RUSTICBLUE
KANGAROO ISLAND

ORPHANS

At Rustic Blue we care for Kangaroo and Possum Joeys that have lost their mothers in road accidents. Often the joey is still inside the dead mums pouch. If the death is recent we check the pouches, wrap the baby in a jumper and then drag the mum off of the road. Joeys attach themselves to you very quickly. They must be given a special joey milk supplement from the Vets if they are to survive. Every 2 hours they must get their milk, especially when small. We do as the mum would do and care for them intensely until they are 11 months old which is when they no longer need to be in a pouch. After this time however they still need milk twice a day and are not ready to look after themselves until they are 16 months of age. It costs around $100 a week to care for an orphan.

MISTY - In February 2011 Misty became pregnant, her little baby is growing slowly and we should have photos of the joey with its head out of the pouch in September......very exciting times.

GIZZY - For those who know Gizmo the possum, she is still here running around after dark, making plenty of noise as possums do. She currently has a baby and I am able to pat both Gizzy and her baby each evening.

MISTY'S JOEY - Misty's baby is now six months old and showing a great interest in life outside the pouch. The joey will emerge out of the pouch in another 3 months, then we should know whether its a male or female and can name it. This photo was taken early September, 2011.

November 2011 update - Mistys little joey is a baby boy, we have named him "Champ" and he is only just starting to leave her pouch. When we get some photos will get them on the site for you all to have a look.