Happy #Baturday!
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All we know about Una’s origin story is that two very kind young dudes drove almost an hour to bring her to me on Monday after they found her while out on a walk.
She still had a fresh placenta and umbilical cord attached, and she was at least a little premature. Her mother was nowhere in sight and we know there wasn’t an active colony in the immediate vicinity. That makes it likely that the mother was snagged by a predator in the predawn hours and Una came out in the ensuing struggle.
Which is very sad!
But despite that, Una arrived at my house absolutely shouting at me to feed and take care of her. And so I do!
Neonates require round the clock care and have to be fed every couple of hours and stimulated to empty their bladder and bowels. They also need to be kept warm and engaged. These are social creatures and actively seek their mama.
Their nutritional needs mean a constant adjustments to the ingredients we compound to make their formula. Because they are so very tiny and have such a high metabolism it’s incredibly easy for them to crash if even on thing gets out of whack.
A challenge that Una had apparently decided I’m up for tackling.
Even though Una has decided that I’m her parent now, these bats don’t “imprint” on their caregivers, so if she makes it through she will be fully releasable by late summer.
Caveat: Don’t try this at home. I’m trained, licensed, and vaccinated!
@mycrowgirl
I love this story.And, it reminds me of The Duke.
A baby rabbit that was the runt and on the bottom of a saturated bunny hole in a former yard, left for dead.
I grabbed him up, kept him warm and then began looking for someone to help.
A phone call was placed to the local animal welfare. The man there was like, "lady, this happens a lot to rabbits." At which point, I began to cry and kinda scold him. "Isn't this your job? ..."
Apparently, I was influential because he then gave me the name of a lady about 40/45m away. She told me to bring him on over with some goat milk from Kroger and she'd take care of him.
She called me some weeks later to tell me she released The Duke into the wild.
You're like her but for bats and that's cool.
There is more to my The Duke story, but I'll save those for another tale...
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@mycrowgirl
I love this story.And, it reminds me of The Duke.
A baby rabbit that was the runt and on the bottom of a saturated bunny hole in a former yard, left for dead.
I grabbed him up, kept him warm and then began looking for someone to help.
A phone call was placed to the local animal welfare. The man there was like, "lady, this happens a lot to rabbits." At which point, I began to cry and kinda scold him. "Isn't this your job? ..."
Apparently, I was influential because he then gave me the name of a lady about 40/45m away. She told me to bring him on over with some goat milk from Kroger and she'd take care of him.
She called me some weeks later to tell me she released The Duke into the wild.
You're like her but for bats and that's cool.
There is more to my The Duke story, but I'll save those for another tale...
-
@mycrowgirl
I love this story.And, it reminds me of The Duke.
A baby rabbit that was the runt and on the bottom of a saturated bunny hole in a former yard, left for dead.
I grabbed him up, kept him warm and then began looking for someone to help.
A phone call was placed to the local animal welfare. The man there was like, "lady, this happens a lot to rabbits." At which point, I began to cry and kinda scold him. "Isn't this your job? ..."
Apparently, I was influential because he then gave me the name of a lady about 40/45m away. She told me to bring him on over with some goat milk from Kroger and she'd take care of him.
She called me some weeks later to tell me she released The Duke into the wild.
You're like her but for bats and that's cool.
There is more to my The Duke story, but I'll save those for another tale...
@Wallflower goat milk is an ingredient in the formula we make! 🥰
We always have to watch for bunny nests. Despite the acres we have, they like to make their nests in the small patch that’s fenced off for the dogs.
️ -
@Wallflower goat milk is an ingredient in the formula we make! 🥰
We always have to watch for bunny nests. Despite the acres we have, they like to make their nests in the small patch that’s fenced off for the dogs.
️ @mycrowgirl
Yes!
At the time we had a beagle. That's another story but that didn't end as well. -
Another volume-up for squeaks 🥹.
She was hunting for finger nipples
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl SKY BABYYYYYYY
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OK, brace yourself.
I don’t know if you can handle the cute levels in this picture.
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl I CANNOT
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More Una for this #Baturday!
Volume up for shouty baby.
#BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl this is WILD!
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@catsalad she was just over 1.3 grams when she arrived 🥺
@mycrowgirl @catsalad The mind boggles.
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Another volume-up for squeaks 🥹.
She was hunting for finger nipples
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl So cute, and so tiny!
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OK, brace yourself.
I don’t know if you can handle the cute levels in this picture.
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl The little toesiiiies!
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Another volume-up for squeaks 🥹.
She was hunting for finger nipples
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry -
Happy #Baturday! I have an extra special introduction this week.
🥹 Please meet Una.
She is this season’s first orphaned bat, and she is the very first neonate I’ve rehabbed.
Una’s origin story is murky and sad but I will post that down thread behind a CW.
#BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfryMost of the news these days makes me ashamed to be associated with Homo sapiens, but stories like yours make me proud of our "better angels". Very proud of you!
It must be very, very difficult to rear a tiny orphaned bat. Good luck!
Please let us know how she does.
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OK, brace yourself.
I don’t know if you can handle the cute levels in this picture.
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl omg the teeniest skritches
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OK, brace yourself.
I don’t know if you can handle the cute levels in this picture.
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl veeery cute!
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Another volume-up for squeaks 🥹.
She was hunting for finger nipples
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry -
T tsrono@mastodon.social shared this topic
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All we know about Una’s origin story is that two very kind young dudes drove almost an hour to bring her to me on Monday after they found her while out on a walk.
She still had a fresh placenta and umbilical cord attached, and she was at least a little premature. Her mother was nowhere in sight and we know there wasn’t an active colony in the immediate vicinity. That makes it likely that the mother was snagged by a predator in the predawn hours and Una came out in the ensuing struggle.
Which is very sad!
But despite that, Una arrived at my house absolutely shouting at me to feed and take care of her. And so I do!
Neonates require round the clock care and have to be fed every couple of hours and stimulated to empty their bladder and bowels. They also need to be kept warm and engaged. These are social creatures and actively seek their mama.
Their nutritional needs mean a constant adjustments to the ingredients we compound to make their formula. Because they are so very tiny and have such a high metabolism it’s incredibly easy for them to crash if even on thing gets out of whack.
A challenge that Una had apparently decided I’m up for tackling.
Even though Una has decided that I’m her parent now, these bats don’t “imprint” on their caregivers, so if she makes it through she will be fully releasable by late summer.
Caveat: Don’t try this at home. I’m trained, licensed, and vaccinated!
@mycrowgirl how do you feed her? Like a really small syringe? Do you have to make the formula yourself? I’m really curious
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Happy #Baturday! I have an extra special introduction this week.
🥹 Please meet Una.
She is this season’s first orphaned bat, and she is the very first neonate I’ve rehabbed.
Una’s origin story is murky and sad but I will post that down thread behind a CW.
#BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfry@mycrowgirl cute. Isn’t rabies a risk handling them with bare hands?
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Most of the news these days makes me ashamed to be associated with Homo sapiens, but stories like yours make me proud of our "better angels". Very proud of you!
It must be very, very difficult to rear a tiny orphaned bat. Good luck!
Please let us know how she does.
-
Another volume-up for squeaks 🥹.
She was hunting for finger nipples
#Baturday #BatsInBlankets #BatsInMyBelfryOh, so cute. So tiny but full of life, be well little one 🩶
🩶 -
@mycrowgirl how do you feed her? Like a really small syringe? Do you have to make the formula yourself? I’m really curious
@steggy we mix the formula ourselves. There isn’t a commercially available formula that seems to work well for the kinds of microbats we have in this region.
And yes! Just a standard 1ml syringe with a silicone nipple instead of a needle.
She only drinks about 0.03 ml per feeding right now, and we have to be extremely careful not to overfill her stomach as that can quickly lead to complications.
[Edit to add picture!]
