 - Galapagos continues to make good progress in his overall clinical course. He continues to be very active, eats well, enjoys organic leafy greens and is adding strength. Galapagos' prognosis remains guarded.

05/28/2021 -

05/21/2021 -

05/14/2021 -

05/07/2021 - Galapagos continues to make good progress in his overall clinical course. He continues to be very active, eats well and is gaining weight. His external carapacial weight was reduced and he is responding well to this change. Galapagos’ prognosis remains guarded.

04/30/2021 -

04/23/2021 -

04/16/2021 -

04/09/2021 -

04/02/2021 -Galapagos continues to make good progress in his overall clinical course and specifically in his response to therapy for his bone disease. He continues to be very active in his tank, is gaining good weight, and enjoys grazing on his daily greens. Galapagos’ prognosis remains guarded.

03/25/2021 -

03/19/2021 -

03/11/2021 -

03/04/2021 -Galapagos continues to make good progress in his overall clinical course and specifically in his response to therapy for his bone disease. He underwent mild debridement of wounds on his tail this week. Galapagos’ prognosis remains guarded.

02/25/2021 -

02/18/2021 -

02/11/2021 -

02/05/2021 -Galapagos continues to exhibit changes in his bloodwork that suggest he is still fighting a systemic infection, and his treatment has been refined to reflect this. He continues to eat well, and gain weight. We have determined that he has mild bone disease in his right front flipper and his treatment has been modified to reflect this finding. His prognosis remains guarded.

01/28/2021 -

01/21/2021 -

01/14/2021 -

01/01/2021 -Galapagos continues to exhibit changes in his bloodwork that suggest he is still fighting a systemic infection, and his treatment has been refined to reflect this. He continues to eat well, is gaining weight and his behavior is near normal. His external weight has been adjusted down and he behaving normally with his new weight. Galapagos is having further diagnostics this month in order to determine if a new therapy is indicated. His prognosis remains guarded.

12/31/2020 -

12/24/2020 -

12/17/2020 -

12/10/2020 -

12/01/2020 -Galapagos continues to exhibit changes in his bloodwork that suggest he is still fighting a systemic infection, and his treatment has been refined to reflect this. He continues to eat well, is gaining weight and his behavior is near normal. His external weight has been adjusted to reflect a more appropriate size, and he continues to be able to surface well and rest on the bottom. His prognosis remains guarded.

11/26/2020 -

11/19/2020 -

11/12/2020 -

11/05/2020 -

11/01/2020 -Galapagos continues to exhibit changes in his bloodwork that suggest he is still fighting a systemic infection, and his treatment has been refined to reflect this. He continues to eat well and his behavior is near normal. Galapagos has been fitted with a heavier external weight to improve his ability to swim and rest comfortably. His prognosis remains guarded.

10/22/2020 -

10/15/2020 -

10/08/2020 -

10/01/2020 -- Galapagos continues to exhibit change in his bloodwork that suggest he is still fighting a systemic infection. Over the past month, two new treatment protocols were attempted, with mixed results. He continues to eat well and his behavior is near normal. Galapagos is being fitted with a heavier external weight to improve his ability to swim and rest comfortably. His prognosis remains guarded.

09/24/2020 --

09/17/2020 -