Do any of you like BATS?

[ColleenT]

i am a bat rehabber and we have put a calendar together of photos of bats we have handled and worked with. If anyone is interested in a calendar the link is
http://www.cafepress.com/batcalendar

thanks. Colleen

[treegirl]

I ~love~ bats! They are wonderful creatures! What's it like be a bat rehabber?

[Matt_K]

Oh man.. The title of this thread had me thinking something completely different... :P Sorry..

Those are some awesome pics though!!

[hhw]

ROFL, especially how BATS was capitalized like that!!!

[Matt_K]

So i'm not the only one!!! :D

[chappy]

I do...

[V.hb]

bats are kewl

[bistrobob85]

BATS rule! I used to have some hanging to my roof in the summer :) They're so secretive! they eat all the bugs around and then dissapear!

[K8Satan]

My favorite animal

[ColleenT]

Treegirl, it is great. I had to get my Rabies shots before i did it, but they don't hurt. they are expensive, tho. a few hundred dollars. i have 5 Big Browns right now. they are my favorite. in the summer is when i go crazy feeding baibes every 6 hours. waking up at midnight and at 6 am is not fun. but i love the babies and they get so happy when you bring them their milk, it makes it all worth it.

[lostwithin]

I think bats are amazing creatures when I saw the title you got my hopes up thinking somebody had some Cb Bread species in Canada, I've always wanted too pick up a Cb animal, I have seen Egyptian Fruit bats available occasionally in the states but never in Canada.

Still sounds like a great job, although You should mention that bats flying around don't carry Rabies, I could see why a shelter worker would need shots since your dealing with animals not in complete health, But i always like too mention that fact that bats are not good carriers of rabies, a bat infected with rabies quickly loses its ability too fly , and soon dies. Just a little fact too help kill bad press bats receive for no reason.

Devon

[arkuden]

also something i did not know...man im learning a lot today. I dont have anything against bats, its more the fact that im not educated enough about them to truly appreciate them. It took a while for snakes but ive come around to it and now love my snake. The key for me has been to keep an open an honest mind about new things.


"an ignorant mind is an uneducated mind"

[Artemis]

You guys are SO BAD!!! Im trying to figure out the BATS acronym now. I think ive pretty much got it.... Men.

Anyways, I like bats a lot. They always used to come down our chimney when I was a kid and my parents would chase them with nets and hairspray and crap. They were convinced every one was rabid, too. We have a lot of them in the VA mountains, and I see them quite frequently since I work the graveyard shifts. On cold nights, they will sometimes cling to the sides of the stone buildings under lights, either to eat bugs or stay warm, or both, im not entirely sure.

When you say re-habber, what exactly are they being rescued from is my question.

Best of luck-

Artemis

[Zoe]

-feels silly about not getting the BATS thing-

anyhoo, I love bats. I would love a fruit bat as a pet, but can't find any in Canada. They often get stuck in our fireplace in the summer, and they are very funny when we bring them outside, they scold and scold you until you walk away and they can't see you anymore.

[ColleenT]

Artemis- what am i rescuing them from? try HUMANS for number one. people will take a brrom and smack one, breaking their wings, etc.. i CAN set a wing bone and sometimes they will be able to fly normal afterwards. Cats are another reason i get them, i also get a bunch of orphans.

Devon- i think you need to re-read what you posted. Bats that fly don't have rabies? where did you hear that? Rabid bats can fly for a while. i agree that bats get a bad rap, but it is b/c a rabid bat on the ground is picked up by a well-meaning human and gets bit, then we have MASS Stupidity with the the health department and scaring the public to death. i would rather people know the truth and NOT touch it with their bare hands, but scoop it gently into a container until they can get it to me. Most Bats do not have rabies, but those are the bats that you and i will never see. it is the sick and orphaned bats that i get. and i have dealt with at least one Rabid bat. i'm not a shelter worker, i am a rehabber. i work with only wildlife, just bats. i love bats, but people need to know that Rabies is dangerous. but they also need to know that Bats don't go looking for trouble, if they are rabid they usually hide.

Also not sure what you mean by CB. if you think there are breeders and that you can have bats as pets, that is untrue. it is illegal to OWN wildlife. you need a special licence to get fruit bats, but you won't be allowed to own a native species. the only way i was able to be around them is to volunteer for a wildlife rehabber for a year and apply for a licence. if that is something you would be interested in doing that would be great b/c we can always use more bat rehabbers.

for more info on myths go to http://www.batworld.org

[snakehunter]

HEre at vIRGINIA tECH WE GET THEM IN THE HALLS AND TUNNELS ALL THE TIME

[Artemis]

Amen to that snakehunter :) and Colleen, I more meant how they end up with you, like who brings them to you and such, and how did you get into doing this, rather than what plagues them :)

Sorry for the confusion.

Artemis

[ColleenT]

actually, i get them from people who find them and go on the internet, and they don't know who else to call, or the wildlife rehabber i work with gets them from people who find them and since i'm the bat department, she refers them to me. it has made me feel good to know that more and more people like bats and don't want to harm them.