Training

To be a wildlife carer in Queensland you must have a permit, either your own, or one issued to the wildlife organisation that you are a member of. This permit has certain requirements that go with it and they are covered in the Code of Practice: Orphaned, sick or injured protected wildlife.

That's a bit of a mouthful, but it's a pretty straight forward, common sense document. One of the things it specifies is that you must have ongoing training while you are a carer. You can't just get a permit, read a book (or someones blog), then look after wildlife. You must be trained by an experienced carer who knows what they are doing.

So yesterday, Donna and I drove over to Natasja's house for the first of our training sessions. Natasja is our co-ordinator and the president of BARN. She also trained Jess and Brett when they became carers at the beginning of the year.

We knew we'd found the right place when we walked to the front gate and there was a kangaroo joey in the front yard.

The training involved, among other things, diet, assessing the animals for injuries, and recognising the different types of birds when they are chicks, something that is not always easy to do. The easiest way is usually by looking at their feet and beaks.

The little fellar sitting on my course notes below is a magpie fledgling. He's just starting to realise what his wings are for and was doing short flights of about 2 feet from one person to the other. Natasja showed us how to hold him and check him over and, as he has gapeworm, a common parasite in birds coming into care, she showed us what it looked like and I helped to treat it with some drops.



As we're mainly looking after possums at the moment, we were shown the proper way to hold a possum so that it doesn't scratch. This involves holding it around the neck and shoulders with one hand, and the base of the tail with the other. Believe me, you couldn't learn this from a book, if you get it wrong it hurts. I have cuts and scratches in my right hand to prove it. I had him by the neck okay, but didn't have my fingers around his shoulders. this allowed him to turn around slightly and dig his claws in. We don't generally need to handle Lucky and Mogwai this way as they're used to us, but a wild possum that hasn't been hand raised would be a different matter.

Around about the time we were due to leave, Matilda had to be fed. Matilda is a female joey, the one we'd seen in the front yard was a male. Matilda had been wriggling around in a pillow slip inside a cat basket next to the sofa the whole time we were there. Natasja got her out and gave her a bottle of Divetelact, and I don't think I've ever seen a human baby empty a bottle so quickly.

As we were leaving, Matilda was allowed outside for a while to get some exercise and too explore. As you can see from the picture below, she made the most of it.



If you're wondering about the height of that fence and her ability to jump over it, Donna was too. Natasja has an enclosure in her back yard with a seven foot high fence and they'll soon be going in there where they can't jump out.

Weigh in day

Luck and Mogwai are due to be weighed again tonight.

They're both putting on weight and doing the things that you expect a growing possum to do, Lucky to a lesser extent because he's sick, but he's advancing none the less.

I've been showing Mogwai the aviary that he'll be moving into soon. He usually has a bit of a look around (aargh... he just jumped on my ankle and dug his claws in) then jumps on my shoulder or head before I take him back to his cage where all the food is.

Lucky is getting back to his old self again. He was up yesterday morning before I went to work, having a feed and grooming himself. Mogwai just climbed over the top of my laptop, and I'm sure he wants to make a drey in the back of my head. He really needs somewhere that he can get plenty of exercise oiujg[rnv [ (get off the keyboard Moggy).

No more baths

Lucky doesn't have to endure the Vetadine washes anymore.

We took him to the vet again last night, a different one this time, one that seems to have more wildlife experience. Not that we have any problem with the other vet we took him too, we still take our other animals there.

The vet had a look at him, then pulled a tuft of fur off, something that didn't impress him at all. She had a look at the fur under a microscope to see if he had lice or mites, which he didn't. She said that, what a lot of people call mange, actually isn't. Mange is caused by mites.

She gave us a tube of Neotopic-H lotion to put on him two or three times a day for the next few days. The lotion will not only be easier and less stressful to put on than the Vetadine, but it's also and anti-inflammatory and an anaesthetic.

He sat on Donna's lap last night while she applied the lotion and I cooked our dinner. Then Donna went and changed her clothes and washed her hair because he'd gone to the toilet on her, several times. She reckons it was paybacks. I reckon he was just proving that, apart from the skin problems and the hatred of those cruel humans that keep doing nasty things to him, everything else is perfectly healthy. He's still putting on weight as he should.

We've just about finished setting up an aviary outside for Mogwai, as he'll be moving into that in the next few weeks. He's getting a lot less attention now than he used to, although I might have to put a padlock on his cage to stop Sarah getting him out whenever she feels like it.

He's learnt to jump now, which can be a bit painful if you're his landing pad.

On the mend

Lucky's eyes are looking better now, the drops must be working. He doesn't like having them put in, and they're not like the drops you or I would use for ourselves, more like a cream, but it's a lot easier and less stressful than washing him.

He had another wash yesterday. I've decided that wearing surgical gloves while we wash him is a waste of time. He didn't try to scratch or anything like that, but he hissed a lot and kept trying to wriggle out of my grip. By the time we'd got him done and Donna had him wrapped up in a towel, there where great chunks ripped out of my gloves.

Afterwards, anytime we went near him he would hiss, until he realised he was being given a flower or a bowl of milk (Di-Vetalact, never cows milk).

We didn't put him straight back in his drey this time. Instead we put him in a small carrier with a heat pad and a blanket. He seemed much happier with that arrangement, which is good because that's what will happen toady at wash time as well.



We've now had the animals with us for about three weeks. In that time I've been doing a hell of a lot of reading on wildlife caring in general, and possums in particular. I've even downloaded a few scientific papers to read, things with a lot more information than we really need as carers. I'm a science student, I can't help myself.

I can definitely see why certain animals, like kangaroos, can only be cared for by experienced carers. It's not just a case of having the knowledge to deal with whatever problems crop up. You have to be able to do whatever is needed for the animal in your care, no matter how much it might hate you for it at the time. I think the more you do that, the more you get used to it.

In a way I'm glad we're being challenged with Lucky. I don't like seeing him in discomfort, and I certainly don't like stressing him out, but I think I'm learning so much more this way than I would if he was like Mogwai. Mogwai is so easy to look after at the moment, he still pees on me though. I think he saves it up, because he doesn't have as much contact with us now as he did when he first got here, so he has to time it right.

And that's another thing that comes with experience. We still think the little guys are really cute, but the novelty phase has passed and we can get on with the job of caring for them properly. That means they can get on with the job of being wild animals.

Of course, the next baby possum that comes along will still get to spend some time in my pocket.

Ringtail update

Sadly, the ringtail died sometime this afternoon.

We've been checking on him through the day, and when Donna went down to check on him about half an hour ago he was dead.

This is something that'll happen to us often as carers, and something we went into it prepared for. I must admit, I wasn't really surprised that he didn't make it. The first twenty-four hours are usually the test when animals come into care and this one was really looking sorry for himself right from the start. He didn't attempt to bite or scratch anyone, didn't hiss, he just took everything that was done to him.

I think you'll always question yourself when an animal in your care dies; was he too hot, did he have enough to drink, did we stress him too much, etc?

When it comes down to it though, not all animals in care survive, in fact eighty percent of animals that come into care are birds and forty percent of them don't survive.

The fact that we've at least given them a chance makes it all worthwile though. It gives you a feeling that you've made a difference, and that's a good feeling.

I couldn't help treating the ringtail as gently as possible while I wrapped his body up, kind of out of respect.

Wash day

Possums don't like taking a bath. Lucky is no exception.

We kind of thought that would be the case even before we washed him, so we had everything prepared to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Donna bribed him out of his drey with a piece of coriander. We probably shouldn't feed him that, but it works better than anything else to get him to come out, and we have heaps of it growing in a pot just outside the kitchen door.

It was recommended we put him in a pouch with just his head sticking out, then soak him in the Vetadine wash, rinse, then soak again.

Well, the pouch we had ready for him turned out to be too small, he's put on about 180g in the last two weeks, so we tried wrapping him up in a pillow case.

After he'd sat on Donna's shoulder and peed all over her, we managed to get him wrapped up pretty well, with just his head sticking out. He was not impressed.

Trying to keep him wrapped up was just about impossible, so we removed it and just held him. This seemed to calm him a little, but only a little. He still wasn't impressed, and now he was soaking wet as well.

Once he was finished and towelled down a bit he seemed a lot happier, especially when Donna put him back in his cage with that piece of coriander.



He's now back in his drey with a heater on so he doesn't get too cold. He hisses every now and then to let us know he's still not impressed.

Sorry Lucky, but we've got to do it tomorrow as well, and every day until the rash goes.

New critter

We had a new animal come into care today. An adult one this time.

Donna and Jess were out looking at apartments and while out they got a call from BARN to go and pick up an injured ringtail possum from Wollongabba (the Gabba). They just happened to be in that area anyway, so picked him up on the way back home.

The first I knew about it was when I opened the front door and Donna handed be a cardboard box saying, "here take that, it's a ringtail".

He's looking pretty sorry for himself at the moment. It looks like he's been attacked by a cat or a dog. There's a few holes in him and a bit of fur missing, but the vet said there's no broken bones or internal injuries. As they used to say in the movies, "it's just a flesh wound".



Sorry about the quality of the image, but I didn't want to upset him by using the flash. You can see the part of one of his wounds on his back. That extends half way down his left side and he has a few puncture marks in one of his legs as well.

Anyway, he's downstairs in a pet carrier now, rugged up in a blanket with some water and and a few choice gum tree shoots.

Hopefully he'll be right as rain in a couple of days and we'll be able to release him back at the Gabba.

No name for him as we're not expecting him to be here for long.

A trip to the vet

This is Lucky.



As you can see his eyes aren't as clear as they should be and he has a few red spots around his ears that shouldn't be there. He's eating and drinking okay and everything is coming out the other end as it should, but the gummy eyes have been bothering us, so Donna took him to the vet's this morning.

There's nothing serious, the symptoms are probably caused by stress, but the vet gave us some drops for his eyes and a bottle of Vetadine to wash him with. Actually gave is probably the wrong word, sold is more accurate, but we don't begrudge paying for medicines for the animals, especially considering most vets, including this one, don't charge for a consultation when you take native wildlife into them.

Anyway, Lucky's got to have the drops in his eyes twice a day and a wash once a day. Washing him is going to be interesting although I don't think it'll be like washing the dog. More like a sponge bath.

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Our copy of the rehabilitation permit from BARN arrived yesterday. For those readers that aren't carers, being members of a wildlife rehabilitation organisation means we're covered by their permit. You don't have to be a member of an organisation to be a carer as far as I know, but you do have to have a permit.

I've noticed in going through the visitor stats for this blog, that a common thread is people googling for information on caring for possums. If you're looking after a possum, or any native wildlife for that matter, and you aren't registered, please do so. Becoming a member of an organisation like BARN, or WIRES, or whatever your local organisation might be, means you will get proper training from experienced carers. You will also get ongoing support from them whenever you need help.

The fines for keeping wildlife without a permit are quite hefty.

Keep in mind too, in New Zealand possums are a pest. If you care for an orphaned possum there, it will most likely be illegal to release it back into the wild. It's the same here in Queensland and probably the rest of Australia with certain birds like common mynas and feral pigeons.

New home

Mogwai moved into his new home yesterday.

He's still with us, but he's now in a cage instead of the cat carrier he'd been in. He should have moved earlier (he's up to 500g now), but wasn't able to for various reasons.



He was a little unsure when we first put him in the cage, and he didn't get into the drey until Donna picked him up and stuck his head in there. Once he'd been in there though he spent a lot of time exploring, sniffing and chewing everything.

He wasn't sure what I was up to when I tried to put another branch in for him to climb on. He was sitting right where it needed to go. Instead of moving out of the way, he sat there and held onto the other end.

Lucky's put on about 100g since he's been with us. He has a bit of a rash under his armpits, but Natasja, our mentor, says that's most likely stress as he's probably missing Jess since the move. She being his original carer. It certainly seemed that way when she came over last night. He just curled up in her hands and looked all content.

Kids today, I dunno

I don't have any kids of my own, just two grown up stepdaughters. That's a learning experience in itself, but nothing like the learning experience of having your own babies.

Now, you could consider having orphaned possum joeys as having your own babies. It's certainly a learning experience.

I was sitting out on our back verandah with the laptop where it belongs, on my lap. I had a glass of Riesling beside me on the table and had just stubbed out a cigar.

Donna brought Lucky out and let him wander round on the table to explore. Explore he did, everything was a new experience, the Dolphin torch for watching the fruit bats in the tree, the binoculars for watching birds during the day and the aircraft inbound to Brisbane airport, (not for watching the neighbours, honest). He even started to climb the brick wall part of the way and if there'd been any geckos around he might have had a taste.

Then he noticed my glass of wine.

I learned two things at that point. Don't tempt young critters with alcohol (actually, that applies to homo sapiens too), and Lucky is teatotal.

Now, if you're a carer, you may be thinking that's terrible me letting him drink alcohol. Actually I suspect someone with no real experience of looking after young critters would be more offended. He didn't drink it, he merely tasted it and didn't like it, and no other animal in our care will ever get the opportunity to taste a good Aussie Riesling like that, let alone the cheap rubbish that was in my glass. And it wasn't really a case of letting him drink it, it was more like, "Oh shit, get out of my glass".

While we're talking about possums, I have a theory about Mogwai's toilet habits. I think he's quite regular and his normal toilet time is around 9:15pm. That's around about the time he got me twice, and Sarah had to change her pyjamas around about that time last night after he peed on her.

No one was game to test the theory tonight.

Open day

We went to an open day at the local animal shelter yesterday. Well, when I say local it was a good forty minute drive, but it's the closest one to us.

The main reason we went was because BARN were having a stand there and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to meet some other carers and to pay our membership. We're now fully paid up members and therefore covered under BARN's permit.

They had some t-shirts for sale there, so we thought we'd buy a couple to help support the organisation and to advertise it as well. I commented to one of the ladies at the stand that it would be something else for the possums to pee on. Her reply was, "when you're a carer, everything is something for the possums to pee on".

And speaking of possums, we had my family over today for Father's day. Naturally they all loved the animals, my mum reckons caring for sick or orphaned animal runs in the family, especially on her side. She even held the blue tongue for a while.

Lucky made a short appearance to lots of oohs and aahs. He reminds me of a teenager. He always seems to come out of his drey at least once during the afternoon. He has a bit of a snack, goes to the toilet, then goes back to bed. He's just like my youngest stepdaughter Sarah when she's been out the night before.

Actually, Sarah's like that pretty much all the time.

Incidentally, I've been calling the reptiles by the wrong names. Jess calls the snake "Snakoo" and the blue tongue "Lizard Queen". I think I'll just keep calling them "Willy" and "Fatso", it rolls off the tongue more easily and they won't know the difference anyway. Like the old saying goes, "you can call me anything you like except 'late for dinner' ".