915 coins found inside sick turtle https://t.co/qNLcyHcW4npic.twitter.com/aa1No2M1nb
— Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) March 6, 2017
In Thailand, some people believe that it’s good luck to throw a coin into a turtle pond. One unfortunate casualty of this belief is a turtle who’s been named Om Sin—“piggy bank”—after hundreds of coins were found in his stomach, the Bangkok Post reports.
The turtle was living in a pond in Sri Racha (yes, that’s where the spicy sauce’s name comes from), which was being shut down. The pond’s turtles were transferred to Sea Turtle Conservation Centre; this one could barely swim.
Veterinarians gave the turtle a CT scan and were “shocked” to see the coins inside, the Post writes.
The coins weighed, in total, more than 11 pounds. Veterinarians spent seven hours removing 915 coins from inside the turtle, which is expected to recover.