By Lynleigh Greig | Volunteer
A Curly Tail
Some patients love to challenge our volunteer vets…! Thankfully, Curly’s cuteness made up for the fact that his problem was a ‘curly’ one
His story started out like so many other wallaby joeys. Enjoying life in his mother’s pouch, drinking milk, popping his head out for a look at his wonderful new world. But tragedy struck when a vehicle hit his Mum and he was instantly orphaned. A rescuer was on the scene soon afterwards to extract the traumatised little man from his Mum’s pouch. As she was checking him over, she noticed that his tail was bent at 90° which was definitely going to be a big problem for a small wallaby - particularly a male wallaby - later down the track.
Little Curly was taken to Mona Vale Veterinary Hospital for radiographs and examined. It appeared that the tail deformity was a result of a congenital birth defect, rather than trauma-induced! But it still needed to be corrected.
Little Curly was referred to Sydney Wildlife's Mobile Care Unit and he has become quite the regular! Dr Reiner and Dr Bryn undertook the procedure to realign his tail so that he would be able to use it as nature intended.
The procedure was tricky as the alignment needed to be achieved without affecting nerves, ligaments and tendons. The tail was splinted to ensure that it stays in alignment as he grows.
Male wallabies lean back on their tails during combat to free up their back legs for kicking their opponent. Their tails also serve as a way to balance them out during vigorous hopping.
Little Curly came back every week with his amazing carer, Justine, for a re-check and he has been getting very adept at doing high-speed manoeuvres with a bandaged tail! After Dr Bryn removed the splint and bandages altogether he is adjusting to life without his “safety crutch”.
Now in our Rehabilitation Facility he hoping confidently, growing up to be a big, strong wallaby with a fully-functional tail.
He will stay in the facilty until he is ready for release.
We treat and rehabilitate native wildlife free of charge. If you would like to help us, please visit www.sydneywildlife.org.au
By Joan Reid | Volunteer Sydney Wildlife Rescue
By Joan Reid | Volunteer Sydney Wildlife Rescue
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