Injured MOA Turtle Gets 'Bubble Butt' Fixed
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Here's a term you may have never heard when it comes to turtles: bubble butt syndrome.
It's what happens when a sea turtle is injured, and gets air trapped inside its shell.
Seemore, a 14-year-old turtle at the Mall of America Sea Life Aquarium, was injured by a boat near Florida. Air got trapped under her shell and it makes her rear end float too high.
On Wednesday, a WCCO-TV camera tagged along as Seemore had a two-pound lead weight attached to the back of her shell.
"So the crack in her shell is about midway down her back, and so what we do is we put a weight towards the end of her, because unfortunately instead of swimming straight, her butt tends to go in the air," said Sarah Meyers of Sea Life Minnesota.
The lead weight, which is encased in water-safe epoxy, will help Seemore swim more neutrally.
"Seemore weighs 100 pounds, the weight itself is about a pound and a half, and then when we have the epoxy on there, it's about 2 pounds all together, so about 2 percent of her body weight, which, for a little air bubble, counters it very well," Meyers said. "She's been good on her weight, she eats like a horse, she's pretty good."
Seemore has had her weight reattached several times. It sometimes gets knocked off, or part of her shell sheds naturally.
Wonder what Seemore likes to snack on?
Peppers, carrots, lettuce, and yams are some of her favorites.