October 14, 2024-October 20, 2024

By Suzie Degrasse

Nothing but good news this week!

Dolly, Lolly, Chip and Chup

All four squirrels are gaining weight quickly and getting sleek and shiny. They ride around in my apron pockets sometimes. Tonight they came out of the pocket for the first time and peeked and poked around from the safety of my lap and shoulders.

I think they are ready to start nibbling food like Cheerios because one of them was nibbling my fingernail!

Mexican Free-tail bat

I had a Mexican free-tail bat for a couple days. Officer Craig of the University of Georgia campus police was alerted to a grounded bat at the stadium

He contacted me and we devised a plan of action on how to contain the bat and how to get it to me.

He placed a heavy trash can, turned upside down, over her, and took a series of photos to help me locate the area where she and the can were.

I drove into Athens and easily found her thanks to the “photo breadcrumbs” and got her safely contained.

After some hydration and a little mealworm guts, I left her to just recover and warm up. On the 19 I took her back to where she was found. I held her up high in my leather-gloved hand and she flew off!

Birds

The glue trap Carolina wren is doing fine. I take the mesh cage she is in outside and lock it in a cage in the sun. I make sure there’s a little place to hide, and let her enjoy the sunshine and weather.

I have seen other Carolina wrens visit to check her out.

She is of an adaptable species, so I can release her here and she will join the tribe.

Wood thrush

A woman in Gainesville found this Wood thrush in her yard, flopping around. She wasn’t really near a window, but she still seemed to show the leg paralysis we see in window strike victims.

It wasn’t easy getting her to me, but the finder, and a generous and wonderful young lady coordinated the exchange. Gainesville is around an hour away.

All I really could do was set her up in a little nest and place food (mealworms) and water within her reach. I also administered an anti-inflammatory.

As soon as it was possible. she was transferred to Wild Nest Bird Rehab

Thank you Kelsey for the help transporting!

Hooray! The five are improving!

Since arriving, the Pitiful Possum Pentad have turned into the Precious Possum Pentad.

All are growing-one even doubling her weight!- walking nice and tall, climbing their bed, and starting to lap formula. Their muscles are appearing and their fur is growing in. They don’t like being tube-fed but they know the tube means a bellyful. They tolerate it fairly well.

I’m tube feeding them because they have varying abilities of strength, but no one is strong enough to eat entirely on their own. This way I know they are getting their bellies filled, every 3.5 to 4 hours throughout the day.

They still don’t look very good, but they look better. They are happy little gals and guy and they also like riding around in apron pockets.

Sometimes I bundle all 9 babies in a soft bag, and watch tv with my hands in the bag, petting them like Mom would.

Almost everything was happiness here this week. My volunteers Sydney, her sister Casey, Dawn and Muaj and I have all been painting the "carport cages". They are the large, two-story cages on wheels I move the babies into when they first go outside. The cages have been cleaned and any rust addressed. They make a "Rusty Metal Primer"! Now they all look brand new. I was not prepared to go back to frequent and lengthy feedings and I'm tired again. Everyone is good, healthy and growing so it will get a little less time consuming. Until next week, thank you for reading!