Jono aka Wesley
The smallest wombat of 'em all

Wesley came into care on September 29, 2008. He weighed in at just 132 grams. Found by one of our rescuers on her way to pick up her children from school, Wesley had been left in his dead mothers pouch for many hours and was cold to touch.

Our rescuer raced him home and began to gently warm him up and then contacted me for help. When I arrived at her house an hour later, I found this tiny bundle hanging on to life. I immediately placed him inside a warmed pouch and made the rushed trip home. He was still attached to the teat and our rescuer had done the right thing and cut it off so that she didn't damage his mouth trying to remove it. Joeys will eventually let go of the teat, but it must be pinned to the outer of the artificial pouch so they don't swallow it.

When I got him home I realised he still wasn't warming up as well as I would have liked. The only measure and the best way to warm up a very cold joey slowly is to put them into your bra (if they will fit in there). As Wes was so tiny it wasn't a problem fitting him in and he gradually warmed up over an hour or two.

The first 48 hours were the critical ones for Wes, but he continued to feed well every four hours. After the first week in care I relaxed a little more, it looked like he was going to survive.

Although I hadn't raised a wombat joey this small before, I had spoken with other carers who had successfully raised joeys from this size and Wes was strong and seemed to have a determination to make it so I continued. For the first three weeks in care, Wes was tucked into a sports bra down my top. I went to work with him there, I slept with him there and I did everything as normal and most people had no idea he was there, unless of course he decided to wriggle!

After 3 weeks, Wes had gained alot of weight - over 100 grams and it was time for him to go into a heated bag. Kept at a constant 31 degrees, he continued to thrive. By the time he weighed 360 grams he was starting to hold his own body temperature and gradually I was able to remove the artificial heat. He also began to open his eyes.

At around 600 grams Wes was starting to get some fuzz. Caring for Wes was a joy, he had been easy to feed, although the middle of the night feeds were difficult, especially when I had to go to work the next day, but all said he was one of the easiest babies I've had the pleasure of raising.

At around 2kg it was time to change the formula that I had been using for Wes. He needed to go on a richer milk that would cater to his needs as he grew. An hour or so after his first feed on the new formula I knew something was wrong. He puffed up and turned purple and was scratching like crazy. He was reacting to the milk. After a mercy dash to our vets on a Sunday he received anti histamines and a steroid shot. He settled quickly after and we reverted to his old formula.

A few days later I decided to try again, but this time introduce the new formula slowly. Only 10% of the new milk to 90% of the old. He reacted again, but this time not so violently. At that point we realised that he wouldn't be able to change, but even on his old milk he had a mild itchy rash, so was put on anti histamines for another four weeks.

I consulted with various carers and our wildlife vet Dr Howard Ralph and it was decided he should stay on his old formula but we added some ingredients to boost the milk. Wes continued to thrive.

When Wes was 3.5kg we finally got a buddy in for him. Her name was Willow and it took them around six weeks to get used to each other and were finally sleeping together. Prior to that Wes had a stuffed toy cat that he used to play with, and of course my ankles!

Wes and Willow continued to grow and do well and at 6kg were introduced outside fulltime in their new burrow. They continued to receive bottles of milk and supplement food until they both weaned themselves of bottles at around 12kg in weight.

At around 15kg in size, they both started to venture out of their burrow at night around our yard and found a new shed that they decided to call home.

In March this year, Willow decided to move out and left Wesley behind. He still uses his old burrow and wanders the property at night. We often see him just on dusk before he goes out for the night. At almost two years of age, he may not be around for much longer. He is no longer very friendly, which is what we like to see. Considering he was raised from such a young age, his instincts have kicked in and he's become a wombat.

Carola Vamvakaris
April 2010