Murray and baby duck.

First thing this morning, the baby duck was brought back to the clinic. Apparently, yesterday after his treatment, he was feeling better, but this morning he was not well. His whole demeanor spoke of weakness, as his little peanut-sized head lolled to the side, eyes dry and half open. He was gasping for air, had a cold body, and we were very worried about him. We got him set up on a heating pad, and my job was to hold a tube to his minute beak, allowing oxygen to flow, as the technician injected fluids and alternatively gave him doses of sugar and medicine. We got him set up in an incubator, propped up against a pink teddy bear. Throughout the day, he was given fluids and checked on. Though he did perk up some, he was still very lethargic by the time we left for the night. I'm hoping the tiny breathing body continues to cling to life.

Later in the morning, we had a gopher tortoise brought to us. His shell was about as big as a dinner plate, and his leathery dark brown head poked out of his shell. His thick legs were wrinkly and carried him at a glacial pace across the floor. He's an old fellow named "Murray," who had not been eating well for a day or two and has also had an issue with bladder stones. His overhanging lip was splattered with watermelon and squash and his curious eyes looked all around the new room he was placed in. As we prepared the xray machine, we just let him roam around the clinic. His slow curiousity and complete oblivion to those humans with clunking feet walking around him was endearing. He is generally kept in one of the education department buildings, and he often walks around free during the day while children visit him. These experiences have left him acting like a wizened old man, not worrying about what the day may bring, as long as he gets his dandelions and a place to relax. To check on his bladder stones, we took an xray of him. He laid perfectly still on the table as we shot his picture, and then happily roamed the floor once more as we developed the film. Learning to develop the film was quite an experience, considering it must be done completely in the dark. Clumsy as I am, I smacked around a few limbs before finally getting it all together. However, we got a picture of Murray's insides and his bladder stones were still there. For some relief, we allowed him to soak in warm water for an hour, and he seemed to enjoy his time. He is a very great tortoise, and I really enjoyed seeing him today.

I also prepared some elephant blood samples by centrifuging them. For those of you who don't know, a centrifuge is a circular machine with holes around the outside to fit tubes in. The centrigue spins at a set speed and causes the more dense material to settle to the bottom, so the tube has separated layers once removed. The red blood cells go to the bottom of the tube and the serum is on top. The serum was collected for a study on elephant behavior.

The rest of the day was spent in meetings and cleaning. It was a good day overall, and I am continuing to learn so much every day!