What is a house bat? This is a typical representative of the order Chiroptera. You can recognize it among other individuals by several distinctive features:

• Large, black eyes, which at first glance may seem quite cute.
• Small size.
• Fast and sudden movements while moving.
• Soft fur, the shade of which on the tummy is usually somewhat lighter than in other places.
• Very long limbs, with bones external sign look like a hook.

Another feature is the habitat in which the mouse is accustomed to living. They feel most comfortable in small, dark places. Usually these are caves.

What is a bat

Bats belong to mammals, the order Chiroptera. They are distinguished from the rest by flexible membranous wings. The skin membranes stretch between the long toes of the front paws, extend along them and the sides of the body to the hind paws. After flight, the wings fold.

The rounded head and short body are covered with short, thick fur, its color ranging from reddish-brown to dark gray.

The front and hind legs have sharp claws, with which the animal clings to branches, stone ledges, and twigs. On the ground it can only crawl awkwardly.

The ears are large, wide, vital for orientation in the air. Bats are nocturnal animals. When flying out to hunt, they emit sounds at high frequencies, which are reflected from objects and picked up by the ears. Thanks to this skill - echolocation - the distance to obstacles is assessed and prey is found.

These animals have a sensitive sense of smell. Vision is much less developed and is practically not used. The eyes do not tolerate bright light well.

Only fruit bats have good eyesight and do not use echolocation in flight.

Most species of bats feed on insects. IN tropical forests There are lovers of fruits, fish, flowers, blood.

Contrary to erroneous opinion, vampire mice do not attack people, they feed on the blood of birds and animals, drinking about 1 tablespoon at a time.

Bats choose secluded dark places where they sleep during the day after hunting at night. During sleep, they hang upside down, hooked with their hind legs. The cold season is spent in a state of hibernation.

These animals live in large flocks, but do not form families. Basically, they live in the wild for about 5 years.

A bat at home creates a lot of inconvenience for the owner. Her rhythm of life is the opposite of human. During the day, the animal hangs motionless in the corner of the cage and sleeps, but at night it flies, creating noise, relieving itself anywhere. Organize proper nutrition and care is a very troublesome matter.

Before settling at home bat, you should make sure that it is not contagious.

These animals are carriers of rabies and some dangerous viruses. If you are bitten, you should consult a doctor.

Create all the necessary conditions for full life This animal is very difficult. You need to familiarize yourself with special literature before starting one. Skillful care can most often be organized only by biologists.

Nowadays you can find many unusual pets. Basically, their acquisition is carried out under the influence of fashion, books, films, etc. But not all animals easily adapt to life in apartments.

Feeding

A bat at home requires a very complex and extensive set of care measures. Only an experienced chiropterologist can provide the animals with the necessary conditions. In order for an exotic pet not to feel discomfort in captivity, the owner will have to overcome a lot of difficulties in order to provide his ward with adequate nutrition.

Since in captivity the main diet of fruit bats consists of mealworms, beetles, and larvae, the main difficulty will come down to purchasing or growing live food yourself.

Aviary

Since representatives of this family often fly, they need a lot of space in the enclosure. In addition, the designated area must be kept clean at all times; for this purpose, it is recommended to cover the floor with newspapers (for prompt cleaning).

Domestic bats, like their relatives in nature, constantly change their body temperature, which depends on the physical activity of the animal. During flight, sleep or awakening, the temperature regime is always different. In this regard, in the room in which bats are kept, the air temperature must constantly change. For example, the temperature expected for the digestive process is in no way suitable for sleep, and so on.

If you ignore the correct temperature regime, processes may develop that will significantly shorten the life of nocturnal animals. To solve this problem, the enclosure is divided into compartments, each of which is maintained at a different temperature; The “rooms” are connected to each other.

At similar organization the mouse will choose the enclosure that is comfortable for it this moment conditions.

Night guest

Not everyone decides to keep a bat, however, it happens that the animals themselves accidentally end up in a house, apartment, or outbuildings. In these cases, it is necessary to carefully, without injuring the animal, catch it and release it into the wild. However, how to catch a bat at home? One of the common methods of catching these bats is the method in which spider nets are placed, but in this case a person cannot predict the flight route of the animal. In addition, with such fishing there is a high probability of damage to the animal.

If a mouse flies into the house, then you can use a white sheet to catch it: the animal has a special love for this color, and there is a high probability that it will sit there.

Keeping an exotic pet, such as a bat, at home is a troublesome task; they need to create special conditions. In addition, you should find out in advance what to feed the bat. These animals are mostly predators; fruit-eating individuals live only in the tropics. Think very carefully about whether you can provide proper care for such a complex pet.

What to feed a bat at home?

What to feed a bat at home

Chiropterans live in warm areas. It is important for them that the daytime temperature be high summer, and the winter is mild and short.

The main food in the natural environment is:

• beetles;
• larvae;
• worms;
• cockroaches;
• other small insects.

Some large individuals are capable of eating small rodents and birds.

If you find a freezing or weakened bat in winter, then saving the animal will certainly be a good deed. However, remember that these are the mammals that carry rabies. First of all, show the animal to the veterinarian.

At home, place the bat in a cage; this is necessary to avoid panic and injury to the animal. In the first days, feed them milk mixed with yolk. Then, if you decide to keep your exotic pet, you will have to provide it with live natural food.

Suitable food in captivity:

• mealworms;
• cockroaches;
• adult beetles and their larvae;
• maggots;
• zoophobas (zoophobus);
• small pieces of lean cooked meat.

If you don’t want to grow live food yourself, then you can easily find it in fishing stores. In addition, you can give baby meat puree and high-quality cat food.

Be sure to keep several drinking bowls with clean water. This is important not only for drinking, but also for creating a sufficient level of humidity.

How to feed your pet bat

In order for your pet bat to live long enough, you need to follow a certain feeding regimen and rules. Wild animals that find themselves in conditions of abundant food often begin to overeat. This is a survival mechanism wildlife, but it can endanger the life and health of the pet.

Adhere to the following feeding rules.

1. Give food late in the evening. Bats are nocturnal hunters. The optimal feeding time is 11 pm.
2. For one feeding, a strictly defined amount of food is given. This is approximately 10-15 worms and 3-4 cockroaches. You can give some cat food or baby puree.
3. After feeding, the room temperature should be increased to at least 30°C. Chiropterans need this for digestion, otherwise the food in the stomach is not digested and eventually the mouse dies from poisoning.

Be especially careful when feeding wild animals. They can be aggressive and infect humans with dangerous diseases through their bite.

The bat is surprisingly loyal and affectionate a pet. However, keeping and feeding such a pet is very troublesome. Soberly assess your capabilities before getting an exotic.

Over the past ten years, the taste for owning exotic animals has increased. People keep crickets, snakes, spiders, crocodiles, cockroaches, what about bats? Maybe someone will be surprised, but they are also turned on, although they are wild. It is very difficult to imagine how a bat can live in such a small and unusual space for its species.

More about bats

Bats are chiropteran creatures that live for about thirty years. If kept properly, mice at home live less than in the wild. The maximum size of the animal is approximately human hand hands, weight 4-10 grams. The body is covered with short, thick and soft hair, the hind legs, sides, and front legs are connected by an elastic membrane that forms the wing. The head shape is like that of a regular mouse. Her eyes are small and have no special significance. Bats are almost completely blind. The ears play a leading role, being echolocators that direct the mouse to where it needs to go, for example, to prey. Mice fly at a speed of about 50 km/h.

Bat food

In the wild, small bats feed on insects, large bats on frogs, lizards, and small birds. There are species that drink the blood of animals and birds, and others that feed on fruits, nuts, pollen, and various herbs.

At home, the bat must be fed with worms, beetles, a milk mixture of chicken yolks, milk, brewer's yeast, wheat bran, honey, rosehip syrup and vitamin E. The milk mixture is fed from a pipette. Bats are one of the most voracious animals; they can eat up to 60% of their body weight in one meal. Overeating negatively affects the animal; in the worst case, it can die from indigestion. Therefore, carefully monitor your pet’s diet.

Bats have a main feature - unstable body temperature. To create comfortable conditions for your pet, make an enclosure with two “rooms”, with different temperature conditions. For example, in order for an animal to digest food well, it needs a temperature of 30 degrees Celsius.

The enclosure must be equipped with special openings so that the mouse can move more. A drinking bowl is also required.