Bats - ...and that would cap off a lousy day

[den]

The rescue call came on Friday when I was 5/6ths of the way through a 6pack of James Squire Porter Ale, so I was in no fit state to drive. I rang the lady and discovered her house is only 1km away, and asked if she could bring the animal to me. I explained why and she laughed.

Eddie is a male broadnosed bat, like Donk but much heavier and a good 25% larger. The lady found him in her swimming pool, clinging to the liner of the skimmer box. To say he was hanging on for his life is no exaggeration: if he let go he would've been sucked down into the filter.

I was handed a very wet, cold, and cranky animal. He was shivering badly and his wings were rather limp, possibly from the hours of exertion hanging onto the wall half immersed in a strong water flow. The lady said only his head and wing-tips (I think she meant thumb-claws) were above the water.

My main worry is that water got into his lungs. I put him in a tent so he could dry out. That night he ate 10 whole worms. I considered putting him in the flight cage with Donk but it started pissing down with rain. A day in a swimming pool followed by a night in a wet cage would have really capped off Eddie's lousy day.

Last night he ate about 30 whole worms and had a fight with Donk. I'd brought her inside because the flight cage is damp, and fed her by placing her worms in the floor* before putting his worms in his tent. She became excited, ran into his tent and dived head first into the dish of worms he was eating from. There was a brief growl and squeal, and I found her huddled in a corner looking rather shocked - and eating a worm.

Eddie is looking much better after 2 night of dry R&R. There's still no sign of pneumonia but I'll give him a week to make sure.


*Donk becomes so excited when she smells the worms, the only way to get her to relax is to put her on a cloth outside the tent and drop the worms in front of her as fast as I can kill them. If I'm not fast enough she fly-hop-runs after my hands. She still isn't flying as well as she could, but she's a lot better than she had been..

Comments

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

There was a big hand-drawn paper sign above the checkout counter at my local lumberyard yesterday. It was by a couple of local second and third grade classes thanking the lumberyard for donating the lumber to make bat houses for their class projects. Maybe those kids are actually learning something ;)

[dewhitton.livejournal.com]

We can hope. 8)

[weyrdbird.livejournal.com]

An early start on the long roads to zooology, cryptozoology, botany, agronomy and biology:D!Start 'em young, build a bat house, plant a tree!Next thing you know they've discovered something positive you've never ever seen in the back yard. And make sure they understand that Crocodile Hunter is the fastest way to get bitten, maimed or harmed if the grab something by its butt!