I'm Going Batty...

[Ask The Geezer]

My brother saved a bat that was almost frozen in the recent cold snap. So he brought it home. Now it's got it's own 30 gallon aquarium and eating like a pig. He loves mealy worms.

[lefteyewilly]

i could have done without that tonight.

Freakin old people and their pets. Won't any humans talk to you anymore...is that why you need screwed up pets?

j/k

[Ask The Geezer]

Hey, people are about the worst things to try and talk to. At least by letting a bat into the house, you can be pretty sure he won't steal your silverware.

Kind of neat to see him fly around the room to.

And what's that you got on your head?

[Ghostgirl705]

I want to say "Awww," but I can't, that thing is too ugly. Small furry aminals are supposed to be cute

[Ask The Geezer]

He is cute. Those pics were taken with a digital on Macro. With normal eyeballs, he looks like a little furball. With his wings closed up, he's shorter than my thumb.

And surprisingly gentle too. He eats those worms from my fingers, and picks them off like a dainty cat would.

[gerbick]

Quite possibly the ugliest thing I've seen tonight. Don't they have a lot of fleas and/or lice though?

So, what you're gonna name him?

[Visionray]

I'm sorry dude but that thing is freaky looking. Without those gnarly wings you could say it's a furball. Bats in general scare the crap out of me. Can you really keep it in an aquarium for long? Aren't they supposed to hang upside down on something? Is it bloodthirsty?

[chuckury]

Is that legal?

[Visionray]

Quite possibly the ugliest thing I've seen tonight.

But not today? In other words you saw something uglier this afternoon?

[Ask The Geezer]

Haven't thought of a name yet.

Lice and fleas? No, and I was worried about it, but it seems they go into some form of hybernation during the winter. Not like a bear, but they are able to let their body temp go way down and it doesn't seem to hurt them. he only eats about every third day, and when I get him out of the cage, he's as cold as the air, like 65 - 70 degrees. He's dormant for about 10 minutes, till he warms up.

So, judging by seeing fleas desert a dead bird, cause they are way warm, but when dead, chill out pretty fast, and the fleas leave, I don't think a flea or louse would live on them, at least not in the winter.

Anyway, he's very clean. He cleans himself like a cat. And, as you can see in the pic showing his teeth, he apparently is not related to a rodent.

The most surprising thing is, is how gentle he is. I expected some biting from a wild animal, but he doesn't do that at all. Well, almost. When it's feeding time, he get's pretty excited, and being blind as a bat, he has nipped my fingers a couple times, but he can't break the skin. But he does not get into attack mode or defensive posture at all.

[argonauta]

Batman! turu rurururu turu turu rururururu Batman!

[Visionray]

The most surprising thing is, is how gentle he is. I expected some biting from a wild animal, but he doesn't do that at all.

yea well you can have a baby lion or baby pet tiger and they are gentle as well until they get older and try and bite your head off. I would take precautions when it gets bigger, especially if it starts frothing at the mouth.

[Ask The Geezer]

Can you really keep it in an aquarium for long? Aren't they supposed to hang upside down on something? Is it bloodthirsty?

No, not a blood sucer bat, this guy eats bugs, and anything that eats bugs has my blessing.

Yes, he can and does hang upside down. I have an old white crew sock duct taped to the inside of the tank, and a velcro edged screen on top. He either hangs from the sock, or the screen, and sometimes he just likes to prowl around on the floor where the water dish is.

As for living in captivity, my Neice has caught wild mice and kept hem, but they die, whereas this guy seems to be perfectly at home in his aquarium, and with being handled. When I let him fly, he always, so far, has come back to roost on my shirt.

We're not going to keep him though, as soon as it warms up, we'll let him go. There's a few bat houses around town, and we'll let him go near one of them.

I would take precautions when it gets bigger

He's already full grown.

[Loyal Rogue]

That really is amazing that he's so tame.
I would never have thought in a million years that you would be able to hold him like that or that you'd be able to catch him once he started flying around the room.
Pretty amazing.

I predict that by the time winter's over you're going to be too attached to the little fella to let him go.

[gerbick]

But not today? In other words you saw something uglier this afternoon?

Oh yes... I think what I saw earlier today qualifies for this thread...

[Ask The Geezer]

I just wanted to post this, cause since a kid, I've found bats on occasion and they've never deserved their bad rep. Growing up in the country, you'll find them every once in awhile, felled by a heavy summer rain. And all they need is a hand up, so to speak. But if it's true, that they eat their own weight in mosquitoes, then I don't mind helping them out.

I'll try and get some pics of him in the air next time he's out. Really amazing sight. He's smaller than a thumb when he's folded up, but his wing span is at least 10 inches in flight. Quite a sight.

[el-Ignoramus]

Chandler:
If I'm gonna be an old, lonely man, I'm gonna need a thing, you know, a hook, like that guy on the subway who eats his own face. So I figure I'll be Crazy Man with a bat, y'know. Crazy bat Man. And I'll get more bats, call them my babies, kids will not walk past my place, they will run. "Run away from Crazy bat Man!," they will shout.

[TallGuyLittleCar]

I just wanted to post this, cause since a kid, I've found bats on occasion and they've never deserved their bad rep. Growing up in the country, you'll find them every once in awhile, felled by a heavy summer rain. And all they need is a hand up, so to speak. But if it's true, that they eat their own weight in mosquitoes, then I don't mind helping them out.

I'll try and get some pics of him in the air next time he's out. Really amazing sight. He's smaller than a thumb when he's folded up, but his wing span is at least 10 inches in flight. Quite a sight.

have alot of bats where i live. Love watching them fly around eating bugs in the summer eating. Be nice to the little fellow.

[lefteyewilly]

i retract my above statement, Geezer, it looks like he's in good hands with you. You've got a nice way of putting things into perspective. (feel free to ignore my young self)

[Ostil]

Haha, I must say thats a pretty awesome story you have.

I love how its tame. I say that you keep it and teach it tricks! Then you can travel and perform shows with the bat and make millions...

-Ostil-