It's cold, we are all inside, and everyone is fine. But such wonderfully interesting and happy news! My first armadillo in years!!! I wasn't able to accept any in 2025 and in 2024 I was so overwhelmed I had to send them all to another rehabber. Finally!
The Tale of Daisy
In mid-December my dear friend Tanya called me about an armadillo she had rescued from the side of the road, where she was lying gravely injured after being hit by a car. I wasn’t able to help in time so I directed her to take the armadillo to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at UGA. Once UGA accepts wildlife, they are unable to provide updates, so she vanished into the system.
This week I received a call from senior veterinary student Lauren Wood, asking if I could accept an armadillo for continued care. Of course!!! While at UGA, Daisy got the very best care and all the diagnostics and medical expertise they had to offer. Looking at her wound, after a month of healing, it’s incredible how far she’s come and how bad it must have been.
When I brought her home I noticed on her accompanying documents that she had been found on Jefferson River Rd., and was the same one Tanya saved! I couldn’t wait to tell her. I hope she will get to make Daisy’s acquaintance again on much happier terms.
The scientific name for nine-banded armadillos is Dasypus Novemcinctus, so volunteer (and incredibly helpful and supportive friend) Ashley named her Daisy.
A good overview, as well as related articles about the armadillo species, can be found here under the Resources for Rehabbers page on primarilypossums.org Scroll all the way to the bottom!
Life with Daisy
Daisy is friendly and very responsive to kindness and skritches. What animal doesn’t like skricthes? (like scratching but friendly and warm and often in places like behind the ears) She had been healing and eating well at UGA but became very picky. They thought she might do better out of a hospital setting. That meant I had to create a space that didn’t feel like a hospital!
I set up a playpen fence around the entire floor space of the rehab room, and have to climb in and out to get to anything, but that’s ok. I clean everything daily with chlorhexidine and she gets fresh blankets. Armadillos eat out of the dirt and they poop in the dirt. Convincing her that THIS bin was her latrine but THAT bin was her worm bin proved impossible. When the world is your buffet as well as your toilet, and you have a very small brain, why make a distinction?
Daisy’s injury
Her wound is quite large and deep, and that’s after 42 days of healing in a hospital. On intake they noted several shell fractures, a nasal bone fracture, and healed rib fractures. She has not had an easy life. I’ve followed their home care instructions and added a bit extra because I have the time. I fill the wound with hydrogel, that keeps it moist, and I have added a layer of manuka honey impregnanted gauze. Then the largest piece of Tegaderm I have ever seen covers it all, and sticks really well to her cleaned shell. Thank you, Ashley, for these very special medical necessities. The difference in the appearance of her wound after just one day was so striking I had to show it to a couple people to verify it! The wound no longer looks red and hard- it looks soft, pink, and clean. I don’t like posting graphic images here so just imagine a big, deep, red and sad looking boo boo that now looks much happier.
I’ve included a few videos of her acting like a wild armadillo is a decidedly not-wild habitat. I have a playlist of armadillo videos on the Primarily ‘Possums YouTube channel- just look under “playlists”.
Opossums!
The three outside opossums have been inside for the last week because even with cozy stacked tire beds filled with straw, temperatures of 16 and actual snow is not a necessary thing they must endure. Yes, they will be released and in 10 months from now they may find themselves facing similar weather. They have shown excellent nest building skills so I don’t worry about that, but why should I force them to endure terrible weather when they may not even live long enough to see next year’s winter? Their lives are so short (maybe 2 years in the wild) and so hard. How is making them most likely suffer going to help them in the future? So inside they came, with heating pads and soft beds and delicious meals. Why not. They will go back outside tomorow.
Thank you to my Daisy squad, in order of appearance, Tanya who saved Daisy, UGA Veterinary Teaching Hospital who cared for her, Ashley who procured some state of the art medical supplies and A LOT of worms and dirt, Scarlet who drove around looking for blankets for her, and everyone who has made getting back into rehabbing much more pleasant. Thank you all donors and followers of my Facebook page, Instagram, Patreon, this blog…I am so lucky to have you! Thank you, Rick and Shannon Waters for your incredible support, making the level of care I can provide sustainable. Thank you new rehabbers Maggie, Josalyn, Scarlet and Krista for what you are about to do and for trusting in me and my mentoring. Thank you all volunteers, past, present and future! Thank you, Jesse Williams of 34North, for this wonderful website which gives me a place to share. I know I am going to be unable to thank everyone I am grateful for so I will end with, thank you Mom. None of us would be here without our parents!
2025 Sabbatical