why if anyone is interested should fill out the forms as early as possible.
It is very nice to hear there are people wanting to help you. Do the
volunteers' tasks differ from the ones you do?
Again, it is a long list. He or she is being trained on how to clean a turtle,
a tank, how to operate the water system, electricity, heaters in the water
tanks, assisting in topical treatments of the wounds. They are also trained to
feed, to prepare the special food, which we call “tube feed” for the animals
who are not able to eat on their own. Also, they are trained in the process of
the feeding, which is a very stressful thing to do. I am always assisting and
I am always there to help. They also have night shifts in cases of emergency,
they learn how to check on patients, they are also assisting the drivers for the
pick-ups of a new turtle. They can go along and provide first-aid for the
turtles, of course in contact with me. Of course, taking care of facilities and
equipment that we use, it has to be clean and properly disinfected. They are
also helping us with the tours, it is a chance to develop their social skills and
communication skills in English, or any language they are interested in,
because we have tourists from all over the world. They also help us a lot with
the provision of the tours. There is also the observation part, depending on
the shifts they have, volunteers have to observe the turtles, their behavior,
any kind of incline they have because of their injuries, taking temperatures
etc., so they are also taking training in all these procedures. Of course, the
handling part- how to handle a sea turtle, what to do in cases when a turtle is
very stressed. I have to say that they definitely need at least two to three
weeks to be trained, see everything and adjust to what is being done here
and the routine we have here.