A young Swamp wallaby joey was quickly retrieved from the pouch of her dead mum lying on the side of the road at Evans Head, mum had been spotted by a truck driver and his action saved the joeys life. WIRES volunteer Anna has since had the joey named Connie in care.
Connie was examined by Vet Megan Kearney at Vitality Vetcare at Bangalow, x-rays showed that she had sustained a broken tail in the accident that had killed her mum.
Under aesthetic Connie’s tail was operated on at Vitality Vetcare, and she would need intensive care for at least 5 weeks in Anna’s care as she recovered.
On Thursday it will be 6 weeks since Connie was orphaned, she will have her final check-up at Vitality Vetcare and we expect her to get the all clear which will allow for the next stage of her road back to the wild.
Connie is now at a stage of development where she will require a large outside enclosure where she can use her long legs, run at full speed and develop muscle tone as she grows, her substitute pouch will always be within reach when she needs a rest, and she will continue to be given macropod milk formula, specially formulated to cater for the widely different nutritional needs of the developing marsupial joey.
Connie seen here after her bandages were removed. She is in a small recovery enclosure allowing her to hop freely but still be contained whilst her tail heals.