One on One Tortoise Time and a Stubborn Bearded Dragon

Working at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge: October 20th

My fourth day working at the refuge was a new experience for me as I was able to work more independently. My advisor would help me if I asked for any guidance, however, she allowed me to do the majority of our routine work on my own. I was most excited to treat the African Tortoise's shell wound and complete the routine procedure independently.

First, I had to remove the previous gauze pad from the his shell. Once I did this I made sure the wound was not infected by checking for shell discoloration around the wound. After making sure there were no infections I continued on with his routine procedure. Next I poured a Chlorhexidine solution over the wound in order to kill any bacteria on the shell surrounding the wound. I removed any remaining ointment from his last treatment using the opposite end of the cotton swab. After removing any left over ointment from his previous round of treatments I irrigated the wound using the same Chlorhexidine solution. Once I successfully irrigated the wound I applied Silver Sulfadiazine cream (a topical antibiotic ointment used to avoid infection) to the freshly cleansed wound. Lastly, I bandaged the wound well using a gauze pad and generous layers of medical tape. After I completed his routine treatment he was happy and began to dig into a delicious salad buffet.

After working on the tortoise's shell wound I continued with my regular routine and went feed the six bearded dragons. I managed to get all of them to eat except for one little stubborn one. She was being quite difficult the past couple of days when it came to eating her crickets. We noticed this and my advisor instructed me to give her a warm bath and to try and feed her some Superworms. Bearded Dragons love Superworms, so if she refused to eat these as well it would be very concerning. Luckily, I managed to get her to eat the Superworms, and it was obvious she enjoyed every minute of it.

This weekend was very eventful, and it was also very valuable because I was allowed to complete the tortoises medical treatment without the supervision of my advisor. This was a simple procedure to follow; however, there was still a lot of pressure to make sure I executed each step perfectly for the health of the tortoise. I also wanted to show my advisor that I am capable of taking what she teaches me and using it in the work field. I was also relieved that we managed to get the Bearded Dragon to eat, and that nothing serious was wrong with her. I am excited to take on more independent projects as my time there continues.