ADOPT SEA TURTLES

by Clearwater Marine Aquarium

Your symbolic adoption helps to provide care for our resident Sea Turtles for one year.

If you are adopting as a gift, please enter the recipient information in the donation message field.

Please make certain to select a reward level under the "Donation Details" screen.  In order to receive the adoption items a reward level must be selected.

Our Residents

Bailey- Bailey, a green sea turtle, joined the CMA family in November, 1989. Bailey had pneumonia, a fractured front flipper and a buoyancy disorder. Bailey overcame many of his initial challenges, but unfortunately still suffers from his buoyancy disorder. Bailey loves to receive attention (both verbal and tactile) from our staff, interns, and volunteers and resides in Turtle Cove.

Rob- Rob, a Kemps Ridley, was found at the Crystal River Power Plant in Citrus County on September 3, 2001 and admitted to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. A juvenile at the time, he weighed only 7 lbs, and had a wound to both his upper and lower jaw on his right side. Although this was an old wound that had healed, the rhombus on his top jaw was sliced all the way down to his bone. His injuries made it difficult for him to eat initially, but by the end of October, staff began to combine tube feedings with hand feeding sessions.  Today, Rob weighs over 60 lbs, and he has come a long way from the 7 lb little guy that stranded in 2001. Rob is a very easygoing turtle who loves his squid, and spends most of his time napping.

Titus- Titus, a green sea turtle, was brought to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium from Titusville, FL on January 14, 2002. She had an old propeller injury, a small treatable papilloma tumor and a buoyancy disorder. Titus had her papilloma removed three months after her arrival and she was transported to MOTE in March 2007 in order to see how she would adapt to a deep water environment to evaluate whether or not she would be able to be released. Once it was determined Titus would not be a candidate for an eventual release, she was returned to CMA to become a permanent member of our sea turtle family. Titus loves to eat greens and swims directly over to the ledge during feeding sessions to receive some tactile therapy.

Cocoa- Our gentle boy, Cocoa, was found by a fisherman floating near the Hanlover Canal in Cocoa Beach, Florida on February 28, 1999. Cocoa, a green sea turtle, had deep propeller damage to his head, right front flipper and plastron, as well as one golf-ball sized tumor on his ventral side. Recovered by the Coast Guard, he arrived at Clearwater Marine Aquarium on March 1, 1999. On closer examination of his wounds, it was found that the most severe injuries were sustained on his head. Although he has overcome many obstacles, the trauma he received to his head has done a substantial amount of damage, leaving him completely blind. Cocoa regained normal mobility in his flippers. While he has the ability to swim normally, dive, and rest on the bottom, he is a unique case because he cannot forage nor locate food on his own. Every day, one of our volunteers gets into the rehab pool with Cocoa and hand-feeds him squid, fish, and greens.

Stubby- Stubby, a green sea turtle, was picked up on the east coast of Florida in Duval County by Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) and brought to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on May 9, 2001 because she sustained severe injuries from a monofilament entanglement. Both front flippers were missing, pieces of her rear flippers had been nibbled off and she had a buoyancy disorder. Stubby's wounds healed, but she continued to float and is unable to dive because she lacks front flippers. Even though she has had many difficulties, Stubby is one of the happiest turtles at the aquarium. She quickly swims over to greet visitors at her pool and loves receiving a lot of tactile therapy from our interns and volunteers during her feeding sessions.

Harold- Harold, aka Mavis in Dolphin Tale 2, a green sea turtle, was found in Fred Howard Park crawling on the beach weighing less than 4 kilos. He had no obvious wounds, was in good body condition and had only one small pap tumor on the underside of his neck. He was given a swim test on the same day he arrived and not only was he floating, but he was bumping into walls, seemingly having trouble with his vision. By the end of summer, Harold was no longer receiving fluids or tube feedings and was foraging mostly on his own. Harold ate well with our guidance, but we still believed he had some issues with his eyesight that would need to be addressed to be considered for release. Dr. Walsh decided Harold was a candidate for visual activity testing conducted by the University of Florida’s neurologist, Dr. Schubert and on November 5, 2013 was transferred for examination. It was determined both eyes perform well, however the brain is not interpreting the information correctly.

Madam- Madam, a Kemp’s Ridley, is the only resident turtle to be born at CMA.  She is one of the most social turtles we have, probably because she has spent her entire life as one of our residents.  In the late 1980's the aquarium was involved in a captive breeding program as part of research to reverse the near extinction of the species and on August 6, 1988, Madam hatched here at the aquarium. Because she has spent her whole life in our care and never learned the necessary life skills to survive, she is not able to be released.

Cupid- Cupid, a green sea turtle, was found stranded on February 14th, 2010 in Franklin County, Florida with abrasions on her head covered with barnacles. Cupid was missing half of her right rear flipper from an old, healed wound. She also has a buoyancy issue and associated malformed carapace that is presumably related to the wound. This prevents her from staying submerged when diving and is the primary reason she was deemed un-releasable.

Max- Max, a Kemp’s Ridley, has been a resident at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium since January 12, 1988 after sustaining a severe head injury that left him mostly blind and thus unable to be released. Max is hand-fed by our interns and volunteers to make sure he receives a well balanced diet because he is unable to forage for food on his own.

Ula- Ula, a green sea turtle, was found floating off the Pinellas County coast by a boater on March 2, 2013.  She was found with a carapace deformity where instead of having a smooth rounded shell, it is humped.  It is likely she encountered a trauma in the wild and then the carapace healed itself but misshaped.  Ula has the ability to dive but is unable to remain submerged, thus making her non-releasable.  She enjoys eating her greens, avocado, and zucchini however, her favorite food is squid.  Ula is an energetic turtle and can be seen zipping around Mavis's Rescue Hideaway.

For more information, please contact Randi Baillie at [email protected].