Sea Turtle Hospital patient Rocket Power received their swimming papers and was released February 2 on Ormond Beach!
Rocket Power had an exciting end to 2022. On December 14 Rocket Power had surgery to remove FP tumors from his/her left eye and inguinal regions (around the rear flippers). Rocket Power did wonderfully during surgery and was able to return to water within just a few hours. Rocket Power is “tumor free.” When an animal becomes “tumor free” and all incision sites are fully healed, our veterinarian does a complete exam, including radiographs, bloodwork, and a series of measurements to compare to intake measurements. If radiographs and bloodwork come back within normal range, the animal is then fitted with tags in preparation for release!
At the end of January Dr. Brooke did a complete exam, including radiographs and bloodwork. All images and results came back within normal limits and Rocket Power received his/her "swimming papers" which is a clear bill of health, updated weight and carapace measurements and was fitted with a PIT tag and flipper tags. The size of the animal will determine which tag is used. Typically, our patients are all juveniles and will be fitted with a PIT tag (similar to a microchip) and metal flipper tags (similar to cattle tags). If an animal was to re-strand, the animal would be able to be identified.