One of the FAQ’s from our visitors is: how do you move those big turtles? It’s all done with people power. It’s not easy to lift a 250-pound turtle up and over a four foot deep tank, especially when they don’t want to go. They’re mad because you’ve drained their water, and they don’t particularly like to be airborne for any reason. They show their displeasure by slapping the heck out of us with their flippers, and threatening to bite the hands that literally feed them. But in a world where there’s a tool for every job we now have a “turtle snuggie,” an ingenious contraption that was recently donated to us by our friends at the Wrightsville Beach Turtle Project.

Made of heavy duty vinyl and lots of Velcro this marvel of engineering literally swaddles the intended transportee. While the process of being prepared for shipping may be a bit confusing to the turtle the result is a safe and painless way (for both turtle and volunteers) to get from point A to point B. And they really do look kind of cute all wrapped up in bright yellow (the turtles, not the volunteers.) So with our turtle snuggie and the planned addition of a hydraulic lift, moving patients at our new hospital will be a breeze.