Caring for Orphaned Free-tailed Bats

Baby bat season arrives at Bat World's Wild Sanctuary every year in June. During this  time, the building is checked for bats in trouble by trained volunteers at least three times daily. Almost every day, helpless emaciated orphans wander away from their group and are  spotted hanging out in the open, alone and cold, looking for Mothers that for unknown reasons, will never return. These tiny, furless babies are taken to Bat World's rehab facility, where they receive subcutaneous injections of electrolytes to treat dehydration, and their tiny bodies are thoroughly cleaned and checked over for injuries.

The pups usually recover quickly from dehydration, so they are immediately fed warmed Bat World milk formula to treat starvation. Free-tails are unable to lap like other bat species, so they are fed from eye-shadow applicator tips that have been removed from the wand. Both the formula and the pup must be kept very warm during feeding, so the orphans rest in a heated cloth to keep them toasty and secure.

(To view a video of a free-tail nursing see our movie page.)
Most pups learn how to nurse from foam tips after only one or two lessons, and quickly grasp it in their tiny mouths and begin sucking to their hearts content. Some pups, however, take a little more encouragement in the form of soothing talk and low clicking noises that simulate the call of a mother bat. A medicine dropper is used to dispense warmed formula onto the tip, a drop at a time, until their tummies are rounded. Each pup nurses for approximately ten minutes. The pups are checked throughout the day and they are fed again when their tummies become flat.
After the pups have become comfortable nursing in this fashion, we are able to make "assembly lines," to speed up the process. The pups like to cuddle close with each other while nursing. Feedings take place up to six times daily, and the pups quickly put on weight. Free-tail pups remain pink until they are between two and three weeks of age. As they grow older, their skin darkens and fur begins to grow.
The orphans live together in warm incubators that are padded with cloth pouches that they hide and play in. During the day they spend time grooming their new fur growth and stretching their wings. After the pups reach about five weeks of age their formula is mixed half and half with blended mealworms. At six to seven weeks of age they are introduced to live mealworms and fed only twice a day. At eight weeks of age the orphans are moved into a large flight cage at our Wild Sanctuary, where they hone their flight skills and learn to forage for insects on their own. This process can take up to two more weeks.  During this time the pups are checked twice a day and offered mealworms. Once the pups exhibit the survival skills necessary to live on their own, they are marked for identification, taken to their original roost and released back into their colony.
You can help us save these orphans by sponsoring them through our Adopt-a-Bat program! Adopt-A-Bat sponsorships are tax deductible.
NOTE: To sponsor the Orphans through the Adopt Me! button, please enter the appropriate amount (see list below). If the Adopt-a-Bat is a gift or a school sponsorship, please remember to include the name you want listed on the adoption certificate.

New members or gift adoptions - $35.00
Existing members or school/class adoptions - $25.00
International sponsorships - $38.00
(Shipping on all sponsorships - $5.00)

To sponsor the Orphans by fax or mail, go to our Adopt-a-Bat/ Membership form.

Please allow up to two weeks for delivery of your sponsorship package. RUSH orders are available (at no extra handling charge) by calling 940-325-3404 (please leave a message; calls are returned as promptly as possible).

Please see our privacy policy on safeguarding your information.

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