Thread by @lizardschwartz

Yesterday I told myself I'd take a break from bat care. Have now just agreed to go and pick up a baby bat!

It is a little stressful sometimes but I'd be more stressed knowing there's a bat that needs help

He's baby

Had a big big drink of milk and a big stretch. Will try and get this one reunited to mum tomorrow. Think it just went for a bit of a wander and got lost! After all, mum will be the best flight teacher of all 👍

Little full tummy

Milk mouth boy

Someone's exploring

Just fed the baby (12:30AM) and have an alarm set for 4 hours' time to feed him again 😴

He looks like he should start weaning any time now, so I'm going to add some mashed up mealworm (🤢) in with his food tomorrow.

His tiny little full tum is... so cute 🥺 got back from my survey this eve to him scampering around the tank, which is a good sign!

Early morning feed done. Very eager. Back to bed for me..

2 and a half grams of mega cute. 23mm forearm measurement.

I should've weighed him when he came in really, but I was a bit more concentrating on getting him fed! He's still got a lot of mites, but the good thing is they often wander onto my glove so I can squash them. That can't help him having that lot taking his blood!

Wandering around the hand

He had a wee in the previous video I tried to take 😆

Had a little mealworm innards and milk smoothie. I had to clean his face after!

Hm. Set him up, waited, (retrieved him from the floor), waited some more (retrieved him from some ivy he fluttered over to and then scampered up! 😳). Couple of common pips appeared, showed just a passing interest in him.

I had ID'd him as a soprano pipistrelle (I mean, I could be wrong, I'll have another look at him tomorrow) and didn't hear any sopranos, just commons. So guess something has happened to mum or the roost has moved 😔

He's not too far off being able to fly, to be honest. Maybe a week or two? So I'll strengthen him up and release him when he can fly and he may be able to find the roost himself.

Positive news is that 3 kids and 2 adults got to see a bat 'properly' (I.e. not just whizzing around) for the first time, and all commented on how cute he was. One little girl kept shushing her mum 'shh, we don't want to frighten him!'

As he's gonna be here for a little bit, I've given him a name. Say hi to baby Bryn.

He's started biting the milk syringe which is a good sign they're ready to move onto more solid food. Here's Bryn enjoying his first mealworm insides.

He will just eat the insides for now (I kill the mealworm and then squeeze them out, slightly gross I know, but it's what the bats like!). He will slowly start munching at the exoskeleton as well as he has more.

My new coworker demands far too many lunch breaks through the day

The bat equivalent of 'oh yeah, that's the good stuff'

He's trying very hard to chew off bits of exoskeleton but his jaw isn't strong enough yet! If I hold the other end he pulls it like a tug of war 😄

He did not want milk this evening 🙅‍♀️ baby is all growing up

He is a voraciously hungry little boy! Won't be long until he's chomping down the whole mealworm. He's also exceedingly sweet and gentle. Not a single protest or squirm from him when I cleaned around his mouth when he'd finished eating.

Bryn weighs a whopping 3 grams today! He was 2.6g on Thursday! 💪

Bryn is very well behaved when weighing. What a good boy!

He physically looks more grown up now, too

Got a moth flight cage out for him to have a little stretch of his wings in

Bryn:
No exercise 😡
Only roost 😌

Feeling sad? Don't worry, here's some baby bat feet

Weight update! I've picked up adults lighter than this before 😳😄

A heckin big wing stretch

When you see an animal do a big stretch, you have to comment on the big stretch. Sorry I don't make the rules

Worm Time

He got this far through this worm and now he's having... little snooze

Settling down in the hand cave for a warm after his evening feed 😌

3.5g today. Up from 2.5 - he's grown so much 🥰

Not so little any more!

Bryn doing his best posing 🥰

Got a photo of the internarial ridge (bump between the nostrils) on him that helps ID him as a soprano pipistrelle

Finished his dinner, warm hand cave time 😄

The way he tucks his little foot in at the very end 🥺

me: I'm a proper scientist and ecologist
also me: omg look at the baby bat I can't 🥺🥺🥰

Daily weigh-in! He's doing lots more wing stretches now so he might think about flying soon

Hanging out

He's started eating whole mini-mealworms 🥳

No more squeezing the guts out for me 🤢

Settling down after lunch

Bryn's growth in 8 days 😄🥰

Lunch time

Don't you think it's about time you started to think about flying?
No, he says. I'm actually fine just lying here, thanks