Mastodawn

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]

Happy #Baturday from this eepy floof-bean! This is one of the two orphaned infant seminole bats currently in my care.

I haven’t been posting much, because orphaned bat season is pretty all-consuming. In my corner of the globe, it last from May through the end of summer. This is broken up into several waves, broadly by genus/family.

Thank you for the gentle nudges I’ve gotten that there is still a world outside of my wee belfry. 😅

May you all be as comfy as my tiny #BatsInBlankets.

[Disclaimer because someone is gonna @ me: Don’t try this at home. I’m licensed, have specialised training, and am thoroughly vaccinated. Also, bats would make terrible pets. Etc.]

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

Another disclaimer:
Skipping gloves when handling our most tiny and delicate patients is a calculated risk. We’re vaccinated of course, and we vaccinate the patients as they come in, and we do a LOT of hand washing between tasks and patients.

Bats are extremely social creatures and require direct contact with their caregiver to support their wellbeing and development. Even species that tend to be solitary in adulthood, like the seminole bat in the OP, have very strong social bonds with their mother and siblings.

They do not imprint and will gladly return to the wild when they are stronger and old enough. 🦇🖤

Chris Nelson Jun 6

@mycrowgirl I wish I would have been able to afford RVS certification when we did rescue, but it was out of my reach at the time. Keep up the good work. This is what heroes do!

neville park Jun 6

@mycrowgirl I see so much online about how merely finding a bat in your house means you should automatically get a rabies shot, most horrible death imaginable, etc., etc., that it is good to see a little balance

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

@nev fun fact: rabies is a hella fragile virus soon as it leaves the host’s body!

It pretty much has to immediately enter the potential new host’s blood stream to do the viral thing.

Like (theoretically, please nobody do this) if frothy rabid saliva was flung onto you, you could lick it with disgusting impunity. Assuming no open wounds, you would be a very gross and concerning person, but not because you had rabies.

That said, there are other pathogens that could be an issue with bats (and other animals). So thorough but normal cleaning would always be advisable.

But if there is *direct* contact with a bat by an unvaccinated person, I would absolutely have them go through post-exposure vaccination and immunoglobulin treatment.

neville park Jun 6

@mycrowgirl lol'd at "a very gross and concerning person"

adritheonly Jun 7

@mycrowgirl @nev Lice. I won't forget the episode with lice after my daughter rescued a bat.

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]6d ago

@adritheonly oh no, lice?😱? We see mites a lot but I’ve never seen lice on them before. Were they the kind of lice that people get? I’m itching just thinking about it. 😬🫣

It’s quite common for bats to by utterly covered in mites if they’ve been struggling with illness or injury for a few days. As much as I adore bugs and critters, those admittedly give me the itchy-ick. 😅 Though at least here the mites we have on bats aren’t a variety that people need to worry about.

While there is almost always a very small population of mites on any wild bat, as long as they’re normally healthy their fastidious grooming routines keep those numbers reasonably small. @nev

adritheonly 6d ago

@mycrowgirl @nev Yes, these were lice. My first experience with those so it was quite a learning curve.

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]6d ago

@adritheonly 😱 well that’s horrifying. I was always told that most lice types were obligate parasites of a specific species and can’t infect pets/other animals! @nev

adritheonly 6d ago

@mycrowgirl @nev Guess these were South African lice and not interested in following any rules. Seriously though. I have no idea, the bats were from the Limpopo region in South Africa.

neville park 6d ago

@mycrowgirl @adritheonly ooh, what kind of mites? Trombiculidae? Sarcoptes?

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]6d ago

@nev no idea tbh. I have pictures I can send in a separate cw post if you’re curious though!

neville park 5d ago

@mycrowgirl if they're tiny red-orange guys, Trombiculidae. If you can't see them at all and only know because they have mange/scabies, Sarcoptidae or similar

Abhijit Menon-Sen 6d ago

@mycrowgirl @nev Out of curiosity (and as someone who has twice had to take rabies vaccinations for non-bat reasons), how much of a difference is there between the post-exposure course of five or six injections, and the vaccinations you get in advance as a Handler Of Bats?

(P.S. The rabies vaccine I got was a pale purple colour. Is that common?)

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]6d ago

@amenonsen the pre-exposure prophylactic series is two jabs, one week apart, followed by a third jab about one month later. At that point immunity is assumed, but for those of us who have a daily exposure risk a titre is recommended to verify. (I needed an additional booster before I showed enough immunity.)

The vaccine comes in different colours. I assume the difference is by manufacturer? The bottle I have in front of me is a pink liquid. 💕
@nev

Flop King Malus Jun 7

@mycrowgirl you vaccinate the bats!!! i don't think i've heard of that being done really but it's good to hear some folks are doing it cause it really sounds like a no-brainer

do you vaccinate for other things too while you're at it?

this baby is sososososo good. good bub. may the little guy flourish.

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 7

@malusdraco yeah! It’s not a costly vaccine to get either, which is amazing. I also always deworm any that are brought to me for care. They’ll end up getting worms again when they return to the wild, but at least they get a short-term benefit.

They’re not actually prone to a lot of illnesses. Bats have shockingly robust immune systems and some of the fastest healing times of any mammal!

Mr.Mark "The Sharpie King"Jun 7

@mycrowgirl
This is super fascinating and inspiring!

I’ve been hoping to connect with the bat expert.

It seems like the bat population at our place in France took a big hit last winter. There are far fewer at sunset, and we have more mosquitoes this year.

So I’m wondering if you can point me at any resources or information that would help me restore their habitat, help them through the winter, or otherwise attract them and help them to thrive on our farm?

Thanks!

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]6d ago

@markmetz Oooh, do you know what species you typically have in your region? I’ve never seen Rhinolophidés but I know there are several kinds in France! They’re so CUTE.

I can give you a lot of general tips, but most of my firsthand experiences are with North American bats. You will probably want to reach out to a local bat group in your region to address more specific habitat needs.

If you had a very sudden population drop, any number of factors from short-term unusual weather, habitat loss, insecticides affecting food sources, drought affecting their water sources, etc. Your regional bat organisation will have the best tips specific to your situation. That said, installing bat houses is a fantastic way of helping them. This page looks like it has good information that may help 🥹 https://plan-actions-chiropteres.fr/agir-pour-les-chauves-souris/refuge-pour-les-chauves-souris/

And their directory to find your regional group:
https://plan-actions-chiropteres.fr/annuaire/

Refuge pour les chauves-souris - Plan National d'Actions en faveur des Chiroptères

Installer un gîte à chauves-souris Vous souhaitez favoriser la présence de chauves-souris mais votre habitation ne dispose pas des conditions d’accueil nécessaires ? Ne vous inquiétez pas ! Vous pouvez tout à fait leur donner un coup de pouce en installant des gîtes artificiels. Vous pouvez construire vous-même un nichoir à chauves-souris à l’aide des documents disponibles sur notre site. Vous trouverez dans […]

Plan National d'Actions en faveur des Chiroptères

Mr.Mark "The Sharpie King"6d ago

@mycrowgirl
Super! Thank you so much, this is going to be a big project to bring back the bats, it’s not like we can just go down to the farm store and buy a couple dozen!

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm)Jun 6

I noticed. Am glad you busy were taking care of orphaned sky puppies,

But can’t remember if I ever shared with you but it came up again recently and I thought you would enjoy it ;-)

https://ruby.social/@stepheneb/116602525684756706

Stephen Bannasch (316 ppm) (@[email protected])

My brother asked if the trill sound was a bird or frog in the previous video. 8 years ago one night this time of year I heard a frog trilling under my tractor. I got a flashlight and lay down, got a bit under the car and started filming with my phone. Five minutes later the frog was still just staring at me. So I did a trill, which was short and only vaguely reminiscent of a real trill. THEN the frog trilled back!!! The frog was a professional! https://makertube.net/w/5qDYtXMx9LiMKzmGntpiKF #silly #frogs

Ruby.social

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

@stepheneb 🤣 that was a trilling tale!

Chip Unicorn Jun 6

@mycrowgirl
Bats have exactly the same rules as cats. Once one falls asleep on you, you can never never never wake her up.

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

@Chip_Unicorn 💯, can confirm!

Neia masks Jun 6

@mycrowgirl Oh what a baby! How is it so baby! The little yawns!

Lisa 🦔 [Copy Moon Joy]Jun 6

@neia
very baby
much eepy
WoW
🥹

Mark Shane Hayden Jun 7

@mycrowgirl precious little sky puppy!

Erosdiscordia Jun 7

thethuthinnang Jun 7

@mycrowgirl Aw, such a tired little bebe.🧡

J_Peregrine Jun 7

@mycrowgirl
So sweet !

Préservons notre superbe vie animale !

@mycrowgirl absolutely adorable!

squarefaelltein 3d ago

@mycrowgirl boah, dafür kriegste nen masern-smiley!

🥰