I found a hairless baby Bat..

I found a baby bat crawling around on my back patio and it keeps chirping. I don't know how old it is but it doesn't have any hair or teeth yet and its eyes are closed and it can't fly yet.

I know I am crazy but the mother in me can't stand to see an abandoned infant animal. I have gave it a little formula I have, and I cleaned it to get parasites off of it. Do you think I could put it with one of my nursing rats?

What should I do?

My first reaction, I suppose, would be to call any local wildlife sanctuaries or rescues.
I know in some areas it is unlawful to keep and care for any native wildlife without proper permits, but I'm not sure about your area. I wouldn't risk putting a wild animal (even a newborn) in with your established pets. Just doesn't seem like any good can come of it. :hmm:

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Originally Posted by Kymberli

My first reaction, I suppose, would be to call any local wildlife sanctuaries or rescues.
I know in some areas it is unlawful to keep and care for any native wildlife without proper permits, but I'm not sure about your area. I wouldn't risk putting a wild animal (even a newborn) in with your established pets. Just doesn't seem like any good can come of it. :hmm:

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Thanks. I am thinking the same thing. I posted here before looking around. I found a really cool article/blog about a baby big brown bat. http://www.art-rageous.net/BabyBat-062305.html I have decided that is what I found, since it looks identical to the pictures. Surprisingly bats only have 1 baby a year and they can live for 20 years! I put it in a shallow box with a sock of rice heated to keep it warm and I gave it some multi-animal formula I got at tractor supply to give to my nursing rats.

I am going to put him back outside up high in hopes that his mother comes to claim him, and my dog doesn't eat him. If he is still there in the morning I will contact the local sanctuary.

I have come to the conclusion I live in what some people would find scarier than a haunted house. Snake, Rats, Bats, spiders, Rottweilers... oh my. lol

Thanks for the help. :)

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Originally Posted by MoshBalls

Thanks. I am thinking the same thing. I posted here before looking around. I found a really cool article/blog about a baby big brown bat. http://www.art-rageous.net/BabyBat-062305.html I have decided that is what I found, since it looks identical to the pictures. Surprisingly bats only have 1 baby a year and they can live for 20 years! I put it in a shallow box with a sock of rice heated to keep it warm and I gave it some multi-animal formula I got at tractor supply to give to my nursing rats.

I am going to put him back outside up high in hopes that his mother comes to claim him, and my dog doesn't eat him. If he is still there in the morning I will contact the local sanctuary.

I have come to the conclusion I live in what some people would find scarier than a haunted house. Snake, Rats, Bats, spiders, Rottweilers... oh my. lol

Thanks for the help. :)

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Hopefully he'll survive the night and you can find a sanctuary for him to be taken to. It's heartbreaking, no doubt, but you can't save them all. It's that cliche "circle of life", lol. I'm not sure how bats do it, but I know mother birds often push sick/weak babies out of the nest because the mother instinctively knows that one will not survive anyway. Perhaps bats do something similar and the mother of this one was not willing to care for it? Who knows.

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by Kymberli

Hopefully he'll survive the night and you can find a sanctuary for him to be taken to. It's heartbreaking, no doubt, but you can't save them all. It's that cliche "circle of life", lol. I'm not sure how bats do it, but I know mother birds often push sick/weak babies out of the nest because the mother instinctively knows that one will not survive anyway. Perhaps bats do something similar and the mother of this one was not willing to care for it? Who knows.

Good luck!

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Thanks! It appears that the mother carries it on its back like an orangutan and it isn't unusual for them to fall off. According to Bat World you can actually make a pup catching net to attach to a bat house in case a pup falls out. It gives them the chance to climb back up to the colony. I think I would like to buy one of the colony houses. I know I see the bats flying at night and I love watching them, plus they eat the mosquitoes that always eat me up all summer. :D They are better than bug off.

The university here tested the bat houses out and and found almost no bats used them. I was disappointed because I wanted to put up a bat house as well.

You should ALWAYS call the wildlife folks(Fish and Game, State Willdlife, etc) when you find any bat on the ground. Bats that are on the ground are often sick and bats carry rabies. I love bats, but it's just pure not worth the risk to me and my animals to handle any bat. I'd have on gloves to move a baby to a container where it could be comfy until the proper folks could come to get it.

I'd be really tempted to want to keep a bat too. I looked into fruit bats, cause they're super cool but it seems they're also pretty much illegal, like all bat species.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

The university here tested the bat houses out and and found almost no bats used them. I was disappointed because I wanted to put up a bat house as well.

You should ALWAYS call the wildlife folks(Fish and Game, State Willdlife, etc) when you find any bat on the ground. Bats that are on the ground are often sick and bats carry rabies. I love bats, but it's just pure not worth the risk to me and my animals to handle any bat. I'd have on gloves to move a baby to a container where it could be comfy until the proper folks could come to get it.

I'd be really tempted to want to keep a bat too. I looked into fruit bats, cause they're super cool but it seems they're also pretty much illegal, like all bat species.

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I realize I should have posted an update. I did contact the local bat rehabilitation and she was really nice and she told me the best thing to do is try to get him close to the nest and if he is wanted they will come and get him. Since I know the nest is in my attic, we decided to take him as high up on the brick as possible. So I opened the highest window and placed him on the brick. He stayed there for about 1 1/2 day, then he came back down. I placed him back on the brick.

The rehabilitor agrees that he is a Kentucky Big Brown Bat. She said that big brown bats often have twins and when they can only care for one they will pick the female. Males are hard to rehabilitate. It is really sad to watch but I have done everything that I can.