Ally
(Female Agile Wallaby)
 On the 2nd of August
2007, we
received a call from Cairns Tropical Zoo
asking us to pick up two orphans that
needed some care. One of them was
little Ally, a beautiful little Agile wallaby.
Weighing in at just on
500gms, she was starting to get her fur.
Ally was a strong little girl and spent
much time wiggling out of her pouch
liner! Once she had achieved this, she
would sit and cry until someone put her
back in again. Once this has been
done, she would repeat the process all
over again!
Ally's progress as far as Agile
wallabies go was very slow. For the first couple of weeks
in care, she did not eat well and it
took much perseverance to keep her
alive.
 After a trip to the vet with our
concerns, we discovered that she was
actually lactose intolerant and was not
responding to the formula. She was
changed to a
soy based formula which was supplemented
with vitamins. After the change she
responded well and started to gain
weight.
After 3 months of care, Ally
took a turn for the worst. She
mysteriously lost mobility and became
almost paralysed. Despite two weeks of
intensive care, veterinary treatment,
anti-biotics and vitamins, there was no
sign of improvement.
On the 29th of November 2007, Ally's
condition deteriorated significantly and
I made the difficult decision to
euthanize her. Although I have been
through many losses before, it doesn't
make it any easier. In Ally's case, I
could not let her suffer any longer.
An autopsy conducted by a vet
determined that Ally had renal failure.
As to the cause - that's still a
mystery? |
