wildlife carers

[mckellar007]

hey, my female ringtail just died(unknown reason, she was completely fine 4 hours ago) and she had two babies in her pouch, they are only 20g's what are their chances?(i think they are pretty low) and what do i do?

any help/advice would be great

thanks!!

 

[garycahill]

Hi,
I am so sorry for your loss, it is very hard to take.
Unfortunately, the little guys chances are slim without the proper care.
I am not a marsupial carer, but if you like, pm me your details & I can get someone who is to contact you quickly.
Thanks, Gary

 

[chellntrev]

Sory to hear that..Best chance would be to get them to a wildife resuce place - they would have alot better info for you. Have you go them in a hotbox & fake pouch allready?

 

[Jay84]

I dont know how big 20g is visually? do they have fur? or a covering of fuzz? you will be surprised how they are born survivors. we handreared a baby ringtail and was successful in getting her to adulthood. spare snake cage for warmth, milk formula etc.

hope they survive, sorry to hear about your female. are you going to get an autopsy??

 

[mckellar007]

im taking them to my mate who is a wildlife carer's tomorrow, i just wanna get them through the night, ive got them in a fake pouch on a heat mat, and after reading up for a while ive got a mixture that i can use to hopefully get them through the night. no covering or fuzz, they are about the size of a velvet rat, maybe a little smaller.

 

[gregcranston]

Sorry to hear about your loss, yes get them to the wildlife carer ASAP. Please keep us posted.

 

[Snake Catcher Victoria]

There are heaps of people around that can help you jason.
The best bet for you is wildlife victoria.
Koubee, on this site is well experienced with ringtails, as are a few others here, and im sure she / they could give you good advice.
www.wildlifevictoria.org.au
This is the place for Victorians to get help with native wildlife.
All Vic animal lovers should be members.
Cheers and good luck with your pets.

 

[Jay84]

Did the little ones make it through the night Mckellar? hope you manage to get them to someone able to care for them. You will be surprised how tough they can be, as the mother wasnt dead long or roadkill etc, the babies havnt been through any additional trauma. (the babies i saw survive at the wildlife shelter who had been through so much, gives hope to your litte ones)

fingers crossed

 

[mckellar007]

only one of them made it through the night, the other one wasnt looking too good to begin with and wouldnt take the formula. i took it to the wildlife carer today and shes given me heaps of hints, gave me some formula and lactase(i think thats what its called). told me not to keep my hopes up, but it has been done before. looks like ive got alot of sleepless nights ahead of me.

 

[gregcranston]

only one of them made it through the night, the other one wasnt looking too good to begin with and wouldnt take the formula. i took it to the wildlife carer today and shes given me heaps of hints, gave me some formula and lactase(i think thats what its called). told me not to keep my hopes up, but it has been done before. looks like ive got alot of sleepless nights ahead of me.

Good luck mate, it is important not to get those hopes up, but it will be difficult not to. If by the grace of good luck and hard work, it does pull through, it will be the most rewarding thing you've ever done probably.
Do you have to rub stuff into it's skin to stop it from drying out?, i'm sure I read that somewhere.
Good luck again, my wishes are with ya and yer little critter!

 

[hardcorey007]

only one of them made it through the night, the other one wasnt looking too good to begin with and wouldnt take the formula. i took it to the wildlife carer today and shes given me heaps of hints, gave me some formula and lactase(i think thats what its called). told me not to keep my hopes up, but it has been done before. looks like ive got alot of sleepless nights ahead of me.

That brings back some memories. My partner and I looked after one, getting up ever two hours to feed it. We took it in turns and it still drained us. I'm not looking forward to having kids if this is what it's like LOL. Poor little bugger died after a couple of weeks. It was heart breaking.

 

[gregcranston]

Hey Jason, any idea why the mother died? You should maybe get an autopsy done on her and make sure it's not parasitic. Do you get many feral cats (or less likely, dogs) on your property that could have stressed her to death?

 

[gregcranston]

How's ya little one traveling Jason? Did it make it through the first couple of days? Has it put on any weight?

 

[gregcranston]

bump?

 

[mckellar007]

nah man, it died on the second night, unfortunantly it didnt really have much of a chance, i was amazed it lived that long.

 

[Jay84]

Oh poor thing. Sorry to hear

 

[gregcranston]

Yeah that's sad, but not really unexpected.