Bat Feeding- Day two and Alexander is doing fine. Colleen suggested that I might keep a journal about our experiences with the bat. Not many people get this type of personal experience and, I told her I'd already started here.
I mentioned already that we made an emergency trip to Petco for supplies, but I didn't mention everything we needed to get. First, we got a Styrofoam cooler and punched small holes about 4 inches from the bottom all the way around. (we used a small skewer and punched from the inside out, so the holes would be smooth inside) An old t-shirt (not a towel ) and a sock filled with rice to microwave as a heating pad. We also bought pedialyte to rehydrate him quickly. A glass eyedropper for feeding. All of this we bought at Wal-mart, along with Ziploc bags, spinach dip and chips, oatmeal cookies, and coffee creamer (cause we missed dinner and I needed the creamer)
At Petco, we bought a small can of puppy formula (I forget the name of it) and Bena-bac (a live bacteria) that is sold in a package of 4 tubes. Colleen said this could be found in the dog or cat dept. I asked for help and the employee took us to the "bird and reptile" section. I reminded her that a bat is a mammal and we moved to the "rat, hamster,etc" section and found it there.
When we got home, we quickly set everything up, thinking he was probably very hungry. The puppy formula was divided into several Ziploc bags so we could freeze it. The formula is good for about 24 hours, so freezing would extend it's viability. While I was doing that, Delaney was creating his living space.
The bene-bac is to try to give him beneficial bacteria his mother's milk would have done and we give it the first day, 3rd day and 5th day, then we're done. Alexander doesn't like it so much, but he does take it like a good boy. We warm his formula by running hot water over the Ziploc bag.
We use the glass eyedropper to feed him. Sometimes we miss his mouth and he gets a milk bath, but he's so cute when he licks the formula. We're feeding him roughly every 2 hours. Most of the day, we would reheat his sock and put him back in this bed. This evening, I held him to my chest for a few hours out on the deck so he could feel my warmth and heart beat and hear some natural sounds. He was curled up sleeping- adorable! (in a creepy, no hair sort of way)
Oh, everyone else can hear him squeaking but I can't, which makes me the target for all the deaf jokes in the world. I had a bad ear infection as a child and both eardrums are scared from it, so I'm not surprised I can't hear him. The cat, btw was a bit interested last night at what was in the box, but, today doesn't seem to be paying any attention. I expect when Alexander becomes more active, she'll get interested again.
Delaney was so excited to share this with her BFF, but the BFF is kinda creeped out, so I'm the main caretaker today and Delaney has already asked if she can go to BFF's house tomorrow. (bet you could guess this how it would go) Another good piece of ammo when she asks for a dog again.
Well, it's time to feed the bat again.