Patient Update: July 26th

Patient Update: July 26th

Seals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles “Charlie”-Charlie (above center) is doing well this week with no significant changes. We have noticed some mild lesions on his rear flippers that could be the result of dermatitis. We will monitor that condition and take further action if necessary. Charlie is continuing to gain weight and has now surpassed all of his pool mates. His last weigh-in indicated he is about 18kg, or 40lbs! He is definitely approaching the weight requirement for release, and that will be taken into consideration over the next few weeks! He is still doing well with eating and is constantly swimming and playing with the EEDs.

Parker-Parker (above right) is doing very well and we have not noticed any significant changes in her health. Though she is not at the same weight as Charlie, she is steadily gaining weight and we make sure that new weights are taken every week. She still has a healthy appetite and she is not afraid to compete with the others for food. She is constantly swimming around the pool, as we rarely see her haul out, and always eager to play with the EEDs.

Moose-Moose (above, top left) is doing very well in DJF with his other three pool mates. He is definitely gaining muscle and it is obvious that he is also gaining weight; we are pleased with his progress. He is still doing well with feeding in the larger pool and he typically spends most of the day swimming around in the water. There are no changes in his health and we hope it stays that way!

Nemasket “Nemi”-Nemi (above, bottom left) has not shown any significant changes in his health and he is also doing very well in DJF. He has acclimated to the larger pool and he spends most of the day swimming around. Nemi has obviously gained weight since moving to DJF and we anticipate that his weight will continue to increase over the next few weeks. Once he is at the proper weight, it will be time to consider his release!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sugar-Sugar has been doing well this past week and has achieved an exciting step in her rehabilitation—she is now mass feeding! She was excelling over the course of the week and proved that she was able to feed on her own. She is doing very well with it and we are very excited that she has achieved this step! Due to this, she was moved into Pod 2 this past Friday, along with her roommate Jones! She is enjoying a larger pool and is constantly swimming throughout the day. Her respiratory symptoms are still resolving and her eye continues to remain active with less squinting. We will continue to monitor her health, but we are pleased with her progress!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jones-Jones has had a better week, compared to the one previous. This is especially due to the fact that he has completed an exciting step in his rehabilitation—he is now mass feeding as well! Jones is eating on his own and we are very pleased with his progress! He has been moved into Pod 2 with Sugar, and he is also enjoying a deeper pool. Aside from this, he is still struggling with some health problems. He still has the opacity in his right eye and there is a small ocular lesion on the left eye; we are still performing treatments on both. Another canalography was performed on his ear this past week, revealing that the ear drum was still ruptured. He has been started on a new treatment plan for this and we will reassess his condition next week with another canalography.

 

 

 

 

 

Piscataqua “Cat”-Cat is still doing well, with no identified health problems. She is still being assist fed, as she continues to face challenges with this. She has been mashing the fish and has not learned how to position the fish in her mouth and swallow them properly. She also does not show a significant interest in the fish yet. Hopefully she will make progress in the next week and move on to tong feeding. Nevertheless, we have confirmed that she is gaining weight with our weekly weigh-ins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allagash “Allie”-Allie is still doing very well and she has not experienced any problems with mass feeding. She has started to gain weight and we hope that she continues to do so, now that she is used to eating whole fish. She still enjoys Cat’s company and she absolutely loves to swim throughout the day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicopee-Chicopee has been doing well and we have noticed that her respiratory symptoms have improved this past week. In addition, she has become more comfortable with having only one functioning eye, and we have noticed that she is able to easily follow fish when we work with her during fish school. She has started to bite at the fish every now and then, which could indicate that she might be ready for tong feeding in the next week or so. She has become even more talkative and feisty, which is what we like to see after her tough journey. She loves to be in the water as much as possible and we are excited to see her progress.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magalloway “Maggie”-Maggie is doing well this week and is finally adjusting to having only one functioning eye. We know that to be true because she has made an exciting step in her rehabilitation—she is mass feeding! She is able to catch and swallow the fish on her own, and we are very happy with her progress. This will help ensure she gains weight over the coming weeks, now that she is eating whole fish. We are hoping she continues to progress this well throughout the rest of her rehabilitation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bear-Bear is still battling her ruptured ear drum and we have no confirmation that the condition is improving. A third canalogrpahy was conducted, but it was inconclusive. Staff has preemptively started her on a new treatment plan and they will perform another canalography this coming week to reevaluate its progress. She has been less active this past week, but still alert and responsive; therefore, we are monitoring her behavior to ensure she is not dealing with any additional health problems. The opacity in her left eye is still present, so we are continuing treatments with the saline ointment and Terramycin. On a better note, she has now begun assist feeding in the water which is a good step from last week. She does show a slight interest in fish when we conduct fish school with her, so hopefully she will begin tong feeding in the next couple of weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Androscoggin “Andy”-Andy has been doing well, though we are still noticing some coughing and hacking from him. Aside from this we have not noticed any changes in his health. In regards to feeding, Andy is starting to progress. He is being assist fed in the water, which is a good step from where he was last week. He has also started mashing fish on his own, which shows a clear interest in eating the fish without assistance. He is having trouble swallowing pieces of the fish that he is able to bite off by himself, but hopefully he will become more comfortable with it and we can begin tong feeding him within the coming week. In addition, he has become very vocal and feistier than he was before. He still loves being in the water and spends most of his time swimming around the pool.

Turtles:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gunst, Etta, Bruiser– All three of our Kemp’s ridleys in house are doing well; each of them are eating well and swimming as they please. Our veterinarians have finally received the CT scans from Tufts! So they, along with our staff, will have a discussion this coming week about the next steps for each of our turtles.

 

Posted by Gabriella N. 

Gabriella is a second semester intern who recently graduated from Roger Williams University with a degree in Marine Biology.