Patient Update: August 2nd

Patient Update: August 2nd

Seals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles “Charlie”-Charlie is doing very well, and it is because of this that he underwent a pre-release exam on Tuesday to ensure he is in the proper condition for release! The only area of concern during the exam was the lesions present on his hind flippers. Staff took a biopsy punch of the lesions during the exam to determine their cause, as those will need to be resolved before release. Other than that he is eating well and continues to gain weight. We are very excited that he is being considered for release in the next couple of weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parker-Parker (above, top) also underwent a pre-release exam on Tuesday! She is seemingly health with no changes in her condition. She still needs to gain more weight before being released but she is consistently doing so each week. She is eating well and swimming as she pleases. We are very excited that she is being considered for release soon!

Moose-Moose (above, bottom) had an exciting week, as he also underwent a pre-release exam on Tuesday! He is also healthy and in good condition, with no noticeable changes. He is gaining weight at a steady pace from week to week, and he is continuing to eat well. We are very excited for his possible release in the next couple of weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nemasket “Nemi”-Nemi joined his pool mates in the excitement of pre-release exams on Tuesday! He underwent his exam with no changes in his condition and no visible health problems. Nemi is almost at the required weight for release, and he has continued to eat well. We are excited that he is being considered for release in the near future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sugar-Sugar has been doing well this past week, with no significant changes in her health. Although, we have noticed lesions on her hind flippers that have arisen from an unknown cause. A biopsy punch and a culture was taken of the lesions to determine their cause. We are still monitoring the opacity and squinting of her eye, and we have continued treatment on that. She is still doing very well with eating on her own, and she has definitely become more and more eager to eat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jones-Jones has had a good week, with no significant changes in his health. He is still battling an ear infection, as staff performed another canalography on Thursday that confirmed his ear is still ruptured and the bacterial infection is still present. We are now trying a third treatment plan on his ear. He also has lesions on his hind flippers that have arisen from an unknown cause, so we are monitoring those closely. In addition, we are still performing treatments on his eyes due to the present opacity and lesions. He is still doing very well with eating on his own and he is steadily gaining weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Piscataqua “Cat”-Cat is still doing well, with no newly identified health problems. She has also achieved an exciting step in her rehabilitation—she is now eating whole fish on her own! She progressed very quickly over the past week; after moving from assist feeding to tong feeding, she quickly learned how to eat completely on her own! Due to this achievement, she has also been moved into ST2, one of the two largest pools that we have in our hospital! She is definitely enjoying the larger space and is constantly swimming around and playing with her pool mates. It is here that she will gain the necessary amount of weight required for release, as well as strengthen the muscles she needs in order to sustain a significant amount of exercise. We are very pleased with her progress and hope that she will be considered for release in the next few weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Allagash “Allie”-Allie has also had an exciting week, as she underwent a pre-release exam on Thursday! She has not experienced any changes in her condition and is seemingly healthy. She has been consistently gaining weight each week and will soon be at the weight required for release. Due to these factors, she has also been moved into ST2! She is thoroughly enjoying the larger space and is constantly swimming throughout the day. She is still doing very well with mass feeding and we are very excited that she may been considered for release in the near future!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magalloway “Maggie”-Maggie had an exciting week as well, as she also underwent a pre-release exam! There have been no significant changes in her health, she has been steadily gaining weight, and she in continuing to do well with eating on her own. Due to all of this, she was also moved into ST2! She definitely loves having more room to swim around and play with her pool mates. This is where she will strengthen her muscles to sustain longer periods of exercise. We are very excited that she has made it one step closer to being released and we hope she will be returning to the wild in the next couple of weeks!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Androscoggin “Andy”-Andy also had an exciting week, as he achieved a new step in his rehabilitation—he is now eating on his own! He progressed very quickly over the course of the week and is now able to eat whole fish completely on his own. He has also showed us that he is very eager to eat, which we are pleased to see. Due to this, he has also moved into ST2! He loves being able to swim around in a larger pool and we rarely see him out of the water. He is steadily gaining weight and quickly approaching the weight required for release! In addition to this, we have noticed that the condition of his left eye is worsening so we will be monitoring that closely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicopee-Chicopee did well this past week, with no significant changes in her health. On Wednesday she was moved to Pod 1 for feeding purposes. Being in the Pod makes it easier for staff to work with her on assist feeding, and we are already seeing her progress. She is being assist fed in the water, which is a good step up from last week, and she is coming very close to eating on her own! She is doing well with fish school and has showed a definite interest in fish. We are pleased with how well she is doing and we are eager for her to complete the next steps in her rehabilitation!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bear– Bear is doing well, with no significant changes in her health. She is still battling her ruptured ear drum, as staff performed another canalography that confirmed the rupture is still present, along with active discharge from the ear. We will be trying a third treatment plan on the ear and will re-evaluate its status in two weeks. In addition, we are continuing treatment on her left eye with the saline ointment and Terramycin. She is still being assist fed in the water and is only showing a slight interest in fish during fish school. We are hoping that she begins to progress and can work her way up to tong feeding in the near future. Due to these factors, she has been moved into Pod 1 with Chicopee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pawcatuck “Tuck”-Tuck is a male harbor seal weanling that stranded in Salisbury, Massachusetts. He was rescued by Seacoast Science Center and brought to NMLC for rehabilitation. During his admit exam we noticed a deep wound with exposed, infected bone on his hind flipper, significant swelling paired with an abscess in his left shoulder, other minor abscesses, parasites, and a respiratory infection. He likely came in septic, so he is being treated with antibiotics, fluids, pain medications, anti-inflammatories, and round-the-clock wound care. On a positive note, he has already been improving since his arrival. His hind flipper wound has healed and we were able to drain approximately 14 milliliters of pus from the abscess on his left shoulder through the use of an ultrasound. Also, he has already started eating fish on his own this past week, which is another great step in his rehabilitation!

 

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 results from Tufts! So, they are discussing future plans for each of the turtles, as some of them are potential surgical candidates, with the New England Aquarium team. Also, now that we have a new ISO pool up and running, our three turtles have been moved into there for the time being.

 

Posted by Gabriella N. 

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