Courtesy Brevard ZooExperts conduct exams on cold-stunned sea turtles at the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center at Brevard Zoo.
When a winter cold snap swept across Florida last week, plunging overnight temperatures into the mid-20s for several consecutive nights, falling iguanas once again made headlines. But they weren’t the only wildlife affected. Across the state, more than 500 sea turtles became cold-stunned, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)—an uncommon but potentially increasingly concerning phenomenon for the Sunshine State.
At Brevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, certified veterinary technician and sea turtle specialist Jess Patterson, also a PADI professional, found herself caring for 50 of the roughly 200 cold-stunned green sea turtles pulled from Mosquito Lagoon and surrounding shallow waterways in Brevard County.
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Courtesy Brevard ZooBrevard Zoo’s Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center cared for over 40 sea turtles during a recent cold snap in Florida.
What Is Cold-Stunning?
Cold-stunning is exactly how it sounds. “They literally just freeze,” Patterson says. As reptiles—unlike mammals, including people—sea turtles don’t produce their own body heat and rely entirely on the temperature of the surrounding environment.
“As the water cools around them, their bodily functions slow, their organs begin to shut down, and in the worst-case scenario, death,” she says. In extreme cold-stunning events farther north, such as Cape Cod, the turtles can actually freeze, she added. “It gets so cold that they turn into literal turtle popsicles.”
Cold-stunning in Florida primarily affects juvenile green sea turtles rather than larger species like loggerheads or leatherbacks because young greens spend much of their time feeding on algae and seagrass in shallow lagoon waters. While those shallow habitats warm quickly, they also cool rapidly, leaving turtles more vulnerable during cold snaps.
With temperatures dropping, cold-stunned sea turtles were expected. FWC, along with local groups including the University of Central Florida, East Coast Biologists and the Sea Turtle Preservation Society, proactively went out searching for stranded turtles.
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Courtesy Brevard ZooJess Patterson with a sea turtle patient.
How Experts Care for Cold-Stunned Sea Turtles
Inside the zoo’s behind-the-scenes rehabilitation facility, staff immediately began a careful triage process. The turtles arrived with body temperatures in the mid-50s. So, Patterson and her team first kept the turtles at temperatures just slightly warmer than their arrival body temperatures, slowly acclimating them over time. The triage room was set to 60 degrees—a temperature Patterson jokingly describes as miserable for Floridians, but critical for the turtles’ survival.
“The best way I can describe what they felt like,” she says, “is if you open the fridge and grab a can of Sprite. They were frigid.”
The turtles were kept out of the water until they warmed up enough to swim, and could then be safely moved into outdoor pools. Bloodwork was also taken to check for anemia, low blood sugar and elevated lactate levels—markers of severe stress that can lead to long-term organ damage.
The turtles that came in on Sunday had good blood glucose levels and low lactate, Patterson says. “That's what we want. I'm like, cool. I just need to warm you up.” But by Tuesday, the animals were hypoglycemic because they had not been eating, which led to increased lactate levels after being in this chilly state for days.
While a few “patients” needed to remain in rehab, the majority of the 48 rescued individuals have already returned to the wild.
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Courtesy Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Carrie HinojosaCold-stunned turtles return to the wild after rehabilitation.
Looking Ahead: How You Can Help
Severe cold-stunning events are more commonly associated with places like Cape Cod or Texas, where winter temperatures can plunge far below what sea turtles can tolerate. Florida has typically avoided large-scale events, with the last major cold-stunning episode occurring in 2010, when approximately 5,000 turtles were stranded.
However, Patterson says global climate change is making weather more extreme—and more unpredictable. Hotter summers and colder winters may be arriving faster than sea turtles can adapt.
As a keystone species, sea turtles play a vital role in marine ecosystems. “At every stage of their lives—from egg to adult—they matter,” Patterson says. Unhatched eggs nourish beach ecosystems, green sea turtles help maintain healthy seagrass beds and leatherback adults keep prey populations like jellyfish in check. Without them, ecosystems can collapse.
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While cold-stunning events like this one remain relatively rare in Florida, Patterson says they reflect a broader trend toward environmental instability. Reducing your carbon footprint, she notes, is one of the most meaningful ways individuals can help protect sea turtles in the long term.
One of the simplest actions people can take is reducing plastic use or eating just a little less red meat, she says. “Nobody is perfect, right?” Patterson says. “Just because you can't do perfect, doesn't mean that you shouldn't try. Little things add up.”
And during a cold snap, if you happen to see a cold-stunned sea turtle while recreating on or in the water, or on the beach, call the FWC hotline at 1-888-404-FWCC (3922).
Disclaimer: All sea turtle rehabilitation work was done under Marine Turtle Permit #206.
