One Tiny Turtle (Number 31’s Story)

Dec 30, 2013 donations

Number 31 needs your help!Number 31 needs your help!

Number 31 is one of our tiniest sea turtles, yet she’s a fighter. Weighing just over three pounds, this endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was brought in to the National Marine Life Center’s hospital late last month. Like the other ten juvenile sea turtles in our care, she had stranded on Cape Cod with severe hypothermia – called cold stunning – and is suffering the ongoing effects of that serious condition.

Number 31's left rear flipper is fractured.But that wasn’t all this little turtle was fighting. An x-ray revealed she has a broken leg, probably resulting from trauma during stranding. One can picture her being tossed in the heavy surf as the waves pushed her ashore. It had to be painful. Thanks to you, she’s now getting the treatment she needs.

Here at the National Marine Life Center, Number 31 receives pain medication, antibiotics, and fluids. She is cared for in warmed, filtered salt water with a plentiful diet of squid rings and herring fillets. She is examined regularly by a veterinarian specializing in marine animal medicine. Skilled husbandry staff and dedicated volunteers treat and monitor her daily, tending to her every need. With your help, she will be given the support and care needed to make her well so she can be released back to the wild.

Please make a tax deductible year end donation to help Number 31 and her ten companions get well so they can be released back to their ocean home.

  • $10 buys a box of herring or squid to nourish the turtles;
  • $21 buys a bottle of antibiotics to address infection;
  • $58 buys a box of fluids to keep the animals hydrated;
  • $84 buys a bottle of pain medication to help No. 31 battle pain; and
  • $500 helps keep the tank waters warm and the pumps and filters running.*

Thank you from Number 31!*As a special thank you, the first five gifts of $500 or more between now and 11:59 pm on December 31st will have a special opportunity to name #31 or one of four other as-yet-unnamed turtles.

Your gift in any amount will help Number 31 and the other sick sea turtles recover. Perhaps consider a monthly gift, and help sick animals year round! Just $10 a month – that’s 33 cents a day – buys life sustaining food, vitamins, and medicine for our animals.

On behalf of the turtles, thank you for your generosity.


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