"Ambassador Lennie" sits on my lap while his tank is being cleaned.

If the turtle hospital were a small town, it would have its very own mini-water treatment plant. Turtle tank water is constantly recycled, and in the process it’s run through an ozonator, as well as numerous highly effective filtration systems that kill bacteria, viruses and fungus. Because our system runs 24/7, filtering and treating incoming and outgoing water, our patients are constantly cavorting under their warm showers.

But all that automation came to a crashing halt when the float switch on one of our tanks failed. As soon as the water quit flowing, we were met with anxious and questioning turtle faces. Although “Cora” seemed to relish her ability to play hide-and-seek with us in her murky abode, a few of the turtles actually gave us their equivalent of the evil eye. That’s when we realized that the “good old days” of manually filling, heating and refilling tanks weren’t all that good.

“Back then” we had to take every stinkin’, (literally and figuratively), tank down every day, draining and cleaning it and giving the turtle a soapy bath. When you’ve got 27 patients like we do now, that’s a lot of water and a lot of towels and a lot of backbreaking work. And these turtles are WILD! Most of them haven’t been handled in months and they’re not used to having company in their tank.

Stressed sea turtles are not happy sea turtles; and they’re pink. Yep, their skin takes on a pink cast. Some of them get so stressed they actually begin to turn purple, not a good sign. That’s why cleaning each tank became a finely orchestrated group effort; we moved like lightening to get our patients floating and swimming as fast as humanly possible. Thankfully, after nearly a week of manual operation, our system is up and running on its own again. So the good news is that the turtles smell wonderful, and we’re all a few pounds lighter for our efforts.

 

 

 

Tuesday crew blitzes through the tank and turtle cleaning. 

 

  

Win a car!

For the fourth year, we are again one of the Wilmington area non-profit groups selected to take part in the Bruce Cavenaugh Suzuki Charity Raffle. A $20 ticket will give you the chance to win one of two 2008 Suzukis: a Grand Vitara or an SX4. Bruce even pays the sales tax, license, title and registration fees, along with any other normal new car fees. All you have to do is pick up your Suzuki on June 25th and drive it home.

The best thing about this event, other than winning a car, is that 100% of the money from the tickets you buy from us will go back to the hospital, and even if you don’t win the car, the purchase price is considered a charitable deduction.

Tickets sold by the Turtle Hospital are currently available, through June 6th, at the Topsail Chamber of Commerce on the causeway. Any hospital volunteer you know will gladly get you tickets – all the tickets you want! We will also be selling tickets at the Sneads Ferry Food Lion on May 24th (after 3:00 PM), and beginning at 10 AM on May 25th, May 31st and June 1st.

Our hospital ambassador, sea turtle “Lenny” really wanted to be there with us, but after checking the terms of his Fish and Wildlife contract he had to respectfully decline.

Summer Interns on the way

Our crop of summer interns, all eight of them, are scheduled to arrive on May 25th. After a day of orientation and general sea turtle training their first day of “real work” at the hospital will be Tuesday, May 27th. It’s always interesting to me watch the reactions when reality crashes into expectations. But honestly, nobody is really prepared for what we have to deal with here, no matter what their age.

I occasionally kid one of my Tuesday crew about the first day she showed up in a cute little outfit, hair and make-up perfectly in place. She says I looked at her like she was crazy and asked if she was very fond of the clothes she had on because they were never going to look like that again. She stuck it out and quickly overcame her initial apprehension: you either accept it or you leave. So when you come to visit us this summer keep in mind that we are a hospital first and foremost, and that’s why we generally look a little frazzled and smell like squid and wet reptile.

Beach walkers begin patrol

Our Topsail Turtle Project volunteers hit the beach last week looking for turtle tracks. Over the years, a few of our “first nests” have actually been laid on Mother’s Day. Let’s hope we have a lot of turtle moms making their way here right now, full of future hatchlings. Please report any tracks or turtles you may see on our beaches to Terry Meyer @ 910-470-2880.

Hospital closed until June

We’ll let you know our opening date when it’s finalized. Until then you can wave to us through the garage door windows or visit our turtles on-line at: www.seaturtlehospital.org.
 
Questions or Comments about this column?
Contact me at: flippers@embarqmail.com