Om Sin, or "Piggy Bank" the sea turtle has died due to blood poisoning after it swallowed nearly 1,000 coins thrown by locals and tourists in her pond at Sri Racha, near the Gulf of Thailand. The sea turtle has undergone two surgeries since March 6 with veterinarians removing about 11 pounds of coins in Om Sin's stomach.
Earlier in March, metal toxicity has caused the turtle to suffer severe stomach aches after doctors discovered why Om Sin's shell was bulging. Many of the coins the turtle ate had corroded or dissolved in its digestive and intestinal system.
After the initial surgery, Om Sin was recovering well and was able to eat and swim healthily. Nantarika Chansue, the lead veterinarian at Chulalongkorn University, posted on her Facebook page, "She was swimming and eating normally for a week now. We planned to return her to the Royal Thai Navy Turtle pond on Thursday. Unfortunately, she developed intestinal volvulus and strangulation on Saturday."
Intestinal volvulus is when intestines loop or tie itself up, causing strangulation and obstruction of bowel matters. The veterinarians made an emergency operation, but Om Sin went into a coma and died on Tuesday morning at 10:10 AM. The surgery had created a space in the turtle's stomach that causes blockage in the blood flow to the intestines, various reports say.
CBS News reported Chansue as saying that the turtle's toxicity reached 200 times higher than the general toxemia level. On top of that, eating about 915 coins for more than two decades have caused the turtle nutritional deficiency, lower immune systems, and stress. Chansue was angry after discovering the turtle's plight because humans threw a couple of cents in the water.
Locals and tourists tossed coins for the turtle because they believed it to be holy and would bring them luck.
