Help Olivia the turtle feed naturally in her salty hot tub - Donations, shell fish and crab needed
Submitted by Steve on 14:49, 6th Apr, 2016 |
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Over a month on and Olivia the loggerhead turtle is now is a warm salt water pool at the GSPCA and doing very well.
As you can imagine heating the rooms and now the pool aren't cheap and we continue to appeal for any support with donations towards her care.
Now she is in her pool we are trying to encourage her to eat naturally which she is yet to do. In the wild loggerhead turtles are omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom dwelling invertebrates: mollusks, crustaceans, horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and other marine animals. Their large and powerful jaw serve as an effective tool in dismantling its prey.
We are appealing for donations now also to help feed her. We are extremely grateful to Waitrose that helped donate squid which she has eaten but we now need to source other food types to help her with her recovery.
Geoff George main carer for Olivia at the GSPCA said "Olivia the loggerhead turtle is doing very well in her salt water warm pool her at the GSPCA thanks to so many kind companies and people."
"We now want her to start feeding for herself as she hasn't for probably more than 6 weeks."
"When we checked her stomach when she first came in with an endoscope at Vets 4 Pets it was empty and we have had her for over a month now."
"She has put on weight but we really need her to start eating for herself."
Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said "Olivia is much happier now that she has put on some weight and is in warm salty water."
"She has had a really hard time over the last few months and we are doing everything we can for her at the GSPCA."
"We now need her to try and eat for herself to help her gain weight."
"The types of food loggerheads eat are things like mollusks, crustaceans, horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and others and the squid Waitrose donated have been a great help."
"We are appealing for donations to help towards he food or the help heat the water and rooms where she she is kept as we have heaters going 24/7."
"Thank you to everyone that has helped so far it is really appreciated."
Common Name: Loggerhead - named for its exceptionally large head.
Scientific Name: Caretta caretta
Description: Head is very large with heavy strong jaws. Carapace is bony without ridges and has large, non-overlapping, rough scutes (scales) present with 5 lateral scute. Carapace is heart shaped. Front flippers are short and thick with 2 claws, while the rear flippers can have 2 or 3 claws. Carapace is a reddish-brown with a yellowish-brown plastron. Hatchlings have a dark-brown carapace with flippers pale brown on margins.
Size/Weight/Age: The Loggerhead measures up to 1.1 meters (3.5 ft) long when fully grown, weighing approximately 135 kilograms (300 lb) and have a lifespan of 47-67 years.
Diet: The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is omnivorous, feeding mainly on bottom dwelling invertebrates: mollusks, crustaceans, horseshoe crabs, clams, mussels, and other marine animals. Its large and powerful jaw serve as an effective tool in dismantling its prey.
Habitat: Prefer to feed in coastal bays and estuaries, as well as in the shallow water along the continental shelves of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Reproduction: Female Loggerheads, between the age of 17 to 33, will usually mate every 2 to 4 years.
Crawl Pattern: 1) Alternating comma-shaped flipper marks 2) Wavy and smoothed track center with no thin, straight, and well-defined tail-drag mark 3) No regular marking from front flippers at the margins of the track
Nesting: Female Loggerheads are known to nest from one to seven times within a nesting season (mean is about 4.1 nests per season) at intervals of approximately 12–17 days. Mean clutch size varies from about 100 to 126 along the southeastern United States coast. Incubation ranges from about 45 to 95 days, depending on incubation temperatures, but averages 55 to 60 days for most clutches.
International Status - Listed as Endangered (facing high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources ( IUCN)
Threats to Survival: Fishing gear is the biggest threat to loggerheads in the open ocean. They often become entangled in longlines or gillnets. According to the 2009 status review of loggerheads by the Fisheries Service, drowning from entanglement in longline and gillnet fishing gear is the turtles’ primary threat in the North Pacific. The second greatest threat is loss of nesting habitat due to coastal development, predation of nests, and human disturbances (such as coastal lighting and housing developments) that discourages nesting and interferes with the hatchlings' ability to navigate to the water's edge
To see some of the businesses that have helped please check out the links below.
To donate to the turtle or Bonnie the grey seal pup please call 01481 257261, pop along to the Animal Shelter in St Andrews, by post or by clicking the link below.
EXCITING NEWS - Animal Welfare Seafront Sunday this year on the 15th May 2016http://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/exciting-news-animal-welfare-seafront-sunday-year-15th-may-2016
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