CC-KRC-12-08-17-01 “EL” 140 lb
El received her first routine Rehab “post arrival” checkup on 9/13/12. This checkup involves weighing, taking a blood sample, and checking/treating physical problems and wounds. Aquarist/Aquarium Curator Christian Legner drew a blood sample to check her PCV (packed cell volume) and found it to still be low. After being weighed, our big girl received cleaning and medical attention to her carapace, plastron and flipper problems. El is a perfect patient, giving her caregivers access with little or no resistence (except her weight and size!).
When El arrived she had massive numbers of leaches on her. She still has DEAD leach eggs (the black areas) on her plastron which are removed each time she is turned onto her side. This entire process of removing her from her tank, weighing her, taking blood, etc is very stressful for El so all that activity is currently being limited to every 2 weeks. Such stress reduces her ability to heal and can also lower her desire to eat for a couple of days.
Above you see medicated cream being applied to problem areas on her plastron. Since she is probably past the half-way mark on the road to the age of reproduction, getting her healthy and returning her to the ocean is a major mission.