The animal hospital at the New York Aquarium won’t officially open until summer, but the $14.5 million facility already had to admit a few patients.

Fonzie, the aquarium’s 22-year-old California sea lion, had an eye problem that needed immediate attention; Danny, the California sea otter, developed a serious fur condition; and JD, one of the aquarium’s female fur seals, had an upset stomach that could have been contagious.

There were also a few short-term patients at the new hospital last week. A green iguana and a red-footed tortoise both needed complete physicals before moving on to other Wildlife Conservation Society zoos.

“We always check and do X-rays before animals are transferred from one location to another,” said Catherine McClave, who is in charge of aquatic health sciences at the aquarium.

The new hospital is one-of-a-kind in the area, said newly appointed aquarium director John Dohlin. For the first time, all 10,000 animals in the collection — from a 20-gram sea horse to a 4,000-pound walrus — can be cared for under one roof.

“In the past, the smaller animals in our collection could be treated here in small, makeshift buildings we had outfitted for medical use, but we had none specifically designed for that purpose,” said Dohlin.

“The larger animals sometimes had to be transported to the Bronx Zoo, which was very stressful to the animals and to the staff,” Dohlin added.

Just about anything you’d find in a hospital for humans can be found at the aquarium facility. There’s an operating room, X-ray machines, plus a kitchen for preparing special meals and infant formulas.

There’s a laboratory for blood work; a room for medical records; a place for staff to sleep in case a patient needs overnight monitoring.

There are also some things a human hospital wouldn’t need, such as a scale capable of measuring animals weighing up to 5,000 pounds, a crane to lift large mammals, and, of course, several pools for patients that must swim.

The hospital was built over a six-year period with funding from Borough President Marty Markowitz, the City Council and the mayor’s office.

And while the first patients had nothing to say about their care last week, they were showing signs of improvement.

Once allowed to swim indoors in warmer water, Danny, the sea otter, was solving his fur problems by grooming himself.

Fonzie, the sea lion, was getting eye drops daily and JD, the fur seal, was well enough to have visitors. Gal pals Roxy and Tazmania came over for a swim. “JD’s not contagious,” McClave said. “We brought in companions for a more normal environment.”

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