Our turtles
One Turtle at a Time
Sea Turtle, Inc. rehabilitates sick and injured sea turtles and houses non-releasable education turtles, terrapins, and tortoises. Meet the turtles that currently reside in our facility!
Sea Turtle, Inc. is home to former patients who are not able to be released back to the wild.
Sea turtles with less than 75% of their flippers are deemed unsuitable for life in the wild. Our rehabilitation center is fortunate in that we possess zoological permits that allow us to keep resident sea turtles on permanent public display.
We have several resident sea turtles that stay at the facility all year long and act as educators and ambassadors for sea turtle conservation, including world-famous Allison, the first sea turtle in the world to use a successful prosthesis!
Sea Turtle, Inc.’s facility serves as a rehabilitation center for sick and injured sea turtles. We rehabilitate 40-100+ sea turtles each year for return to the wild.
Turtles are treated for a wide variety of injuries including predator attacks, line & net entanglements, cold stunning, infections, as well as bowel obstructions from balloons, plastic bags, and boat strikes.
Even if you aren’t on South Padre Island, you can still check out who we are currently treating in our hospital.
The rehabilitation process can take days, months, or sometimes years, depending on our patient and its injury.
Once a turtle has been successfully rehabilitated, it is evaluated by our Veterinarian, Vet Tech, and Executive Director.
If all agree, the turtle will be tagged and released back to the ocean. Each sea turtle is outfitted with two types of flipper tags that identify the turtle — should it ever strand again. Depending on the species of sea turtle, we may release it in the ocean, bay, or even allow it to crawl down the beach on its own.
Each year, we rehabilitate anywhere from 40 to 100+ patients and release them back to the ocean.
Here are stories about some of the sea turtles we have rescued and returned to the ocean in the past two years.
How You Can Help
Patient needs can range from minor treatments to major surgery and long term care. Be a part of the journey through patient adoption.
Shop in our gift store to buy gifts for friends and family. This is a great way to support the mission of Sea Turtle, Inc.