Long story short:
We had a little surprise miracle hatchling that was also apparently a surprise to the possum that tried to eat his egg.
All signs point to him having been hatched slightly prematurely, but i can't find a shred of anything online about any similar incident. I'm guessing only a day or 2. He had no desire to eat or drink, i dropper fed him water the first couple days, and he didn't eat until day 4. His eyes weren't open until day 2, but he was able to walk regardless.
When we found him, he was still wet from his egg and was dragging himself to my back patio a solid 25 feet from the nest and a an acharacteristically detached mother who in her previous clutch of 8 was neurotic level from laying through adoption of said babies. The bulk of his left cheek was torn away and he had bald spots and a few other minor injuries.
As he grows he's having other issues. Now one month old, we've gone through severe separation anxiety (from me), vomiting, sneezing, watery snot, a fear of most everything, hatred of water... but most concerning is 1) his apparent leg issues: he kicks them like crazy when sleepy and it wakes him up & he sleeps in the craziest positions having them outstretched most of the time and 2) his left wing had an odd spur like a hard pimple and now that wing is noticeably smaller than the other when wings streched open, and the feathers growing into the wing tips seem to point up and out. I'm not sure if these are injuries or birth defects and I'm so scared to hurt him but if possible would like to alleviate some of the problems for him while he's still growing if at all possible.
Thanks in advance for any and all concern, advice, or other.
We had a little surprise miracle hatchling that was also apparently a surprise to the possum that tried to eat his egg.
All signs point to him having been hatched slightly prematurely, but i can't find a shred of anything online about any similar incident. I'm guessing only a day or 2. He had no desire to eat or drink, i dropper fed him water the first couple days, and he didn't eat until day 4. His eyes weren't open until day 2, but he was able to walk regardless.
When we found him, he was still wet from his egg and was dragging himself to my back patio a solid 25 feet from the nest and a an acharacteristically detached mother who in her previous clutch of 8 was neurotic level from laying through adoption of said babies. The bulk of his left cheek was torn away and he had bald spots and a few other minor injuries.
As he grows he's having other issues. Now one month old, we've gone through severe separation anxiety (from me), vomiting, sneezing, watery snot, a fear of most everything, hatred of water... but most concerning is 1) his apparent leg issues: he kicks them like crazy when sleepy and it wakes him up & he sleeps in the craziest positions having them outstretched most of the time and 2) his left wing had an odd spur like a hard pimple and now that wing is noticeably smaller than the other when wings streched open, and the feathers growing into the wing tips seem to point up and out. I'm not sure if these are injuries or birth defects and I'm so scared to hurt him but if possible would like to alleviate some of the problems for him while he's still growing if at all possible.
Thanks in advance for any and all concern, advice, or other.
