Witton Bat Roost - downed bats 2003
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Introduction (photos at the bottom)
Unfortunately this year has been another bad one from the bats point of view - although we bat-proofed the loft so that they have their area and we have ours, with the intention that they can come and go freely from their section to the outside and back again, but not to be able to venture into our area where they could get stuck. The bat proofing had proved efficient and for ages we didn't have any bats found on the loft hatch dead or dying as we had in the past on unfortunate occasions.
Unfortunately although this worked for grown bats, the babies are still tiny enough to get through the smallest of gaps, and so have been falling through the gaps into "our" part of the loft, then not being able to get back up again, they cluster around the light from the gap around the loft hatch, and unless they are found pretty quickly, they then die there of dehydration and starvation.
In late June I unfortunately found 4 babies in just such a position, one already dead, then two males and a female of varying sizes, but definitely babies, so I started them on "Cimicat" - a powdered milk formula for kittens but unfortunately the female died the next day, although she had been feeding well and was lively.
So, for the past couple of weeks I have been carrying the two boys around with me everywhere, feeding them the kitten milk at regular intervals, grooming them with a fine paintbrush and letting them exercise by running around my hands. A week after I found the first lot, I opened the loft hatch again to find two more - another already dead, and one TINY - the smallest yet - baby boy whose eyes haven't even opened yet! He's joined the other two and is also thriving on the milk. Anyway - PHOTOS below, enjoy.
Above: Ben, the largest of the babies, on the first day. Cute eh? Ben is extremely friendly and loves being groomed or stroked, even lifting his little chin up and closing his eyes in bliss when I stroke his chin - I'm sure he'd purr if he could!
Above: Bill (top) and Ben (bottom) - Bill has a battitude (batty attitude) and says he hates me. He's an ungrateful loudmouthed little sod who uses foul language (bats swear - loudly) and I'm sure if he could bite me he would - once he's finished eating his dinner that is, I guess he accepts that I serve up a tasty portion of kitten formula, and holds off swearing again until he's finished.
Above: Bill and Ben, Ben showing off his tail membrane - in flight the membrane is held rigid by the help of a stiff piece of something (cartilage maybe? I'll have to ask the experts on that one) called the "calcar" which sprouts from the ankle just above the foot, although it's difficult to see. As you can see his tail is completely encased by the membrane, normally bats would hold the tail curled under, but Ben likes to stretch his occasionally.
Above: Bill - looking cute. "Me, nasty? awkward? ungrateful? rude? noooooooo! (grrr!)"
Above: the 3 boys - left to right - Bill, Ben and teeny tiny baby Bert, the new guy, still bald and with his eyes not yet open, in fact one of his ears was still sealed shut like newborn puppies' ears are. Bert is the most miniscule bat I have ever laid eyes on!
Above: top left, left to right: Bert, Bill, Ben. Top right: Bill Ben and Bert in a baby bat pile, Ben on top - no he's not mothering the little guys, he's actually trying to get away from the noisy whingeing little sods by clambering over them - Bill's incessant swearing annoys Ben as it does me. Bill though has taken Bert under his wing (literally in the last photo) and is teaching him rude words by yelling them in his ear, now Bert has taken to rude squeaks when he's miffed as well.
AND NOW.........
Bubbles.
3rd July - I've had Bill and Ben for about 2 and a half weeks, and Bert for about 1 and a half, but this morning Bubbles turned up - called him Bubbles because he was found in the bathtub, covered in soot, which means he fell down the chimney and flew out of the lounge through the house to the bathroom, where he became stuck.
Bubbles is a fully grown male bat, big and beefy (and very dirty!) so he needed a bath (a wet one this time) to clean the soot off him:
Above: Bubbles gets cleaned using cotton buds dipped in warm water, it took 4 of them to wash the worst of the soot off, then another 10 minutes with a small wet (clean) paintbrush before I could gently rub him dry with a tissue, then brush his fur back into order with the dried paintbrush - you can see if you look closer how filthy the cotton bud is coming away from him. He loved the body bath but got pretty annoyed when I tried to clean his face. At least being annoyed at anything in front of him has it's good points - I shoved some mushy cat food (Hills a/d formula) against his lips, and when he bit at it in anger, shoved it in. He decided that tasted rather yummy and scoffed about 1/10th of a teaspoonful before remembering he should be on hunger strike in protest at his bathing treatment and shutting his gob tight again.
Above: more Bubbles photos. I had checked him over for damage in case our cats had got at him before I found him, but he appears unscathed, so I thought I'd try a daylight release, but he wasn't having any of it so he's back in the bat box with the babies till this evening when I'll try again when the other bats are flying as that should give him an incentive to move his furry little butt. He certainly seems strong enough and healthy.
Above: little & large: Bert (smallest baby) with Bubbles (grown pipistrelle) - hard to believe they are both the same type of bat! Bert certainly has a lot of growing to do.