At the end of April all of the Giant Ocean Tank sea turtles were given their spring exams. All four of our sea turtles were lifted out of the GOT so that our Animal Health team could take a closer look and collect blood samples.

First up: our 500-lb green sea turtle Myrtle. Sometimes Myrtle needs a little encouragement to enter into her lifting box and a leaf of romaine lettuce works every time!

Once in the lifting box Myrtle is brought out of the water for her exam

A young visitor helps our veterinarians get a closer look at Myrtle by holding a flashlight

Sea turtles have tough skin that can make drawing blood a real challenge. But Myrtle does a great job staying calm to allow our veterinarians to collect a sample

After getting her check up Myrtle is returned to her home in the Giant Ocean Tank

 Next is our Kemp's ridley sea turtle, Ari.

Ari is much smaller than Myrtle but she isn't a baby. Rather Ari is a completely different species of sea turtle

Ari was very patient with us during her exam

Finally our two loggerhead sea turtles Carolina and Retread have their turn.

Carolina and Retread look very similar but their shells have different patterns which help us tell them apart

Drawing blood from Retread required a few extra hands to help keep her steady, but after a brief moment she was all done

Overall it was a very successful morning and all four of our turtles were given a clean bill of health!

All the turtles are healthy and back swimming in the Giant Ocean Tank!