The NMLC Wish List

Jul 11, 2013 chore board

NMLC is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) rehabilitation and release hospital for the treatment of stranded sea turtles and seals, with future plans to expand to treat dolphins, porpoises, and small whales.

Our Facebook page is updated weekly with a Wish List Item of the Week. As our animal hospital expands and we receive more patients, the proper supplies are crucial. A regular day in the hospital requires a vast amount of medical, food related and cleaning supplies, all of which is graciously donated by supporters!

The chore board inside the animal hospital.
The chore board inside the animal hospital.

A day in the life of an NMLC hospital worker is generally as follows:

  • Enter hospital by removing shoes and putting on boots or crocs.
  • Walk through a foot bath of disinfectant to prevent spread of outside pathogens (EVERYTHING is disinfected several times a day: floor, counters, etc.)
  • Don the first of several pairs of gloves required for handling fish, animal supplies and cleaning.
  • Do at least two or three loads of laundry per day because we go through a massive amount of towels.
  • Cut and prepare fish, using knives, separate plastic containers, and proper freezing equipment.
  • Scales are necessary to weigh out the proper meal size for our patients.
  • Vitamins, antibiotics, salt water tablets, and other supplements are added to their meals (depending on their condition).
  • Gruel (a type of fish-protein shake) is required for some sicker or younger animals, requires more ingredients,  and tube feeding tools.
  • Treating the seals, depending on their condition, may require specific antibiotics. We certainly go through betadine and saline solution very quickly.
  • Rounds (our patients weekly check-up) requires a separate thermometer for each animal.
  • Rain pants – bibs – and gloves must be worn when restraining a seal.
  • Healthy seals and turtles can eat up to four times a day. Right now we go through about a 25 pound box of herring…a day!
  • Hoses are used constantly for water changes on our seals and turtles.
  • Test the salinity, pH and temperature of the pools using specific salinity and pH measurement devices.
  • Conduct additional water quality tests for coliforms, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
  • Clean the protein skimmers.
  • Vacum and net the pools.
  • Clean the floors, clean the floors, and clean the floors. Sanitize, sanitize, sanitize!
  • Lots of dishes to wash! Dawn dish soap is our best friend.
  • The small turtles (located inside the office) require lettuce, filters, rocks, high quality UVB light, separate skimmers, buckets, and constant water changes.
This list is only a small portion of the tasks that go into rehabilitating our patients. It is obvious the amount of items and time required to do so! An important thing to note is the hygienic aspect of the work we do here. All items used need to be sterilized, and depending on where they are used and who they are used on, specific items must stay separate (requiring more than one of items like squeegees, mops, and rubber gloves).

Our Amazon Wish List includes an Animal Care Wish List as well as an Education Wish List. Every little thing counts and makes a difference in these animals lives. From thermometers to syringes to lightbulbs, anything helps! You can donate by going to our Amazon Wish List or even your local drug store for some items. For additional ideas, you can also refer to our website Wish List.

We thank you for your support!