Saturday, June 29
This morning I cleaned the giant tortoise exhibit, which lead to tortoise neck rubbing for my tortoise friend and being able to answer a lot of questions from visitors. I picked up more salad trays, cleaned the black worms, and then finished picking up salad trays in a room off exhibit. After break I did the dishes and changed out the water in the Galliwasp cages.
After lunch, I got to help another zookeeper with a larger project of starting to move around enclosures in the basement. One room in the basement is being rearranged and some of the animals are moving out of it, while others are moving in. I removed mulch from a large water/land tub before we moved it out of the room to clean it. We moved two water/land tubs and stands out of the one room and moved them to another location. Once we got the tubs cleaned and set back up, I filled one of them with sand. We refilled the water and placed a few turtles back inside. The process took a while because during the moving and cleaning, the other zookeeper was trying to figure out the best way to go about the whole rearrangement of multiple animal enclosures. We weren't able to figure out all the logistics of all the moving right then, but maybe when I go back next week more will be figured out. It will be quite a process whenever we start doing more work! I'm excited to be able to help out with the project because it will be something I can look at and know that I had a hand in the new animal arrangement. Afterwards, I syphoned cleaned the bottom of three turtle tubs. After break, I did a quick clean on some McCord's Box turtle tubs, did some general cleaning, took out the trash, and then it was time for us all to head out.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Day 25: Adorable Turtles
Friday, June 28
As per the usual salad day routine, I started out cutting produce and preparing salads. As salads were made, I delivered them to the respective animals. I love watching the Fly River Turtles eat banana slices. They see me and start watching, so when I toss in some bananas they get very excited and swim to it; they grab the slice in their mouth and then use their flippers to help break off a bite sized piece. They are typically adorable turtles but when they are excited for bananas and sweet potatoes it is even more adorable. After break, the other intern and I finished preparing the salads and then cleaned up the mess from the morning preparations.
After lunch, I cleaned the black worms, did the dishes, and changed out water for some turtles and lizards. I cleaned the baby Alligator Snapping Turtles and McCord's Box Turtle tanks again because they had already made a mess since yesterday! The McCord's Box Turtle babies are also super adorable. They are smaller than the palm of my hand and just a few months old! But remember, these animals have been driven to virtual extinction in the wild due to the pet trade, so do not go out looking for one as a pet! After break, I cleaned the Spotted Turtle tanks and then misted the Galliwasps. The other intern and I agreed that it was one of those days where it seemed like we didn't do many tasks, but everything took a lot of time!
As per the usual salad day routine, I started out cutting produce and preparing salads. As salads were made, I delivered them to the respective animals. I love watching the Fly River Turtles eat banana slices. They see me and start watching, so when I toss in some bananas they get very excited and swim to it; they grab the slice in their mouth and then use their flippers to help break off a bite sized piece. They are typically adorable turtles but when they are excited for bananas and sweet potatoes it is even more adorable. After break, the other intern and I finished preparing the salads and then cleaned up the mess from the morning preparations.
After lunch, I cleaned the black worms, did the dishes, and changed out water for some turtles and lizards. I cleaned the baby Alligator Snapping Turtles and McCord's Box Turtle tanks again because they had already made a mess since yesterday! The McCord's Box Turtle babies are also super adorable. They are smaller than the palm of my hand and just a few months old! But remember, these animals have been driven to virtual extinction in the wild due to the pet trade, so do not go out looking for one as a pet! After break, I cleaned the Spotted Turtle tanks and then misted the Galliwasps. The other intern and I agreed that it was one of those days where it seemed like we didn't do many tasks, but everything took a lot of time!
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Day 24: Picture Day
This morning I started the day cleaning the giant tortoise exhibit! I had family at the zoo today so while I was working in various locations, they were taking pictures of me. While I was picking up the salads, my tortoise friend came up to me again for a neck rub. I also was able to talk to another zoo worker about the tortoises and answer some of her questions. Back inside, I helped pick up the salad bowls for the building and then cleaned the black worms. After break, I cleaned some cricket tubs and made sure all the insects had food. I then did the dishes and changed the water of some animals off exhibit. I felt super productive this morning since I was the only house intern today. The other intern is out of town, but I was able to finish all of the daily tasks by myself before lunch.
And some pictures of me at work:
After having lunch with my family, I gave them a quick tour of the exhibits in the herpetarium and gave fun facts about some of the animals. I collected a few more salad trays and then processed the cricket shipment. I cleaned the baby Alligator Snapping Turtle tanks and the McCord's Box Turtle tubs before break. Afterwards I was able to clean the inside glass for the Dumeril's Ground Boa and Black Tree Monitor exhibits. It was cool and a little strange to be in an exhibit with the animals in there too. There was another keeper at the top of the exhibit who was an extra pair of eyes for me and on the animals. This experience is just another example of how snakes are not out to get humans. The other keeper rained water on the boas at first to tell them that it was not feeding time. I was standing just a few feet from one of the boas and it just minded its own business and left me alone. It was funny because I was directly on the other side of glass from visitors who were standing close to see the animal, or maybe to watch a zookeeper in action. It was hard to tell. It was definitely fun being able to do something new! I finished cleaning the McCord's Box Turtle tubs and cleaned the Spotted Turtle tanks before taking out the trash and helping to close the building. On the way out of the zoo, I was walking next to a family and the dad said "It's the girl in the snake exhibit!" He must have been one of the people watching me clean, so I chatted with him and his family on my way out.
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| Black Tree Monitor |
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| Dumeril's Ground Boa |
And some pictures of me at work:
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Day 23: Snake Handling
Saturday, June 22
This morning I helped clean some of the glass before cleaning the giant tortoise yard. Today there were workers outside of the yard so there was no crowd gathered around watching me work. I was happy that I was able to work with the giant tortoises three days in a row! After cleaning all the salad scraps up I took a few minutes to give some attention to my tortoise friend. The other tortoises are always still asleep in the morning or they just let me know that they do not want to be touched. This tortoise is the complete opposite, which is awesome. I felt really sad today when I had to stop giving the tortoise a neck rub and get back to work. He was still stretching out his neck after I was already out of the yard in hopes that I would come back. I then misted the two outside lizard enclosures and cleaned the black worms. I then went to a zookeeper to see what I could work on next and he taught me how to use a snake hook and handle snakes! I was super excited to learn something new! Snake hooks take some practice to work with, but I was able to get down the general idea. I watched the zookeeper handle one snake and then I got to handle a Madagascar Ground Boa. We needed to take the snakes out of their enclosures in order to clean them and change the water. It was hard to try and handle a heavy snake using one hook and then holding the other part of the snake, while trying to get them in/out of their enclosure, while they are moving all over. After the morning break I then got to watch the same zookeeper handle venomous snakes. It was nice being able to watch another zookeeper work and see how they do things. This also gave me the opportunity to talk to him and some of the other zookeepers more who were in the same area.
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| Hispaniolan Giant Anole |
some general cleaning, took out the trash, and then it was time to go.
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| Madagascar Ground Boa |
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| Boa Constrictor |
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| Mountain Chicken |
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| Hispaniolan Giant Anole |
Day 22: Giant Tortoise Salad
Friday, June 21
This morning I started cutting up produce and preparing some salads. I put the giant greens and fruit/veggie chunks together and then headed out to the giant tortoise exhibit! While I was putting out the piles of salad, visitors were gathering around and asking me questions. Twice I was asked how old the tortoises are and then I had a few other various questions. It was fun being able to share my knowledge with people who were curious about the tortoises! Once again the same tortoise from yesterday (who is my new friend) wanted a neck rub over going to eat the salads like everyone else. When I was giving him a short neck rub I heard someone exclaim that he was like a dog wanting attention (which is pretty true, they stretch out their necks really far when you've got the right spot). Back inside, I worked more on preparing and distributing salads. I really enjoy salad days because they are fast paced and it is also fun to feed the animals. After break I distributed salads to some of the turtles in the atrium of the building. While I was in the exhibit people were watching and asking questions about how long it takes to feed everyone and how often we feed them. After salads were done, the other intern and I cleaned up the mess and then headed outside to turn the sprinkler on for the yellow-foot giant tortoises. The sprinkler needed a little adjusting so it took a little bit to get it working properly. Today was an abnormal zoo day because the whole zoo closed at noon in order to prepare for a very large fundraising event that was taking place that night. So before lunch we had to close the building for the day.
After lunch I filled up the water bowls for the outside tortoises, did a quick clean of the cricket bins, cleaned the black worms, and cleaned the salads bins. For break today a few of the zookeepers and I went into the house to sit on some benches and enjoy the quiet of the building. It was actually quite relaxing because you just heard the sound of flowing water. After break I did the dishes, swept the kitchen, cleaned more bins, swept some downstairs, and took out the trash. A lot of keepers were leaving early today because of the event so it was pretty quiet at the end of the day. The other intern and I finished everything before five so we too got to leave a little early!
This morning I started cutting up produce and preparing some salads. I put the giant greens and fruit/veggie chunks together and then headed out to the giant tortoise exhibit! While I was putting out the piles of salad, visitors were gathering around and asking me questions. Twice I was asked how old the tortoises are and then I had a few other various questions. It was fun being able to share my knowledge with people who were curious about the tortoises! Once again the same tortoise from yesterday (who is my new friend) wanted a neck rub over going to eat the salads like everyone else. When I was giving him a short neck rub I heard someone exclaim that he was like a dog wanting attention (which is pretty true, they stretch out their necks really far when you've got the right spot). Back inside, I worked more on preparing and distributing salads. I really enjoy salad days because they are fast paced and it is also fun to feed the animals. After break I distributed salads to some of the turtles in the atrium of the building. While I was in the exhibit people were watching and asking questions about how long it takes to feed everyone and how often we feed them. After salads were done, the other intern and I cleaned up the mess and then headed outside to turn the sprinkler on for the yellow-foot giant tortoises. The sprinkler needed a little adjusting so it took a little bit to get it working properly. Today was an abnormal zoo day because the whole zoo closed at noon in order to prepare for a very large fundraising event that was taking place that night. So before lunch we had to close the building for the day.
After lunch I filled up the water bowls for the outside tortoises, did a quick clean of the cricket bins, cleaned the black worms, and cleaned the salads bins. For break today a few of the zookeepers and I went into the house to sit on some benches and enjoy the quiet of the building. It was actually quite relaxing because you just heard the sound of flowing water. After break I did the dishes, swept the kitchen, cleaned more bins, swept some downstairs, and took out the trash. A lot of keepers were leaving early today because of the event so it was pretty quiet at the end of the day. The other intern and I finished everything before five so we too got to leave a little early!
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Day 21: Many Species
This morning I started off cleaning the giant tortoise enclosure! While cleaning I turned around and saw that one of the tortoises was walking up to me! I recognized him as the one that really enjoys neck rubs. It was so cute because all the other tortoises were either still sleeping or minding their own business but he was walking right up to me! While I was giving him a neck rub he was stretching out his neck really far and was touching my leg a few times with his mouth/nose. I'm just going to say I was getting tortoise kisses! After I was done cleaning, I helped to pick up salad trays from inside the building. I then helped a zookeeper change out newspaper in some exhibits. I cleaned out the cages of/worked with a three-toed box turtle, leopard gecko, western chuckwalla, common chuckwalla, shingleback skink, and a frilled lizard! I was taught how to correctly handle a frilled lizard when they are flared up and trying to bite everything. Evidently the frilled lizard that we have is more sassy than actually out to bite. After the morning break I worked with the other intern to clean out cricket tubs and unpack the cricket shipment until lunch.
I then misted the galliwasp enclosures and then worked on sweeping of floors. Today was a big cleaning day for the building so everyone was busy with that as well as the daily tasks. After break I cleaned two small rooms in the wings, did more sweeping in the main area, and filled the water bowls for the outside tortoises. After taking out the trash it was then time to close the building.
I then misted the galliwasp enclosures and then worked on sweeping of floors. Today was a big cleaning day for the building so everyone was busy with that as well as the daily tasks. After break I cleaned two small rooms in the wings, did more sweeping in the main area, and filled the water bowls for the outside tortoises. After taking out the trash it was then time to close the building.
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| Frilled Lizard |
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| Western Chuckwalla |
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| Leopard Gecko |
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| Common Chuckwalla |
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| Shingleback Skink |
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| Three-Toed Box Turtle |
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Day 20: Outside Exposure
Saturday, June 15
This morning the interns had to go clean the glass since it hadn't been done yet. After that I got to go outside and clean up the salads in the giant tortoise exhibit! It was exciting because it was my first time being outside with the tortoises as a keeper. Since I went at the beginning of the day, some of the tortoises were still sleeping. I felt like I was disturbing their rest by being in there! Cleaning the outside enclosure is so much easier than cleaning inside! I cleaned up the old salad and put out hay and that was all it took. Of course, I did spend a little time giving some attention to a few tortoises! It was also fun because since I was outside visitors would stop by to watch and could then ask me questions. A lot of people commented on the salad that was there (actually it seemed to be a lot of parents pointing out to their children that tortoises eat salads and corn). One child asked me if they bite and a pair of visitors asked to be pointed to the antelope area. It was fun having a little bit of time to actually interact with the public and be able to answer a few questions. A lot of people walking by would call them turtles instead of tortoises though. Turtles spend most of their time in water, they do come up on land though, but some do have webbed feet to make swimming easier. Tortoises are strictly land dwelling and have legs that allow them to walk better on land.
Once back inside, I helped pick up some salad bowls, cleaned the black worms, and pulled left over salad from the turtles in the atrium. Sometimes that also draws a crowd since the exhibits are just behind a fence in the center of the building. One person commented that the turtles must not have been as hungry as we had thought. Before break I had a chance to talk to one of the zookeepers about a new design for an exhibit and more plans for future ones. After break, I vacuumed the three turtle tubs that I had done a water change for yesterday. While working on that I was pulled by another zookeeper to help them out. The zookeeper needed me to plug a drain in a turtle exhibit so he could remove the drain pipe in order to clean it out. I was behind the glass and just holding the bulb of a pipet on the drain and people were still stopping to watch. When I was heading out, one person that had been watching asked me what we were doing in there. I then finished vacuuming and changed some water bowls before lunch.
After lunch I learned how to do a water change for two fish tanks of stock fish. After the water change and cleaning the filters, I then cleaned some baby Alligator Snapping Turtle tanks. The babies look so cute! So it was fun being able to watch them while cleaning. After break, I did the dishes, filled up a filter tank with water and then helped to gather trash from the building.
This morning the interns had to go clean the glass since it hadn't been done yet. After that I got to go outside and clean up the salads in the giant tortoise exhibit! It was exciting because it was my first time being outside with the tortoises as a keeper. Since I went at the beginning of the day, some of the tortoises were still sleeping. I felt like I was disturbing their rest by being in there! Cleaning the outside enclosure is so much easier than cleaning inside! I cleaned up the old salad and put out hay and that was all it took. Of course, I did spend a little time giving some attention to a few tortoises! It was also fun because since I was outside visitors would stop by to watch and could then ask me questions. A lot of people commented on the salad that was there (actually it seemed to be a lot of parents pointing out to their children that tortoises eat salads and corn). One child asked me if they bite and a pair of visitors asked to be pointed to the antelope area. It was fun having a little bit of time to actually interact with the public and be able to answer a few questions. A lot of people walking by would call them turtles instead of tortoises though. Turtles spend most of their time in water, they do come up on land though, but some do have webbed feet to make swimming easier. Tortoises are strictly land dwelling and have legs that allow them to walk better on land.
Once back inside, I helped pick up some salad bowls, cleaned the black worms, and pulled left over salad from the turtles in the atrium. Sometimes that also draws a crowd since the exhibits are just behind a fence in the center of the building. One person commented that the turtles must not have been as hungry as we had thought. Before break I had a chance to talk to one of the zookeepers about a new design for an exhibit and more plans for future ones. After break, I vacuumed the three turtle tubs that I had done a water change for yesterday. While working on that I was pulled by another zookeeper to help them out. The zookeeper needed me to plug a drain in a turtle exhibit so he could remove the drain pipe in order to clean it out. I was behind the glass and just holding the bulb of a pipet on the drain and people were still stopping to watch. When I was heading out, one person that had been watching asked me what we were doing in there. I then finished vacuuming and changed some water bowls before lunch.
After lunch I learned how to do a water change for two fish tanks of stock fish. After the water change and cleaning the filters, I then cleaned some baby Alligator Snapping Turtle tanks. The babies look so cute! So it was fun being able to watch them while cleaning. After break, I did the dishes, filled up a filter tank with water and then helped to gather trash from the building.
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| Baby Alligator Snapping Turtle |
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| Adult Alligator Snapping Turtle |
Day 19: Speedy Delivery
Friday, June 14
This morning began with cutting up fruit and vegetables for the giant tortoises and then moved into salad preparation. While the other intern was feeding the giant tortoises, I was busy preparing salads inside. After break, we both worked on salads and actually had everyone fed in record time! I then went on to clean the black worms and started to clean some McCord's box turtle tanks before lunch.
After lunch I finished cleaning the McCord's and Spotted Turtle tanks. I then made sure the crickets and worms had new food, did the dishes, and cleaned out the salad bins. Everyone must have been working really hard today because after the afternoon break there was not much left that needed to be done. I changed water bowls for the pancake tortoises and then went outside to some tortoise enclosures off exhibit to clean up feces. I guess every zookeeper job, no matter what area, requires you to go out with a shovel and clean up. I worked on cleaning the lizard room a little more and then was given a task to do a water change for three turtle tubs. Of course some of the water was leaking through a drainage tube so I had to go back and squeegee the floors.
This morning began with cutting up fruit and vegetables for the giant tortoises and then moved into salad preparation. While the other intern was feeding the giant tortoises, I was busy preparing salads inside. After break, we both worked on salads and actually had everyone fed in record time! I then went on to clean the black worms and started to clean some McCord's box turtle tanks before lunch.
After lunch I finished cleaning the McCord's and Spotted Turtle tanks. I then made sure the crickets and worms had new food, did the dishes, and cleaned out the salad bins. Everyone must have been working really hard today because after the afternoon break there was not much left that needed to be done. I changed water bowls for the pancake tortoises and then went outside to some tortoise enclosures off exhibit to clean up feces. I guess every zookeeper job, no matter what area, requires you to go out with a shovel and clean up. I worked on cleaning the lizard room a little more and then was given a task to do a water change for three turtle tubs. Of course some of the water was leaking through a drainage tube so I had to go back and squeegee the floors.
Day 18: Orientation
Thursday, June 13
Today I went in to the herpetarium to work for an hour collecting salads from the building. The rest of the day was spent in orientation for new zoo workers/ interns. The orientation wasn't too bad. Of course various policies had to be covered but we also learned about the history of the zoo and did a fun personality test. In the morning we also got a behind the scenes tour of the insectarium. It was interesting to see another part of the zoo, but I'm still not too fond of being close to insects. The zookeeper that was giving us the tour had a hat on with two insects on it. For over half of the tour I thought they were plastic insects that he put on his hat, but then he picked one up and it actually moved. I'm glad that he likes insects enough to do that! Almost everyone at the orientation was an intern so I got to meet some interns in other areas of the zoo and got to know some of the interns in the herpetarium better.
Today I went in to the herpetarium to work for an hour collecting salads from the building. The rest of the day was spent in orientation for new zoo workers/ interns. The orientation wasn't too bad. Of course various policies had to be covered but we also learned about the history of the zoo and did a fun personality test. In the morning we also got a behind the scenes tour of the insectarium. It was interesting to see another part of the zoo, but I'm still not too fond of being close to insects. The zookeeper that was giving us the tour had a hat on with two insects on it. For over half of the tour I thought they were plastic insects that he put on his hat, but then he picked one up and it actually moved. I'm glad that he likes insects enough to do that! Almost everyone at the orientation was an intern so I got to meet some interns in other areas of the zoo and got to know some of the interns in the herpetarium better.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Day 17: Lizard Enclosures
Saturday, June 8
This morning I set off on collecting the salad bowls from the whole building. I changed water bowls in the lizard room, cleaned the black worms and then it was already time for break. I was then given the project of preparing two outside lizard enclosures. The current state was full of weeds and small trees that had taken root since last summer. I started pulling weeds on one of the exhibits until lunch.
I met a friend for lunch which was fun! Afterwards, all of the house and hellbender interns got a special behind the scenes viewing of the capybaras and an anteater! I love being able to see other areas of the zoo! The two capybaras were quite cute and the anteater was entertaining to watch. Anteaters actually have no teeth, they use their sticky tongue to get ants and other food into their mouths. I also learned that anteaters can actually be quite dangerous. If threatened, they can stand up on their hind legs, put their arms around a human (or other animal) and then quickly pull their arms apart, using their large claws (up to 4 inches long) to tear their threat apart. Anteaters have actually killed zookeepers in some countries. After we got back, I went back outside to continue working on the exhibit. I finished pulling weeds and put new mulch down on one and then moved on to start the second exhibit. After break I was able to finish the second exhibit, do the dishes, and gather trash. Even though it was hard work today, it was fun to be able to see that I personally made two exhibit inhabitable for lizards!
This morning I set off on collecting the salad bowls from the whole building. I changed water bowls in the lizard room, cleaned the black worms and then it was already time for break. I was then given the project of preparing two outside lizard enclosures. The current state was full of weeds and small trees that had taken root since last summer. I started pulling weeds on one of the exhibits until lunch.
I met a friend for lunch which was fun! Afterwards, all of the house and hellbender interns got a special behind the scenes viewing of the capybaras and an anteater! I love being able to see other areas of the zoo! The two capybaras were quite cute and the anteater was entertaining to watch. Anteaters actually have no teeth, they use their sticky tongue to get ants and other food into their mouths. I also learned that anteaters can actually be quite dangerous. If threatened, they can stand up on their hind legs, put their arms around a human (or other animal) and then quickly pull their arms apart, using their large claws (up to 4 inches long) to tear their threat apart. Anteaters have actually killed zookeepers in some countries. After we got back, I went back outside to continue working on the exhibit. I finished pulling weeds and put new mulch down on one and then moved on to start the second exhibit. After break I was able to finish the second exhibit, do the dishes, and gather trash. Even though it was hard work today, it was fun to be able to see that I personally made two exhibit inhabitable for lizards!
Day 16: Cactus Overload
Friday, June 7
This morning was like the beginning days, it started with cleaning glass because it wasn't finished before 8am. The other intern and I started cutting up fruit and vegetables right away to get the giant tortoise salad finished. While the other intern went to feed the giant tortoises, I was working on preparing salads for the rest of the building. The building got a huge delivery (a whole crate full!) of cactus pads that needed to be cleaned. So while I was working on salads another zookeeper was working on cleaning the cactus pads. It was nice because it gave me an opportunity to talk to one of the zookeepers while working. After the morning break, I was off to work on salads again. I even had to cut up some of the cactus pads which were quite sticky. I got to go and deliver a lot of the cactus pads to the giant tortoises. While handing the pads out, I ended up getting a thorn in my hand. In terms of cleaning, you do the best you can since it is hard to get every thorn off. I didn't realize that the thorns are actually quite small. It was able to get it out easily, which I was thankful for!. When I was handing out the cactus pads to the tortoises there was a very large crowd of people gathered around the glass watching. Some people were even taking pictures and I had to wonder if the pictures were of me or the tortoises! We then finished salads for the building right in time for lunch break.
After lunch we all had to help unload the back of a van with bags of mulch in it. I then finished cleaning the Spotted Turtle and McCord's Box Turtle tanks from yesterday. I cleaned the black worms, did the dishes, cleaned the salad bins out, and changed water bowls for the adult McCord's turtles. After break, I was back in the lizard room cleaning the dust/dirt again. At the end of the day I was working on gathering the trash from the building when I was pulled to help out in hellbender briefly. All the workers were considered chytrid positive, so they needed someone who had not been in contact with it to help them out. Two tanks were overflowing so I had to help bail out water until the water levels stabilized again. With the extra work at the end of the day, I got out a little bit after 5.
This morning was like the beginning days, it started with cleaning glass because it wasn't finished before 8am. The other intern and I started cutting up fruit and vegetables right away to get the giant tortoise salad finished. While the other intern went to feed the giant tortoises, I was working on preparing salads for the rest of the building. The building got a huge delivery (a whole crate full!) of cactus pads that needed to be cleaned. So while I was working on salads another zookeeper was working on cleaning the cactus pads. It was nice because it gave me an opportunity to talk to one of the zookeepers while working. After the morning break, I was off to work on salads again. I even had to cut up some of the cactus pads which were quite sticky. I got to go and deliver a lot of the cactus pads to the giant tortoises. While handing the pads out, I ended up getting a thorn in my hand. In terms of cleaning, you do the best you can since it is hard to get every thorn off. I didn't realize that the thorns are actually quite small. It was able to get it out easily, which I was thankful for!. When I was handing out the cactus pads to the tortoises there was a very large crowd of people gathered around the glass watching. Some people were even taking pictures and I had to wonder if the pictures were of me or the tortoises! We then finished salads for the building right in time for lunch break.
After lunch we all had to help unload the back of a van with bags of mulch in it. I then finished cleaning the Spotted Turtle and McCord's Box Turtle tanks from yesterday. I cleaned the black worms, did the dishes, cleaned the salad bins out, and changed water bowls for the adult McCord's turtles. After break, I was back in the lizard room cleaning the dust/dirt again. At the end of the day I was working on gathering the trash from the building when I was pulled to help out in hellbender briefly. All the workers were considered chytrid positive, so they needed someone who had not been in contact with it to help them out. Two tanks were overflowing so I had to help bail out water until the water levels stabilized again. With the extra work at the end of the day, I got out a little bit after 5.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Day 15: Another Egg
Thursday:
This morning I helped to collect salad trays from the building and then worked on cleaning the giant tortoise exhibit. While in there I found another calcified tortoise egg! At the end of cleaning, while waiting for their pool to fill back up, I got in some good one on one tortoise interaction with a tortoise who was quite enjoying getting a neck rub. I knelt down and he had his head stretched out all the way to me, it was cute! After break, the other intern and I moved old light fixtures outside that had been replaced earlier today. I then went to clean the black worms and also assisted the other intern in cleaning rodent cages.
After lunch I started working on cleaning more rodent cages, but then went on to mist the galliwasps and make sure they had clean water. After break I had to take care of the cricket shipment, by myself. (I appreciate crickets as a food source for animals that I like, but I would still rather appreciate them from a farther distance than I currently have to!). With the last part of the day, the other intern and I worked on cleaning some of the McCord's Box Turtle and Spotted Turtle tanks. It was then time to collect trash and close the building.
This morning I helped to collect salad trays from the building and then worked on cleaning the giant tortoise exhibit. While in there I found another calcified tortoise egg! At the end of cleaning, while waiting for their pool to fill back up, I got in some good one on one tortoise interaction with a tortoise who was quite enjoying getting a neck rub. I knelt down and he had his head stretched out all the way to me, it was cute! After break, the other intern and I moved old light fixtures outside that had been replaced earlier today. I then went to clean the black worms and also assisted the other intern in cleaning rodent cages.
After lunch I started working on cleaning more rodent cages, but then went on to mist the galliwasps and make sure they had clean water. After break I had to take care of the cricket shipment, by myself. (I appreciate crickets as a food source for animals that I like, but I would still rather appreciate them from a farther distance than I currently have to!). With the last part of the day, the other intern and I worked on cleaning some of the McCord's Box Turtle and Spotted Turtle tanks. It was then time to collect trash and close the building.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Day 14: Tortoise Egg
Saturday:
This morning the other intern and I were surprised to find a tortoise egg when we got to the giant tortoise exhibit. The egg was in their water pool and was over calcified. Over calcification happens when a tortoise holds the egg inside of them for too long, allowing more calcium to add to the egg shell. The egg was quite large and spherical. With the extra calcium it looked more like a golf ball coating with ridges and craters on the outside of the smooth egg. Even though the egg was not good, it was still cool to be able to see it and find it in their exhibit. Cleaning the giant tortoise exhibit today didn't take too long. The other intern and I then gathered salads from the building. I then learned how to vacuum the bottom of three large tubs for aquatic turtles. It was hard to get everything, but at least it looked better once I was done than when I started!
After lunch I washed the dishes, cleaned the black worms, and worked in the rodent/cricket room. I then was sent on the not so fun task of cleaning the lizard room in the basement. The room had probably not been cleaned in a while so there was thick dirt/dust built up on all of the pipes. I started cleaning with rags, but just going over a small area made the rag so dirty I had to stop and rinse it out. After break, I went out with a few other interns to watch the Chinese Alligators get fed. The zookeepers are trying to work on target practice with them, so when they touched their respective target they got a mouse. After they were fed, the zookeepers then went over into the American Alligator exhibit to feed him. It is a shame that these animals have such a bad reputation. I overheard people making comments that the zookeepers should just shoot it or should have a gun on them to be in there. If you would bother them or taunt them with food, then yes, they might not be too happy. They are animals sharing the earth with us, so they deserve our respect. One person did ask us if this was the best job ever and of course we said it was. After the feedings ended I then worked more on cleaning the lizard room until the end of the day. I also got to talk to one of the zookeepers about plans for remodeling some exhibits in that room (maybe even starting this summer!).
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| Chinese Alligator |
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| American Alligator |
Day 13: Amazing Soft Shelled Turtles
I apologize for not posting as fast as normal. With the storms that passed through St. Louis last Friday night our power did not come back on until yesterday. So, now that I have internet again...I shall blog about last Thursday.
To start the day off I started cutting up fruit and vegetables for the chunk salad for the giant tortoises. After that I started working on preparing all of the salads with the other intern. Today we went around distributing as we made the salads which went faster. I finished up the salads and then had to go back around and label all of the feed cards for the animals I had fed since I had forgotten to do that before.
After lunch I misted the Galliwasp enclosures. At least today the soil was not as dry so it did not take as long as the first time. I cleaned the black worms, did the dishes, and cleaned a few cricket cages. The highlight of the day was seeing the two narrow-headed softshell turtles get fed mackerel. These turtles are found in southeast Asia and can grow to be over 260 pounds! They are huge! It was amazing to see them get fed because they would snatch the fish in a blink of the eye! It was so fast that you would definitely miss it if you blinked then. Instantly, the fish is gone, they just shallow it whole. Amazing!
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| Narrow-Headed Softshell Turtle |
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