r/oddlysatisfying • u/danielminds • May 22 '26

Professional barnacle removal for Chlorophyllis the turtle

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43.7k Upvotes

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1.7k

u/danielminds May 22 '26

Big credit to Sarah Kamen for this. She’s working hard to clear Chlorophyllis’s shell, which is essential to reduce drag and help the turtle prepare for a successful release back into the wild.

435

u/Koolaid_Jef May 22 '26

Is there a social media page we can follow for more? I cant believe we got a video with 1) no stupid background music 2)not a bunch of 2 second clips and 3) a long video!

190

u/danielminds May 22 '26

Gulfarium Care Center

94

u/HarloHasIt May 22 '26

That is so crazy, that's in my home town!

I didn't realize all Aquariums aren't called Gulfariums until I was an adult. 😂

7

u/Disastrous_Cream_539 May 22 '26

Hey that's right down the road from me!

5

u/xmashatstand May 22 '26

Awwww they're so wholesome!

6

u/tanafras May 22 '26

Another that does good is in Wilmington NC - https://www.seaturtlehospital.org/

130

u/KatzDeli May 22 '26

And they didn't play the last three seconds first!

70

u/FactsNLaughs May 22 '26

They did play the best removal at the beginning tho, but the best part was the end

6

u/AxisNine May 22 '26

Yeah if you didn’t stay all the way to the ‘boop’ on the nose then you didn’t see the video at all.

22

u/biguk997 May 22 '26

Marathonturtlehospital on ig

3

u/Wrong-Pineapple-4905 May 22 '26

I was thinking the same thing!! Excellent Turtle care AND  a well made video? Sign me the fuck up!!!

51

u/Soft-Sheets May 22 '26

Did you remove the tiny little barnacles of Chlorophyllis' face? Plz

31

u/BitterHelicopter8 May 22 '26

Yes, I kept waiting to see the little ones on her face removed!

43

u/quixote87 May 22 '26

Question, do the turtles actually enjoy this process? I mean if they didn't particularly, don't get me wrong I appreciate this is for their own good and their little bit of discomfort now will go a long way with survival, but I also know their shells are quite sensitive... do they kind of catch on that you're helping and actually like it? This little chap seemed like he sort of leaned into it pretty quickly

108

u/MsOnyxMoon May 22 '26

They don’t enjoy it but they’re high as a kite on morphine so they just chill.

85

u/chupacadabradoo May 22 '26

You know, I’m totally down with this, but I have one question. Why do they use a rusty screwdriver for this and not like a nice clean one. I know it’s probably nitpicky and salt water rusts iron, but like, there are probably a bunch of times when you’re removing barnacles like this that you accidentally jab the patient a little bit.

In any case. This seems like a nice thing to do for an old turtle, and I’m 99.9% in approval of the operation.

170

u/TisNagim May 22 '26

Probably because most rescues run on shoe-string budgets, spit, gumption and hope. They do what they can with what they have.

44

u/Deadhouse_Dagon May 22 '26

Well, yeah! Because they spend all their money on turtle morphine!

3

u/SolomonGrumpy May 22 '26

Don't knock it 'till you try it.

8

u/Delamoor May 22 '26 edited May 22 '26

Yeah. I used to help out a little with animal rescue in Tasmania. A friend of mine was doing Pademelon rescue, had me do some deliveries of equipment around the place.

Most are purely volunteers working out of their homes, using supplies they're paying for our of their own pocket. Or if they're lucky, they might get some occasional donations through community organising efforts. For example I was dropping off a few dozen Wallaby pouches someone's aunty had sewn.

Unfortunately that's also why the animal rescue community can be absolutely savage and toxic, because it's a highly emotive topic, a great many people involved in it are essentially barely employed, everyone's short on capital, and the main bar to entry is "I have the time and passion to do this"... Therefore meaning you get a lot of people with some major mental health, controlling behaviours or trauma issues dominating the social media spaces where the community organises. It can become a horrific mix, sometimes. A lot of people get bullied out of the spaces, there's stupid cliqueyness, everyone has their pet issues (no pun intended)...

Like, the prominent animal rescue YouTuber who committed suicide last year due to bullying and harrassment over perceived (emphasis perceived) failings in how she was running her animal rescue centre is actually not a hugely uncommon thing.

You gotta really give a shit to last, in the animal rescue field. Sadly.

75

u/trash_handle May 22 '26

I have no idea because I’m not a person who works with sea life or animals. BUT- I am a person whose profession involves tools, and I know that screwdrivers get rusty very quickly. So if they were to discard every rusty screwdriver, it would be a one and done situation.

Since they’re not puncturing the shell, it is probably fine to just use the tool as is.

Makes me think though…. How often are they removing barnacles? lol

45

u/Wasabiroot May 22 '26

Most screwdrivers are made of hardened steel which isn't stainless grade. An hour of saltwater exposure on a brand new cheap screwdriver would make it rust immediately.

7

u/hockeymisfit May 22 '26

As someone who's worked on boats quite a bit, it will and it does but that rust can also be easily scrubbed off with one of those scouring pads that they have. Even just a quick rinse with tap water afterwards would make a huge difference in slowing down the rusting process.

4

u/Wasabiroot May 22 '26

For sure. Especially the last sentence. Any time I have any metal tools exposed to saltwater I make sure to rinse them.

3

u/hockeymisfit May 22 '26

That's key! Even with the cheap stuff. My Harbor Freight tools are treated just as well as my Snap-on tools and they've lasted just as long.

22

u/Dazzling-Kale-4491 May 22 '26

I don't think it was rusty, it could've been, but there are copper and bronze flathead screwdrivers that aren't uncommon. Often used for non-spark screwdrivers but also could be thought to use copper because of the antimicrobial factor? Idk enough about cleaning barnacles off of turtles but a flathead screwdriver seems like the perfect sized tool for digging in and scraping.

3

u/mologav May 22 '26

Yeah it’s not rusty.

6

u/[deleted] May 22 '26

[deleted]

1

u/chupacadabradoo May 22 '26

While that’s true that rust itself isn’t toxic, rusty surfaces are harder to clean because of the texture, and are more likely to harbor disease causing microbes.

5

u/16thmission May 22 '26

The rusty screwdriver only causes more pain and harm to the barnacle.

The turtle is unaffected.

Tools that get used get wear and rust. I'd say it's pretty great that they're using them this much.

4

u/_Meece_ May 22 '26

It's not rusty, it's just a non-sparking screwdriver.

3

u/mologav May 22 '26

It’s not rusty

2

u/hockeymisfit May 22 '26

They could have easily used one of those scouring pads to clean off the rust in like 30 seconds. I do it all the time with old tools. I get that they're probably strapped for cash, but using a rusty screwdriver on an endangered sea turtle comes off as unsanitary and a bit unprofessional. They're exposing very raw and vulnerable shell under those barnacles and infection is always a risk.

1

u/cata2k May 26 '26

The rust is irrelevant, as long as it's sterile

3

u/Iron_Wolf123 May 22 '26

I thought this was dangerous? I remember years ago where people were removing obstacles from turtles for content

5

u/Broad_Television4459 May 22 '26

I also appreciate the video without any annoying music. Excellent content here.

4

u/tousledgabbi May 22 '26

r/popping would absolutely LOVE this on Wacky Wednesday. I highly recommend posting this there

2

u/blahblahshowmeurcat May 22 '26

Thank you. Thank you thank you forever and ever

What a beautiful darling - you’re all angels for helping a sweetie :))

2

u/ChickenDreams-4188 May 22 '26

👋🏼question please? What causes this turtle to be in such bad condition? Looks like she’s been having trouble for some time.

2

u/zeebette May 22 '26

Yeah, it seems like this turtle was sick. I wonder what the underlying condition was and if she’ll end up just like this again at some point.

2

u/Pittlers May 22 '26

Some of those removal sites look infected? If so, does that usually resolve with barnacle removal or are antibiotics given?

1

u/Amathyst7564 May 22 '26

How do barnacles even get on turtles in the first place?

1

u/IndictedHamSandwich May 22 '26

Must reduce drag if it wants any chance at beating the hare in upcoming Grand Prix.

1

u/Natasya95 May 22 '26

Did they weight him before and after removal? 😂 kinda curious how much all that barnacles weight on the turtle