Mims is an adult female Grey-Headed Flying-Fox who was found early in the morning on the ground, by security guards at the university. They managed to get her into a box, out of which she climbed, then covered her with a milk crate in which she hung till rescue.
The local currawongs were busy harassing her even in her crate when I arrived. I think they'd been pecking at her feet.
Mimsy, like most of the females at this time of the year, is pregnant. Often they lose their baby in the first 36 hours because of the stress of their accident and capture. I gave her a small dose of diazepam from the vet to see if I could keep her calm enough to hold onto her pregnancy. With the adrenaline of the accident, and harassment by the birds, and the capture by a white mostly furless giant, her stress levels were at an all-time high, and I thought she would lose her baby, however she has managed to hang onto it for 3 days now so it's likely she will deliver when the baby is ready for birth.
She's still a little concussed and unhappy, but hasn't gone into early labour.
Initial care means giving her fluids, sedation and pain relief, and letting her rest. I also need to weigh and measure her to get an idea of the drug doses she will need. With Mimsy she was still stressed despite a small dose of diazepam so she got a top up dose and I went out to rescue the next bat and came back when she was somewhat less agitated. Once the adrenaline wears off the bat is often quite stunned and "flat", specially if there is any degree of concussion involved.
For now, Mimsy is slowly improving and still pregnant, which is the best we could hope for given her accident and situation.
UPDATE:
Mimsy (or Mrs Very Pregnant, as Maggie named her), had her baby the night before last, 10 days after she came into care. The baby is a little girl, and mum and bub are doing fine.
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