With many years of experience when it comes to turtles, Mike agreed to help. However, he had no idea just how special this tiny turtle was.
Mike discovered that this baby turtle was born with its heart exposed. Yes, you read that right! As Mike explained in a video:
“There is no shell covering where her heart is.”
But Mike couldn’t care less for what people were saying. He knew deep down that with his love and dedication, Hope would grow up to be a happy turtle. As he shared:
“I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I was committed to keeping her alive.”

Mike was monitoring her weight every day, making sure little Hope was growing. In the beginning, he had to feed her with the help of tweezers, since she couldn’t see very well.
He would place her food right in front of her tiny face, and she would snatch it right away.

As she was growing, Hope got super attached to Mike. Every time he would come home, she would start flapping her little arms in excitement.
However, there was no way to cover up her tiny exposed heart and Mike was constantly worrying about potential bacteria coming inside.