Frisbee 
adult male Olive Ridley turtle (RB.LO.139), admitted 10 August 2018, North Malé Atoll, Maldives
Weight & Length: 20.5kg / 56.7cm (admission); 23.6kg / 57.3 cm (Mar-19); 24.3kg / 57.5cm (Jan-23).
Frisbee was found floating in open waters in North Malé Atoll, and brought to us with his 2 front flippers missing (presumably after prolonged entanglement with a drifting ghost net).
Frisbee enjoys eating crabs, but suffers from buoyancy syndrome, being unable to dive down and rest at the bottom of the pool (which he shares with Albert). Sadly, it is unlikely that he would ever be able to survive out in the wild.
Note: Frisbee’s long tail protruding from the carapace, indicative of adult males.
Updates November 2018
Frisbee was transferred from our Kuda Huraa centre to Landaa Giraavaru, where he quickly settled in. He is active and eating well.
Updates March 2019
Since being admitted to the centre, Frisbee has settled in well. He has a healthy appetite and is very active. As the water conditions are calm, he is currently in our sea enclosure where he has a lot of space to swim. He is very good at navigating around the enclosure just using his remaining two rear flippers!
Updates April
Frisbee is now in a recovery pool back at our turtle rescue Centre. He has settled in well, and is currently sharing his tank with Chomper to see if they could potentially live in an aquarium together, and they are getting along very well. Due to their injuries, Frisbee and Chomper will never be to survive back in the wild.
Updates May
Frisbee is doing very well. He and Chomper are still enjoying each other’s company in their shared tank. Due to calm water conditions, we were able to take Frisbee out for a swim in the ocean this month, which he loved!
August
The Amikacin course given to Frisbee to heal his ear infection showed no improvements, so he was started on a 2ml course of Ceftriaxone antibiotic for 20 days. No improvements or reduction in swelling has been seen so far.
September
Frisbee finished his course of Ceftriaxone antibiotic on 5 September. There has been a reduction in swelling, but the infection still seems to be present, so we will consider putting him onto a different course of antibiotic.
January 2020
As recommended by a vet, Frisbee started receiving topical treatment of Gentian Violet (antiseptic dye) for his skin infection, as betadine + colloidal silver was not working. He receives the dye every 3 days as it is water resistant and stays on for a long time. Frisbee has lost weight recently (down to 19.9 kg), so we will increase his daily food amounts.
May Updates
Frisbee’s health has improved and he has a good appetite, but he continues to suffer from turtle buoyancy syndrome.
June Updates
Frisbee has returned to good health, and has started to lose a little excess weight due to improvements in his diet. We have housed him with Taco again, to encourage interactions.
July Updates
Frisbee continues to share a recovery pool with Taco. He showed no changes in health status this month, and has now adjusted to his new diet and shows great appetite. As environmental enrichment, he enjoyed some fish ‘ice-popsicles’ this month to keep him mentally and physically stimulated.
October Updates
Frisbee interacting with ‘environmental enrichment devices’ (EEDs) or turtle toys, to stimulate curiosity and new activities, as part of our recent experimentation to refine the rehabilitation process.
February 2021
Frisbee is healthy and active, but is now separated from Taco due to a biting incident.
May
Frisbee showed no changes in health status this month. His appetite is healthy, and he actively enjoys the different enrichment devices (“pool toys”) in his rehabilitation pool.
July
Frisbee continues to enjoy the different pool enrichment devices, and he swims energetically when out in the lagoon. His appetite is healthy and he’s been very active.
November
Frisbee’s health remains steady. He continues to use the different enrichment devices in his pool, and enjoys regular swims in the lagoon. His appetite is good, and he’s been very active. Frisbee is now sharing a pool with Ari; so far, they are interacting without any hostility.
April 2022
Frisbee has had an exciting month. With the start of our junior marine savers program, he has enjoyed several swims in the house reef and has had extra pampering too. He remains healthy with a good appetite.
May
Frisbee’s condition remains stable. He enjoys engaging with his enrichment devices and has a very healthy appetite.
June
Frisbee has been helping us with our new behavioural experiment studying Sea Turtles and Environmental Enrichment.
July
Frisbee has been moved in next to Maw. They have been interacting well through our permeated barrier and have even spent some time without it. As they continue to get used to each other we will gradually extend this time.
August
Frisbee has been doing well this month. He has enjoyed several swims on the house reef with our junior marine biologists, and has taken particular interest in trying to eat the barnacles growing on the jetty pillars.
September
Frisbee’s condition remains unchanged. Although his appetite is excellent and he interacts with all the enrichment devices, he is still buoyant and unable to dive. As Frisbee has now been with us for such an extended period with no improvement, it is unlikely that he will ever recover, so we hope to find him a permanent forever home in an overseas aquarium.
October – December
Frisbee’s condition remains stable. His appetite is excellent and he actively interacts with both pool enrichment devices and human visitors. He enjoys regular ocean swims on the House Reef with the help of our Trainee Marine Biologists and Junior Marine Savers.
January 2023, 24.3kg / 57.5cm
Frisbee’s condition remains stable and unchanged. He has an excellent appetite, and interacts with all types of enrichment.
February
Frisbee remains unchanged. His appetite is excellent and he interacts well with all enrichment devices, and appears to particularly enjoy a floating square made from PVC pipe.
March
Frisbee’s appetite is excellent, and he interacts well with all enrichment, especially a floating hula hoop.
May
Frisbee’s health status remains unchanged, and his appetite is excellent. He interacts well with all the pool enrichment devices (EEDs) but his favourite this month has been a floating PVC pipe square wrapped with rope (which has also cleaned some of the algal growth from his carapace!)
