How to Raise a Brown Bat

Raise an orphaned brown bat so it can be released back into the wild.

The term brown bat is a blanket term that can be used to describe any bat within the little brown bat (Myotis) or big brown bat (Eptesicus) families. Brown bats can be found all over North America, but little brown bats are rare in Florida and Texas. If you find an orphaned brown bat, it is possible to raise it yourself, with a lot of work, but if you're unsure about the responsibility, you could also call a local animal sanctuary or humane society.

Things You'll Need

• Aquarium or vivarium
• Thermometer
• Towels
• Duct tape
• Heat mat
• Newspaper
• Paper towels
• Heavy ceramic dish
• Goat's milk
• Paintbrush, size 0
• Meal worms
• Small plastic lid from a camera film canister or a plastic milk bottle
• Cotton wool
• Facial tissues

Instructions

1. Prepare the enclosure for your brown bat. Place a heat mat inside, covering half of the bottom of the enclosure, and cover the other half with newspaper. Use the heat mat to regulate the temperature of the tank to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Fill a heavy ceramic dish, such as a ceramic hamster or gerbil food dish, with very wet paper towels; this will provide water for the bat. Tape bits of toweling to the roof of the enclosure (the underside of the lid) for the bat to hang from. You will need to make sure holes are in the lid for ventilation.

2. Determine the age of your bat. Consult your vet, book or the Internet if you need help with this.

3. Feed the bat four times per day. Brown bats of under three weeks need to be fed goat's milk. Dip the paintbrush into the goat's milk so that the bat can lap the drops of milk from the end of the brush. After two days of hand feeding, also place a small amount of milk the the bottom of a small plastic lid, just enough to cover the bottom of the lid. Change the milk every two hours. Once your bat starts drinking from here regularly, you can cease hand feeding. If the bat is over three weeks, or once it reaches this age, start feeding chopped meal worms in the small plastic lid, four times a day.

4. Toilet train after every meal when it is under one week old. To do this you will need to moisten a small amount of cotton wool and stroke the genital area with it extremely lightly in a downward motion. You should barely touch the area at all. This will encourage the baby bat to urinate and defecate.

5. Wash the brown bat when it gets dirty or sticky. Fill a container with water which is around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and gently lower the bat head first into the water. Quickly rub the bat's fur with a finger, and remove the water; it should be in the water for no more than five seconds. Gently dry the bat with some facial tissues.

Tips & Warnings

• When raising a brown bat, it should be with the intention of returning it to the wild. Talk to an expert about how you can accomplish this.

• Like any mammal, it is possible for a brown bat to contract rabies, although it is not common. Bats also rarely bite, however it is still advisable to make sure you have had your rabies vaccination before you handle any bats.

References

• British Wildlife Helpline: Feeding Bats
• Northern Virginia Ecology: Big Brown Bat
• State University of New York: Little Brown Bat

Resources

• North American Society for Bat Research