The warmer weather is definitely here and with that comes our lovely landscape/gardens growing and flowering, the longer days to do outdoor activities and the start of much wildlife on the move and breeding. Unfortunately, the downside of this weather is that wildlife become more active and are more prone to come into care due to the injuries they sustain, especially reptiles.
Reptiles, to many people’s surprise, are not cold blooded. In fact, they use external heat sources to regulate their internal body temperature (ectothermic). So, they use this warmer weather to increase their body temperature and metabolism, as they can be sluggish after the cooler weather.
At Chittering Wildlife Carers we have several species of reptiles, such as monitors, geckos, snakes, and skinks that must be relocated and/or rescued. One reptile that comes into our care is the humble bobtail.
The Bobtail (Tiliqua rugosa) appears to have more common names than any other Australian animal, with each region it is found in having a different name for it! These include shingle back lizard, sleepy lizard, pinecone lizard, stumpy-tail, boggi, bog-eye and double headed lizard (because of its tail).
We all know that sticking out their vibrant blue tongue is an excellent response to predatory threats, but did you know that the tongue also reflects UV light? This light assists in deflecting birds that are swooping in and the sudden flash of UV light repels the birds. Birds have significantly superior vision and are capable of seeing UV light and additional colours/shades that humans are unable to see.
Bobtails are a monogamous animal and therefore seek out the same reproductive partner as the previous years. It is in fact the female that seeks out her male. If fences are erected or the male dies and the female cannot find him, after some years, she will accept another male and then maintain her new monogamy. Pairs come together between the months of September to November and breeding season is from December to April, with gestation being approximately 3 – 5 months.
Some of the most common injuries at this time of year are:
Dog and cat attacks
Lawn mower and whipper snipper accidents
Motor vehicle accidents (MVA)
We can get up to three admissions per day in the warmer season. With the types of injuries above, they need a range of medications such as pain relief, antibiotics, dressing /bandage changes, good nutrition and kept on artificial heat to make sure they can metabolise their food and medications properly at the correct body temperature. It may seem that some injuries they sustain seem to be not too bad on the outside, but in fact can be quite serious internally.
The smallest tooth puncture from a dog/cat will need medical attention. Both have bacteria on their teeth which is introduced via the puncture, which can cause massive infection and lead to death, as well as issues such as organ damage and broken bones, due to a thin abdominal wall. Wounds must be dressed and changed every few days and the bobtail has to be handled very gently, so not to cause too much discomfort to broken bones. Reptiles’ healing time is a lot slower and wounds can take up to 6 weeks to heal, while bones can be anywhere from 2 – 18 months.
Lawn mower and whipper snipper accidents can be mild with only small wounds where they have been nicked, or quite horrific with large open wounds or legs being amputated. Care and consideration must be taken as to what dressings need to be used, so that they do not get stuck on open wounds and delay healing.
MVAs are often fatal with instantaneous death, though if they do survive, a broken limb or jaw may be the worst visible injury sustained. Head injuries often result in euthanasia due to damage to the tiny bone structures in the skull. X-rays are often used to determine the severity and if viable, they do need to be tube fed for many weeks on pureed foods to allow skull fractures to heal.
Each animal that comes into care must be assessed by a vet to allow them to perform x-rays for bone fractures, internal damage, clean and flush wounds, perform surgery where needed and provide medications for care afterwards. I have at times taken 2 hours doing wound cleaning, re-dressing wounds, giving medications and repeat vet visits for progress checks for just one bobtail!
What people do not realise is it can be a quite time consuming and costly expense to care and rehabilitate our wildlife. Behind the scenes we are frantically making calls to see which volunteers are available for rescues, transport and collection every day and into the night.
Costs can run into the hundreds to thousands for some of the individual cases and all this care is done in the volunteer’s spare time, while still working and possibly raising human children and running a household. This can be difficult at times when we are a group that is solely funded by donations, and we usually resort to using our own earnings.
I enjoy looking after these little modern-day dinosaurs and it may be hard to believe, but each one has their own personality that I get to know, especially when some must stay in care for months due to the nature of their injuries and illness.
This is why we greatly appreciate any donations wherever possible to help have our wildlife rehabilitated and returned to their homes. If you would like to help us care for our precious bird life and other wildlife, you can donate to the Chittering Wildlife Carers via direct bank transfer, via: Chittering Wildlife Carers Inc. BSB 633-000, account 131834012. Thank you.
