Help us Heal Turtles - Donate to repair the roof of the Turtle Hospital at the Gulf Specimen Marine Lab.

Donate to repair the roof of our Turtle Hospital!

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Here at Gulf Specimen Marine Lab, we are one of only 15 Sea Turtle Rescue, rehabilitation, and Release facilities in Florida. Many of you who have visited have probably seen our Sea Turtle Hospital. Here we are able to give turtles medications, clean and scrub shells, remove hooks, take blood samples, and many more duties in order to ensure our turtles get the best care, and can be released. Our Turtle Hospital shares a roof with our gift shop. To continue our insurance coverage we are required to have the roof totally replaced by a licensed roofer, which will cost $30,000. Our original quote was for $20,000 to replace the roof and remove the tree, however after further consideration, we have decided that we should put a metal roof on to cover us for years to come, and best combat future hurricane damage. To ensure that we can continue to give these turtles the best care possible, please donate to our GoFundMe to help us repair our roof. Below are the cases of three wonderful turtles that we were able to treat this year. These showcase the importance of repairing our roof so that we may continue this mission. Turtle Hospital Case Study: Lieutenant Dan! Lieutenant Dan was brought in on February 17th, 2023 after being caught by a fisherman. During his 20 day stay with us, he was taken to the Turtle Hospital each day to check his weight and ensure he was gaining weight and ready to be released. After a few days, he was taken for X-rays and found to be in perfect health and a candidate for release. On March 9th, 2023, he was released back into the Gulf to continue his turtally awesome life. Our turtle hospital treats a large majority of Kemps Ridleys every year, which are the smallest and most endangered Sea Turtle. Our facility allows us to check the turtle's weight regularly to ensure that they are gaining weight and are able to be released. Turtle Hospital Case Study: Quarter Pounder! Lieutenant Dan was brought in on May 12th, 2023 after being hooked off of the Holiday Campground Pier. During his initial intake, he was taken to the Sea Turtle Hospital in order to have the hook removed from his mouth. After his procedure, he was kept closely monitored to ensure he was eligible for release. When he received a clear x-ray and a clean bill of health, he was ready to swim back to the sea! On May 25th, 2023 he was released from Alligator Point to rejoin Lieutenant Dan! As fishing is so prevalent in our area, our turtle hospital treats a large number of hooked turtles each year. Turtle Hospital Case Study: Shark Bite! Shark Bite was brought in to Gulf Specimen on March 24th, 2023 by a local fisherman. She had the longest stay with us this year totaling 6 months. She had inhaled water and unfortunately ended up with pneumonia. This can be very hard to treat in reptiles and takes a long sustained course of antibiotics to treat. After months of treatment and rehabilitation, Shark Bite was released on September 14th, 2023, to go find her friends Lieutenant Dan, Quarter Pounder, and countless other turtles that have been rescued, rehabilitated, and released by Gulf Specimen Marine Lab. Our turtle hospital treats a many turtles that are in need of medications daily or even weekly. Shark Bite had to have antibiotics for almost 4 months!

Below are Shark Bite and Lieutenant Dan at their releases. We love having the opportunity to rescue, rehabilitate, and release these turtles, and hope to further this work in the future. You can help us today by donating to our roof repair fund. Any donations are greatly appreciated.

Click to Donate to our GoFundMe

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