Batty Batty Bat 1,2,3 OUCH

[Bark]

Long story short:

Bat flew into house as roomate entered Wednesday night. I stunned it with a cardboard tube (the kind posters are shipped in). Tossed it out the window hoping it would fly. It landed on the deck roof 1 floor down. The next evening it fell off of that roof onto the concrete. It is currently lying on the concrete still breathing and able to crawl. There is no visible blood.

Should I put it out of its misery? Or do you think that it can heal itself?

If it is agreed that I should put it down, what is the most humane way to do it keeping in mind that I only have access to the normal things found in a bachelor pad?

 

[Immortal_sin]

oh bummer. maybe a broken wing? can you even examine it though? I hate the thought it might have internal injuries and be suffering. I would imagine a quick well placed blow to the head would be the best way to put it down, should you choose to do that, but I wouldn't want to be in your shoes...good luck....

 

[Bark]

maybe a broken wing? can you even examine it though?

I flipped it over using a paper towel and couldn't see any damage, but it is a fury thing and I have no experience with bats. It was able to fold and unfold one of its wings, but I didn't see the second wing move. But that is not to say that either are broken or not.

It tried to flip itself back over and was unable to do so without a little nudge from me. Ohhh well... if it is still there when I go home, I'll end its suffering.

 

[Wade]

Try to contact your state game department, they may be able to help you find a rehabilitator.

Be very careful handling it, don't use your hands as many bat species are known vectors for rabies.

Wade

 

[Bark]

Be very careful handling it, don't use your hands as many bat species are known vectors for rabies.

It turns out bats are a protected animal in Maryland, so I got some numbers to call and see if I can get it some help.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Bark]

Apparently its wildlife rehabs peak season or some BS. Needless to say I can't get a human being to talk to me at any of the rehab centers, so I give up.

The bat is ok I think, just has a broken wing or something. It moved itself under a trashcan (one that has wheels and space underneath to block the sun). I also saw remains of a cicada, so it is possible that it has eaten. I think I am just going to let it stay under the trashcan and see if it gets better on its own.

 

[sansoucie]

Well, FYI I was bitten by a lil brown a coupl of yrs ago in the finger tip. I am shocked the bat isn't more feisty as I have never seen one put up with being handled and I have seen quite a few. They DO carry all kinds of diseases so be careful and don't get bitten. My bite was so deep that my finger print has been permenantly altered. Guess I can't rob banks anymore..
I have kept bats for a few days when they appeared to be injured or I just wanted to watch them. You can do that, but their dietary needs are too much to handle for anything long term. Basically they are hard to feed and need more space to attack tiny prey than you'd think. Just be careful messing around with it. I am wondering if it wasn't smacked in the head a little too hard as I can't fathom one allowing you to stretch a wing without nailing you with all it has! LOL! They're usually like dobermans in a tea cup poodle body

 

[sansoucie]

Does it look like this??

 

[Wade]

We rehabbed a bat once at the nature center. We fed it mealworms from forcepts. It was very cute.

Some species of bat are not a high rabies risk, mainly it's the ones that roost in big groups. Those bats often jostle and fight for space, and the disese gets spread fom the little bites they give one annother. Solitary bats are not likley to carry the disease.

Wade

 

[sansoucie]

I am shocked it ate from you! LOL! I had to jingle waxworms and moths from string.... They're tiny but MEAN! Dang it, now I want another to fly in my garage.....

I picked up what I thought was a fuzzy pear, and turned out to be a sick bat.... :8o


Oh y4eah Wade, the 2 diseases that can be transmitted to humans are rabies and histoplasmosis. Histoplasmosis is found in communal and solitary. Ususally bats with rabies are extreemly docile and don't get violent like dogs and other animals. Of course they have fleas and Spinturnicid Mites... but I'd be more worried about histoplasmosis and a nasty bite. Those little teeth can go through a glove with no problem.

 

[Bark]

Does it look like this??

Yes, but smaller. I couldn't see if it was still there when I came home (it is dark). I am going to pretty much stay away and see if it can recover. I may toss a few cicadas its way, but I'm not about to put it in my car and drive 35 miles to the nearest rehab center (that doesn't answer its phone).

 

[rapunzel]

you need to be very careful

Bats are one of the number one rabies carriers and what Sansoucie is saying is very true-about histoplasmosis. It is also possible to get bitten without realizing that you have been-not all have big teeth and painful bites- just a warning to let you know that if possible, you really need to try and get ahold of the DNR-they very well may want to take that bat so they can test it for rabies. Which in the long run, is probably best for the bat anyhow-if its wing is broken, it may not be able to ever heal correctly and will end up slowly starving to death or be killed/maimed by a local cat or other animal-and if it is carrying disease, any animal that comes in contact with it could contract it and pass that disease along.

Good luck, and try calling the regular DNR if you cant reach a wildlife division.
edit: here is a link to a long list of rehabilitators phone numbers, listed by county for Maryland:

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/rehab.html

 

[Valael]

We had a bat fly into the exhaust pipe above our stove. (You know, the thing that sucks up smoke/steam. The fan thingy) We heard SOMETHING moving around in there. At first, we thought it was the wind. (We lived in the Azores and it's *very* windy there)


But eventually, we opened it up. And sure enough, it was a bat. Of course, it went nuts and started flying around our house. We threw a towel over it and brought it outside. Of course, we had to look at it. And damn. Those things are nippy. And the one we delt with had some very long, thin (Almost clear) canine teeth. (Through Google, I found that there's a species called "N. azoreum" from the Azores. But I can't find any information on them.)

They're pretty thick in that area, though.


Not to hijack, I just thought it was interesting. Didn't realize the Azores had their own bat species until now:

We tested the hypothesis that clustering in the behaviour of emerging bats is a response to the risk of avian predation. We hypothesised that if avian predation was the cause of clustering, bats in the prolonged absence of avian predators, would not cluster or would cluster less during their emergences. We studied the Azorean bat (Nyctalus azoreum) in the Azores Archipelago. The Azores have a depauperate fauna with no raptorial birds likely to predate bats. The Azorean bat is an endemic mammal to the archipelago, which has an unusually extensive degree of diurnal activity that has been hypothesised to reflect release from the risk of diurnal predation by raptors. Contrary to our prediction Azorean bats clustered during emergence to the same extent as bat species which occur where there are raptors. Two interpretations of these data are possible. First, the hypothesis that the behaviour is anti-predatory may be incorrect. Most of the variation in clustering was explained by variation in ambient temperature possibly suggesting the bats emerged in groups to aid exploitation of sparsely distributed food. Alternatively, the behaviour may be anti-predatory, but the key factor precipitating clustering may not be the risk from aerial predators, but terrestrial predators, such as rats (Rattus norvegicus) and cats (Felis cattus), both of which were common around the roost sites.

 

[da_illest]

sorry i can't help but i'm really curious on something... is rabies in humans curable?

 

[sanguinarian]

It's curable. You have to take a bunch of shots. My neighbor just got bit by a rabid dog on a trip to Honduras. She got the shots but my Dad says she looks terrible. I googled rabies and a site said there are 8 cases of people getting rabies from corneal transplants. Makes you wonder about going to hospitals.

-GOD bless,Clint

 

[rapunzel]

I havent heard of the corneal transplant-rabies contact. It is transmitted in bodyfluids, so that is weird.

da_illest, here is a link to the rabies-bat bite statistics. The thing with rabies is the closer to the head that a person is bit, the faster the disease progresses. Rabies can be cured IF a person goes to the hospital for treatment before the disease has progressed too far. Someone who doesnt get the shots in time will die.

http://www.batcon.org/discover/rabieschart.html

 

[sansoucie]

Well, rabies isn't as huge as everyone thinks in bats. They certainly aren't the #1 vector! When compared to their populations, bats have a pretty small segment that actually catch the disease, much less transmit it out of their species. The big thing to keep in mind is that given their habits and nature, if ya see a bat on the ground, it's sick. Could be rabies as thats one of the few reasons you'll find a docile bat or a bat in the daytime. This isn't my opinion only, it's from personal experience and different studies by scientists and animal behaviorists.
People survive rabies all the time, though I bever heard of corneal transplants carrying the virus! LOL!
I have had the shot and have had the "booster" shot for subsequent exposures. No biggie other than feeling like you're gonna croak for a while You're more likely to get tetanus than rabies.

 

[sanguinarian]

If you are interested in the site about corneal transplants giving people rabies, google the word rabies then click on the cdc.gov site at the top of the screen, click on the Q&A part then click on the human to human transmission part. Sorry I don't know how to make a direct link from this reply. I still have alot to learn about computers.

_GOD bless,Clint

 

[rapunzel]

Bats arent the most common, raccoons are, but bats are third on the list, with skunks being number 2.

 

[sansoucie]

Agreed Rapunzel. I get miffed when people act like bats are one step up from satan and spread disease at the drop of a hat

Ok, ya get a prophylaxis treatment and then you get a series of 4 shots over a month. It's NOT the horrible series in the belly in the old days. I got the rabies immunoglobin shot and an IV with my first serious exposure. I guess the shots they gave afterward were the series, but I can't remember. What was more threatening than the rabies for me with the first exposure I had was benign lymphoreticulosis AKA cat scratch fever , Bartonella henselae, and septicemia. The septicemia WILL kill you, so don't delay treatment with a deep bite or scratch. Spent about a week in the hospital with piggy back antibiotics and etc.

With my second exposure I tested pos for the immunoglobin and was only given the 4 subsequent shots as a precaution. If I get exposed again, I will take my chances and not take the shot! LOL!

I am still unclear on this cornea thing... must research!