Penny drops for vets on turtle fears

The veterinary team from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science that performed surgery on the turtle “Orm Sin” has expressed concerns about 23 other turtles that are living in the same pond.

Orm Sin, which had swallowed almost 1,000 coins that people had thrown into its pond, died after her second surgery, and Chula vets said they are worried the other turtles may experience the same fate.

Vet Nantarika Chansue, director of the Aquatic Animal Research Centre, said she and the team of vets are now closely monitoring the 23 other turtles that are now under the care of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources.

The 25-year-old turtle Orm Sin (piggy bank) used to live in a pond on land belonging to the local administration in Si Racha, where visitors would toss coins and pray for good luck. All the turtles in the pond were sent to the Royal Thai Navy’s Sea Turtle Conservation Centre in Chon Buri when renovations started at the municipality’s facility.

The veterinarians at the conservation centre noticed Orm Sin had lost her ability to swim and, after some checks, they found there were hundreds of coins in the turtle’s stomach.

“We are afraid the rest of the turtles may have eaten the coins, but probably not as many as Orm Sin. We are considering how to deal with the cases,” she said.

Orm Sin underwent a seven-hour operation on March 6. A total of 915 coins of various currencies were removed from her stomach. After a short period of recovery when she could swim and eat food, the turtle suffered complications and was put in the intensive care unit after a second operation.

Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated due to high levels of nickel in her blood, absorbed from the coins, which weakened her immune system.

Orm Sin was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

The team of vets has planned to keep Orm Sin’s body at the department’s marine research centre based in Rayong province, and has warned the public not to throw coins into places where there are animals.

It is an act of sin, not an act of merit, they said.