All Entries Tagged With: "diamondback terrapin"
The Inside Scoop
To investigate what is really going on inside we took Patty to WHOI for another CAT scan, so what did the ‘cat’ have to say about the turtle ?
There is a new shell forming under the pink tissue we call the pseudo-shell, this is good news but at this point the new shell is not [...]
Shell Game
Patty continues to loose aspects of her top shell, called the carapace, secondary to the damage caused by the exposure to freezing temperatures almost a year ago. The delayed tissue lost is a consequence of micro-vascular damage and a lost of blood flow to the shell (avascular necrosis) which resulted in bone death. Patty is [...]
February Vacation Week at NMLC
This February Vacation week at the National Marine Life Center, there is something for everyone!
Weekdays at 11 am, we offer an update about our patients and the opportunity to visit our headstarting diamondback terrapin hatchlings and red bellied cooter hatchlings. Free, suitable for all ages.
Weekdays at 2 pm, we offer “Fins and Flippers” club where [...]
For the love of turtles (and seals and dolphins and…)
JOIN US on Saturday, February 13, 10 am – 2 pm, for our Open House celebrating turtles and other marine life!
Explore the Marine Animal Discovery Center, make a marine animal valentine, enjoy arts and crafts and games and refreshments, tour our new marine animal hospital. Visit Patty the Diamondback Terrapin and meet the eight red-bellied [...]
Ultrasound for Patty
Today, Dr. Williams performed an ultrasound scan on Patty in order to assess her liver and urinary bladder. Patty’s infected shell requires antibiotics, however these medications can be hard on the liver. In order to watch for liver damage, Dr. Williams periodically draws blood samples and submits them for testing. He uses ultrasound to image [...]
Coming out of their shell….
When the little diamondback terrapin hatchlings arrived several weeks ago, they were pretty quiet. They spent a lot of time huddled inside their shells in the corners of their tanks.
Now, however, they seem to be coming out of their shells! Each is exploring his or her environment. Each seems to be feeling more comfortable in [...]
Have you ever seen a turtle this tiny?
Eight tiny new turtles now call the National Marine Life Center their temporary home. These diamondback terrapin youngsters hatched too late in the season to survive the cold winter. Weighing a mere 4.1 grams (0.14 ounces), the smallest hatchling is only 25.4 mm (~ 1 inch) in length.
Diamondback terrapins live in salt marshes, mud flats, [...]
Shell Game
Patty’s shell (carapace) is finally starting to show some signs of healing but remains unprotected by the hard surface we associate with the shells of turtles on much of its surface. This protective outer layer of keratin (the same material that makes up or hair) will have to form after some more healing, but Patty [...]
Life’s a Beach … for “Patty”
Okay, maybe it is a kiddie’s pool, but the sand is real and the sunshine is divine. For the first time since she was found nearly frozen to death on St. Patrick’s Day in Wellfleet Harbor, “Patty” ventured into the open air to bask in July sunshine on Thursday. The full story of her rescue [...]
Diamondback Terrapin Release!!
The National Marine Life Center released four headstart Diamondback Terrapins at Turtle Point, Lieutenant Island, Wellfleet, MA. The tiny turtles weighed only 5.5 grams when they were brought to NMLC last October, after having hatched too late in the season to survive the winter in the wild. Now an average of 56 grams – a [...]
Eyes of the World
Patty, the diamond-back terrapin that was caught out in the cold (actually was frozen, see: Cold-Stunned Terrapin “Patty” Newest Patient) is making excellent progress. The blood in the eyes is resolving, and now that she can see again she is starting to eat. She still has serious neurological disease and difficulty with the hind legs, [...]
Examined, cleared, and marked
The diamond-back terrapins were given a medical exam to see if they were considered “fit” for their return to the wild ( Diamondback Terrapin Release! June 25, 2009 ) and I’m happy to report all four terrapins passed with flying colors. Permanent identification is critical with all the animals we release, and these little turtles [...]
Diamondback Terrapin Release! June 25, 2009
Please join us in releasing our four headstart Diamondback Terrapins June 25, 2009 5pm, Lieutenant Island, Welfleet. We will meet at the one lane bridge and then continue as a group to turtle point for the release as a group.
Please join us in releasing:
Directions:
Take Route 6 to just beyond the 98 mile marker, take a [...]
Cold-Stunned Terrapin “Patty” Newest Patient
Fourteen-year-old female diamondback terrapin, nicknamed “Patty,” has become the newest patient in the marine animal hospital of the National Marine Life Center. Admitted on Tuesday, Patty was discoverd cold-stunned on St. Patrick’s Day in Chipman’s Cove of Wellfleet Bay on the Outer Cape by the shellfish constable, Andy Koch. You can read about her rescue [...]
Infection and antibiotics
The wound to Amelia’s shell (see previous Ameila’s wounds show signs of healing)
has taken a turn for the worse, and we’ve started her on a course of antibiotics to help her little body counter the infection. The wound started to bleed more and there is more reaction in the tissues surrounding the fractured scute. The [...]
Ameila’s wounds show signs of healing
Assisted by Drs. Ryer and Voorhis we examined the shell fragment from the wounded and wayward Diamond-back terrapin Amelia.
see: Amelia Admitted to Hospital after Crash Landing
The fragment appears to have lost blood supply and will not heal, but the tissues under the fragment are clean and starting to fill in and protect the underling structures. [...]
Amelia Admitted to Hospital after Crash Landing
Two-Year-Old Diamondback Terrapin Fell from the Sky
A two-year-old female Northern diamondback terrapin (Malacemys terrapin terrapin), whom we dubbed Amelia for reasons which may become obvious in a moment, arrived at the National Marine Life Center this morning. Amelia had a most unusual and nerve-wracking escape from tragedy over the weekend, and was rescued by observant residents [...]
