A green sea turtle rehabilitated in Bermuda after being found freezing on a beach in Nova Scotia will remain for another few weeks after it appeared sickly.

The turtle, nicknamed Scotti, was due to be released from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo yesterday after two weeks of care.

The release was postponed after Scotti was discovered to have discoloured skin.

Gaëlle Roth, the co-director of the Bermuda Zoological Society’s Bermuda Turtle Project, said: “It’s definitely disappointing because everything was going so well.”

Scotti, whose sex has not been determined yet, was found semi-comatose by a couple on November 16 about 100 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

The juvenile turtle was carried off the beach and taken to a vet at Dalhousie University for treatment. It was flown to Bermuda on November 23 by Air Canada.

Dr Roth said that turtles, like all reptiles, have slow metabolisms.

She said that because of this, the appearance of symptoms from sickness, and the subsequent recovery, can take a long time.

Dr Roth described Scotti as a “floater” when it first arrived, meaning that it could not dive deep into the water, which could prevent it from finding food or avoiding boat traffic or predators in the wild.

She said that it recovered and regained its appetite quickly while in the care of BAMZ.

Dr Roth said: “We made a treatment plan, and so far that’s all gone according to plan — it gave a fecal sample, it had an appetite, it was able to swim normally and was diving down.”

She added: “However, we do several health assessments during the week, and when I last examined it, there was some discolouration of the pigment.

“Then I noticed that the skin just didn’t look good — the skin is quite thick on reptiles, and here the colour and the barrier wasn’t where it’s supposed to be.

“We said this might be the beginning of something, so instead of releasing it prematurely, why don’t we keep it safe at the rehabilitation centre and then give it a few days to access and possibly make a new treatment plan.”

Dr Roth said that Scotti was now on antibiotics to fight off any possible infection.

She added: “I don’t want to say too much because it’s in the early stages and we just noticed it.

“Depending on what happens over the next few days or even the next few weeks, we’ll get more information.”

Dr Roth said that Scotti was also likely suffering from “cold-stunning”, a period of weakness and inactivity cause by prolonged exposure to cold.

She said that the veterinarians with the Bermuda Turtle Project were not familiar with treating cold-stunning because of Bermuda’s warm climate.

Dr Roth added that they will consult marine scientists from the United States and Canada to see how to further help the turtle.

She said that despite the setback, Scotti had been recovering very well for a reptile, describing its recovery so far as “extremely short and successful”.

Dr Roth added: “Any cold-stunned turtles that are being treated at specialised facilities on the East Coast of the US and Canada will be there for months on a long antibiotic course and a supplementation diet.

“I still think that Scotti was a very lucky turtle because it was found early on.”