Sponsor the Care of Roly Poly
By sponsoring the care of sea turtle Roly Poly you'll be supporting the Sea Turtle Hospital and the work we do to research, rehab and release these amazing animals. Your sponsorship can provide Roly Poly with important medical supplies, nutritious food, critical exams and other types of care provided while at the Sea Turtle Hospital.
Suggested amount to sponsor the care of a turtle is $50. We appreciate gifts above $50 as well.
For joining us, you'll receive:
- A personalized certificate and choice to have it mailed to your home or emailed
- A monthly email update
- Advance notice of the turtle’s release (attendance at release not guaranteed)
You can even give a turtle sponsorship as a gift!
Please allow 2 weeks for mailed certificate to arrive. Emailed certificates sent within 3-4 business days.
For questions about sponsoring, please contact wh-whitneylab@ufl.edu.
Roly Poly's Story
You never know what will roll in the door. On July 22, we admitted a new patient as a transfer from Sea World Orlando and they have quite a unique story!
Whenever a sea turtle strands, a detailed report is completed and submitted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). This stranding report documents when and where the turtle was found, along with the reason for stranding and other important medical information. The report is entered into the FWC database, and every stranded sea turtle in Florida is assigned a unique stranding identification number.
As it turns out, Roly-Poly was originally triaged here at our hospital back in March during this year's cold-stun event. Because this turtle was not suffering from fibropapillomatosis (FP), they were transferred to SeaWorld Orlando for continued rehabilitation.
During a routine veterinary examination at Sea World Orlando in July, the early stages of FP tumors were identified. Since SeaWorld Orlando is not permitted to rehabilitate sea turtles with FP, this little turtle was transferred back to our hospital, where our team specializes in treating the disease.
We decided to name this patient Roly-Poly because they rolled right back into our care! We are happy to share that Roly Poly has adjusted wonderfully to their new tank and our team! Roly Poly has also already stolen the hearts of our team with their silly personality and can often be seen engaging with different tank enrichment.