November 29, 2013 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch Page 13 Green Sea Turtle Rehabbing At Aquarium By TRAVIS BROWN STAFF WRITER Thanksgiving Weekend! BUY $100 GIFT CARD AND GET A $25 GIFT CARD OCEAN CITY – A cold stunned green sea turtle that was transported from Ocean City to the Baltimore National Aquarium this week is recovering but still vulnerable. “He isn’t completely out of the woods yet,” said Jennifer Dittmar, manager of the National Aquarium Animal Rescue team. “We consider him to be in critical condition. But he is showing improvement over the last 24 hours, which is a good sign.” Dittmar clarified that while she is referring to the green sea turtle as “he” the gender of the turtle has not been identified, as it is a juvenile. The turtle is probably between 2 and 5 years old and weighed about five pounds when admitted into the aquarium. The turtle has been confirmed as a green sea turtle, a species that’s uncommon to the waters around Ocean City. “It is a green sea turtle. Green sea turtles are a little bit rarer for us to see in the area,” said Dittmar, “but we still do see them, just not as much as we see the loggerheads or the Kemp’s ridley.” The green sea turtle was in poor health when it got to the aquarium. Sea turtles up and down the east coast have been turning up cold stunned over the last few weeks, with about 50 reported in Cape Cod. It is the “heart of cold stun season,” according to Dittmar, and the green sea turtle had a dangerously low body temperature earlier this week. “His body temperature was about 38 degrees when he arrived [on Monday] and their normal body temperature should be anywhere between about 70 to 80 degrees,” said Dittmar. But the turtle has been breathing on its own the entire time and has been gradually warmed up to about FREE! Offer Good Through Sunday, Dec. 1 Area resident Harry Reinhart, a volunteer first responder with the aquarium’s Marine Animal Rescue Program, drove the turtle to Baltimore after it was found in downtown Ocean City near the Coast Guard Station. Photo by Steve Green 60 degrees body temperature as of Tuesday. The process can’t be rushed because if the turtle is made too warm too quickly it could throw off the pH balance of its blood, causing it to become acidic and damaging to the turtle’s health. There are also associated threats when a turtle is cold stunned. “The cold stunning process can crash their immune systems and it opens them up to a lot of secondary infections,” Dittmar said. The next few weeks will be critical for the turtle, as it will be continually monitored for any signs of infection. The aquarium will perform a radiograph, likely this week, to check for signs of secondary health issues. Trouble in the lungs is most common after a cold stun with systemic and blood problems also possible. Once spring rolls around, if the green sea turtle is in good shape, Dittmar said that her team will begin to think about release either locally or further south, though it’s too early yet to know how that will play out. For now, Dittmar is glad the turtle, which is one of 11 the aquarium is currently helping through a cold stun, is showing positive signs. “He’s breathing on his own, he’s really alert and he’s actually in a pool right now doing a supervised swim test to see how active he is and how well he’s swimming on his own. And he so far has passed all of those tests,” Dittmar reported. Coincidently, of the other 11 sea turtles recovering at the aquarium only the one from Ocean City is a green sea turtle. The other 10 are Kemp’s ridley turtles. The turtle doesn’t have a name yet but will receive one in the next few days. “Our naming theme right now is characters from Top Gun,” said Dittmar. “So he’ll eventually get a Top Gun character name.” Unfortunately, one of the other cold stunned turtles is already named the appropriate “Iceman.” Will Re-Open Dec. 27th For The New Year! The Shanty CELEBRATE NEW YEAR’S EVE Silver Jewelry Gold Jewelry White Gold • Yellow Gold ALL KARATS: 24 KT • 22 KT • 18 KT • 14 KT 10 KT • 9 KT DENTAL GOLD PLATINUM, TOO Ring Us For Reservations! All Size Parties! y Shante! Styl YEAR-END CLEARANCE SALE BEST PRICES OF THE YEAR GOLD AND SILVER PRICES ARE VERY HIGH Gold & Silver Coins Premium Paid On Rare Dates GOLD COINS PRE-1933 Up To 40-50 Times Face Value SILVER COINS PRE-1965 Up To 14 Times Face Value FOREIGN & DOMESTIC OLD U.S. PAPER CURRENCY WE PAY TOP DOLLAR! Immediate Evaluation And Payment HIGHEST PRICES PAID Not Sure What You Have? Bring It In! Any Quantity, Large Or Small! Silver Bullion, Bars And Ingots Silverware 54 OPEN THURSDAY-SUNDAY ✡’✑✡¤✏✑✡✠ Food Lion Shopping Center Rte. 611 At Rte. 50 West Ocean City D.A. Kozma Jewelry Knowledgeable And Friendly Service Serving The Community For More Than 35 Years 410-213-7505 410-524-GOLD (4653) LIC. NO. 2294 FENWICK ISLAND 302-436-2305 www.Twiningsshanty.com