Bat as a pet: maintenance and care

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Not everyone keeps familiar pets at home: dogs, cats, ornamental birds, hamsters. Lovers of unusual pets inevitably have to become real experts in their care, otherwise the animal will fall ill and die. But many are not afraid of new knowledge, and the homes of such enthusiasts are filled with creatures that you would not expect to see outside of nature. For example, a house bat.

• 2 Is it possible to keep a bat at home?
• 3 What do bats eat at home: drawing up a diet and diet
• 4 Other nuances of content

  4.1 Video: how a mouse can behave in an apartment

Main characteristics

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, and the bones look like a hook in appearance.

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 kind of animal is that

Bats are a suborder of bats. The name is due to the anatomical structure: from the toes of the front paws through the sides to the hind limbs, an elastic membrane runs, connecting them (“hands” literally turn into wings). In nature, they prefer to settle in caves and rock crevices. In villages and cities they can be found in secluded dark places: in attics and abandoned buildings. They are characterized by a nocturnal lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, they are not blind at all - they see (their vision is black and white), but they perfectly navigate in the dark thanks to their remarkably developed hearing.

On average, bats are small in size (comparable to small birds - tits, sparrows). At the same time, they are very nimble, and in flight they can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. The body and head are covered with short fur that is soft to the touch, the muzzle, depending on the species, can be more or less similar to the muzzle of an ordinary mouse, but the ears of flyers are larger.

In the wild, these mice live for about 30 years. They will live a long time in captivity if the right conditions are provided.

About the content

Many people wonder whether it is possible to keep a bat at home? Zoologists answer this question unequivocally – not recommended! It is worth noting that this is a rather exotic individual that is not adapted to domestic conditions. If, after all, a person decides to have a furry pet at home, then it is necessary to create appropriate conditions for it. A pet bat can only be kept in a spacious enclosure, in which it can fully move and hide from prying eyes.

1. It is recommended to lay clean paper on the floor and change it promptly.
2. You should definitely hang a thermometer near your habitat. This individual can exist under various conditions. For example, during meals the temperature should reach up to 30 degrees - this temperature is the most optimal for complete digestion. It should be a little cooler before bed.
3. The ends of the wire near the mesh must be carefully secured to avoid sharp corners that could cause injury to your pet.
4. Another important indicator is humid air. It is recommended to install a special device – a humidifier – near the mouse’s house.

Pay special attention to the issue of keeping a domestic bat: only in conditions as close as possible to natural conditions will it feel comfortable, you will avoid its whims and various kinds of diseases.

Means for getting rid of flying pests

There are many methods that can help you get rid of bats in your attic. Each option has pros and cons.

When choosing products, they rely on their ease of use, the number of mice living in the attic or barn, and the price.

Sealing cracks with boards or foam

The most effective way to prevent bats from appearing in the attic again is to wall up the passage into the pests' home. Sealing the nest involves the use of boards, or blowing out cracks and exits using polyurethane foam. It is important to ensure that there is no family. After all, if the mice remaining inside the nest die, the process of rotting of the individuals will begin, and a fetid aroma will appear.

Smoking with a smoker

In order to get rid of bats under the roof of a house or country house, they use the smoking method. A smoker is well suited for this. It is recommended not to overdo it with the smoker. Mice are smoked for 2-3 days as they get used to the home. This type of control is questionable, since the smoke dissipates and the mice may return again.

Important! For people, this folk method is not harmless.

Hose with water

Another folk remedy is water. Animals don't like water, so giving them a cold shower with a hose will help get rid of the flying family. This procedure is carried out several times, because the mice may return.

Advice! Before using this method, you need to make sure that water does not flood the ceiling of the house.

Special sprays

Special stores sell aerosols and sprays that are used to remove mammals.

Important! Observations by researchers have shown that the use of some drugs is low in effectiveness.

Important! Sprays containing toxic elements should not be used in the fight against animals. They can harm people and pets.

Repellent sprays are carried out as follows. In the evening, when the bats leave their home, the product is sprayed. Upon returning, they will not like the smell, and the animals will fly away in search of a new suitable place.

In the fight against mammals, use the 876 4-Pack Bat Repellent spray. The drug contains peppermint. Sprays are recommended for spraying in animal nesting areas. After such treatment, the bats fly away from their home forever.

Ultrasonic repellers

The best devices for removing rodents from roofs and balconies are repellers equipped with ultrasound. A device that emits ultrasound waves repels critters from the attic and prevents them from returning.

Repellers are easy to use. All you need to do is follow a few steps:

The device is plugged in; the operating mode is selected; after 2 weeks the pests will disappear completely.

Important! The device operates on the principle of emitting sound waves. Their frequency: 35-60 kHz. The human ear canal does not detect such sounds, therefore the device is safe if the power does not exceed 130 dB. But this frequency has a negative effect on animals.

The advantages of ultrasonic repellers include:

silent operation; safety for people; economical; no auxiliary settings required.

Important information! The effectiveness of an ultrasonic device depends on the correct location and quantity, taking into account the power and radius of influence.

Mothball bags

You can get rid of a bat using mothballs. For this:

mothballs in an amount of 250 ml are laid out on a small piece of gauze; a bag is formed from the gauze; the bag must be tied to the habitat of the animals when they are absent. The aroma emitted by mothballs will prevent them from returning to the nest.

Attention! It is possible to repeat the manipulation more than once. You will need to check on the rodents from time to time, changing bags that have lost their aroma. But the result will be relief from pests.

Mothballs are harmful to the health of people and pets. You should be careful when using them.

Fans

An environmentally friendly and harmless option to drive out flying individuals is a fan. He is sent straight to the mouse family. The disadvantage of this product is the high consumption of electricity and noise from equipment that must operate for a long time.

Bright lighting

Bats do not perceive bright light. If you shine light in advance into areas that are potential overnight stays for animals, you can actually eliminate them. Chiropterans will not fly to illuminated places. The disadvantage of this method is high energy consumption and low percentage efficiency.

Loud music

It is believed that loud music will scare away the bat. You can use this option for scaring, but the effectiveness of this folk method has not been proven.

Calling special teams

If the above methods do not solve the problem with flying individuals, then the only quick option for removing mice is to call a special sanitary service. SES workers have modern drugs and equipment.

Nutritional Features

A very important question: what to feed a bat at home? The most important thing is that they need liquid in large quantities. Several drinking bowls, at least three, should be installed around the perimeter of the enclosure. It is recommended to change the water in them daily. Bats get their own food: worms, beetles, caterpillars, pupae, etc. Naturally, she will not be able to do this at home, so the owner himself will have to hunt for insects. Some pet stores sell special ready-made mixtures. Zoologists strongly recommend not to overfeed this individual. This is due to the fact that overeating will negatively affect the digestive system, an upset stomach will provoke the appearance of excess weight. You should not take this issue lightly; remember that at home, an animal can die from any illness. Note that the bat will go into a long hibernation each winter, so there is no need to feed it until about three days before this period.

Is it possible to keep a bat at home?

The bat belongs to the order Chiroptera, and in fact it is not as scary as they say.
It got its name due to the similarity of the head to an ordinary mouse: a flattened muzzle, large nostrils and elongated ears. The bat's body is covered with short fur, which can be brown, black or white. Zoologists do not approve of keeping these animals indoors, as they need space and privacy. But if you are the owner of a large house with a garden plot, then you can make an aviary, equipped according to all the rules.

Behavior

A person who decides to become the owner of such an animal will undoubtedly be surprised by its behavior. The mouse will sleep almost all day, choosing a secluded place for this; it is unlikely that the livestock breeder will be able to see it. In the evening, the animal, on the contrary, will behave excessively active and will constantly move around the enclosure. Naturally, installing an aviary in the bedroom is rather unwise.

This is not at all an animal that can be picked up, stroked and caressed - you can only watch it.

The mouse sleeps interestingly - upside down, these are the most comfortable conditions for it, so it is worth providing all the conditions for its proper rest.

In the summer, she will begin to catch mosquitoes - this is the most interesting entertainment for her.

If you wish, you can feed the animal with homemade food: meat, milk or grain, but do not overdo it.

Is it possible to tame?

Dreaming of having a bat at home, some imagine that it will wait for their return in the evenings, cuddle up, and with it on your shoulder you can walk through city parks. This opinion is wrong. These animals do not get used to humans, they do not get bored, but they need communication.

The animal can take food from your hands, allow itself to be stroked, and even react positively to this. But in order to tame him, he must get into the house when he is very tiny. The best option would be to buy from a nursery. An adult bat caught in the wild will have difficulty adjusting to the constant presence of humans nearby.

Young

Another obstacle to full communication with such a pet is its nocturnal lifestyle. Only closer to midnight does the animal begin to show attention to the outside world and is ready for games and affection.

Where can I get it?

Many people see an animal with incredibly cute eyes in the picture and wonder where they can get the same animal. The easiest way is to go out into the forest and catch it. In some settlements, mice themselves fly into the house, and its owner carefully receives the guest and allows him to live there. Another option is to buy it from an exotic pet store.

Room treatment

Hooray! Not only have you learned how to get bats out of your roof, but you've successfully done it! With a high probability, the entire room where the bats lived is filled with a bunch of excrement and now it is necessary to properly clean and treat the room.

Here are some important rules.

If you have tried everything, but the bats remain under the roof of the house, or in other secluded places, there is another option.

Call the professionals. They already have experience, specialized equipment and means with which they will carry out partial and complete cleaning of the desired location. The only surprise that may await you in this case is that you may need to completely or partially dismantle the place where bats live - the roof, the eaves, part of the wall under the cladding, etc.

Adaptation conditions

It is worth keeping in mind that the bat is very freedom-loving. Living at home is very stressful for her. In order to avoid an unfavorable outcome, it is first worth considering the adaptation period for this living creature. First of all, you need to install an enclosure, the larger it is, the better. It is recommended to place it in a separate room for the first few days and limit the pet from constant observers. Think carefully about what to feed your pet bat. It is best to add live insects to it so that the mouse can hunt them itself and not lose its hunting skills.

As mentioned earlier, zoologists categorically do not recommend having such an individual in your home. This is due to several reasons:

• They are not used to living in a confined space; they need complete freedom of movement.
• Its activity is noticeably different from that of humans; naturally, it will cause discomfort at night.
• They make a lot of dirt, since representatives of this class are used to relieving themselves during the flight.

The domestic bat is a very capricious animal. If the created conditions seem unfavorable to her, she will fall into deep depression, which will lead to the inevitable death of the animal.

Is it possible to avert trouble?

To protect yourself and the residents of your apartment (house), after an impudent visitor, you need to wash all household items with antiseptic solutions as soon as possible. Throw away any food she may have touched. To neutralize the negative consequences, take holy water and gradually sprinkle it on every corner of the house. When performing a simple ritual, they additionally read “Our Father.” If there is no holy water, they light a church candle and walk around the entire house - the hall, bedrooms, corridor, in general, all corners, even those where the guest did not fly.

Esotericists assure that the animal must be driven away, injuring its body, and even more so killing it is strictly prohibited. Panicking people frighten God's already frightened creation even more, so in such meetings you need to behave correctly.

Important! By killing a bat, a person shortens his life by exactly half, and his loved ones lose protection from evil spirits.

Night guest

A dark, spacious apartment in a high-rise building in the north of Moscow. Nearby are the Northern River Station and the black expanse of the Khimki Reservoir. It's only nine in the evening, but for October it's already night. There are two of us at home - me and my cat Girard.

- Bzhzhzh, boom. Bzhzhzh, boom. Buzzing and the sound of hitting the wall in the kitchen. Apparently a bumblebee flew in, strange. The cat is right there, hunting. I quickly go to my room, where the light is on. The buzzing turned into flapping wings - phhh, phhhh, phhhh. Butterfly? In October?!

The butterfly is no longer there. A bird is flying around the room. From the light of the chandelier, winged shadows stretched half a meter across the ceiling. No, it's not a bird. The creature is larger than a sparrow, but smaller than a dove. Girard bares his fangs and meows. It taps its tail on the floor so hard that blows can be heard. Starts jumping after this creature. This is a bat...

Once - and she stuck to the door, wrapping her wings around it from above. Silence.

After the hunt. Girard studies fishing gear. Photo: portal Moscow 24/Ivan Nosatov

I find myself on the balcony with a notebook in my hand, the door is closed. Breathing is rapid. From afar, I took a video of the night visitor on my phone. “Batman flew into my house!” – emotions were overwhelming, and I was talking complete nonsense. Having calmed down a little, I threw a blanket over the mouse and released it into the Moscow night. She squealed loudly on her way to the balcony. She was scared...

Moscow courtyard in the Levoberezhny district, where the bat was released. Photo: portal Moscow 24/Ivan Nosatov