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Ill Loggerhead Checks Himself Into Turtle Hospital

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Mar 30, 2009 3:21 pm US/Eastern

Ill Loggerhead Checks Himself Into Turtle Hospital

MARATHON (CBS4) ― A sick loggerhead sea turtle apparently knew just where to go to get the help it needed. Sunday morning it made its way almost to the doorstep of the Turtle Hospital in Marathon in the Florida Keys.

Turtle Hospital staffers saw the 80-pound turtle swimming near a dock, just 20 feet away from turtle rehabilitation pools, on Sunday morning. After the turtle hung around for several hours, Turtle Hospital administrator Ryan Butts gave it a closer look and determined it wasn't well so he and other staff members rescued it.

"He has a bacterial infection in his bloodstream," Butts said Monday. "He's very very thin, very weak and very emaciated," he said. "He just needs TLC."

Blood drawn from the turtle was sent to a laboratory for further diagnosis, in the meantime the reptile is being administered antibiotics and fluids.

"We've went out and rescued several thousand turtles over the past 25 years, but this is the first time a turtle has ever tracked us down and showed up at our doorstep waiting to be admitted to The Turtle Hospital," Butts said. "The one good thing is that none of them get turned away.

"They don't need health insurance here," he said.

The Turtle Hospital is the only licensed veterinary facility in the world that solely treats sea turtles.

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