Rescued bat with concussion - Socrates

1of8
Published on Apr 17, 2017
Socrates is a gentle old boy who hit his head and landed on the ground at some point. He was found hanging low in a tree barely able to move. At this point he can manage to drink and make small movements but not much else.


http://batrescue.org.au

2of8
Published on Apr 18, 2017
Here Socrates is very slowly recovering, with tiny improvements each day. He's drinking better, moving his head a little and attempting to move his upper limbs and make purposeful movements with his thumbs.

Bats recovering from concussion are just like humans recovering from a stroke or head injury; they regain function slowly over time, on an individual schedule, and our job is to keep them alive and healthy until normal functionality returns.
These animals are not pets, but protected wildlife in care under a rehabilitation permit. They are prepared for return to the wild and released when ready.

3of8
Published on Apr 19, 2017
Socrates still gradually improving - more function slowly returning. He's getting a greater range of movement and more coordination. He's started moving his legs and using his feet more, and can hang partially with back support.

4of8
Published on Apr 21, 2017
Socrates is much brighter today, and strong enough for some closer interaction with other bats in care, which is also good stimulation for him.

5of8
Published on Apr 22, 2017
Socrates is starting to move his limbs more and is spending a bit more time with young Bonnie to give him a bit of social stimulation (ie annoyance) and encourage him to move more. And it's working!

6of8
Published on Apr 23, 2017
Socrates is finally able to hang and spent the night in the hospital cage. Although he's strong enough to hang his movement and coordination is still poor and he managed to get smoothie and juice over his wings.

He's still too wobbly to fully clean it himself so he's getting a wash.

Although wing membrane is quite strong and pliable, the skin surface is sensitive and susceptible to skin breakdown if not kept clean and dry, which is why flying foxes groom so much. They also oil their wings from tiny sebum deposits along the wing finger bones.

7of8
Published on Apr 27, 2017
Socrates is making good progress. He's hanging all the time, feeding himself and starting to groom more.

His movement is still weak and slow, but he's moving around the cage and able to hold himself up by his thumbs to invert, which is a very good sign.

8of8
Published on Apr 30, 2017
From the last video, Socrates spent a further month in care, slowly regaining remaining function. After a month he was climbing around the cage normally, making full use of all limbs, and starting to eye the door and look bored. I also heard him flapping around at night.

At this point he was considered recovered but still not ready for release, as he needed to regain all the muscle wasted in the time he'd been just lying and then hanging around. So his next step is to go to a larger flight aviary/release facility for some exercise to get him ready to go.