We have a bunch of repairs and upgrades going on behind-the-scenes. On November 8th, there were 4 different contractors doing work in or around the animal department and animal exhibits. The scheduled work behind the exhibits in Carolina Wildlife was to fix a main water valve as well as repair damaged walls behind the scenes. We had to move the snake cages in preparation for the work. Two of the cages were set out in Carolina Wildlife, as seen below. The venomous snake cages were locked up in the Exam Room, and the rest of the snake cages were moved and housed with our education reptiles.

Erin so kindly modeled for me, what it looks like with no snake cages set up in  Carolina Wildlife. (Yes, Erin is back and helping out temporarily). Many keepers came in really early in the morning so we could deal with things before the water was shut off.

The water valve that needed replacing was back near the snake cages and made quite a mess. The plumber was wonderful, but it took just about all day to deal with the multiple issues that popped up so there was no water in the Museum until about 4:00. This is why we plan these projects for closed Mondays.

On the plumber’s list was to also start the plumbing work for our new space that’s being built. Unfortunately, something broke that shouldn’t have and before we knew it we had a hole in our bathroom wall and the toilet was gone. It didn’t matter too terribly much as there was no water int he building anyway, but it was a little weird to see the outside through an area that used to have a wall and a toilet.

We’re not done yet” the repairs to the snake hall are still finishing up. Our kitchen and food storage areas are being redone (I just ordered the cabinets and counter tops today). By Spring things should be great- new an expanded counter tops and cabinets, walk in freezers, and the additional space will be finished. It will be a rocky road until then, but we’ll be much better able to do our jobs and take care of the animals when done!