Eddie

(Male - Agile Wallaby)

This is Eddie. He is a male Agile wallaby weighing in at 920 grams.

Eddie arrived from the Marlin Coast vet on the 9th of October 2007. He weighed 920gms and was in good health. He adapted well in his first week and enjoyed the company of a female wallaby, Lulu immensely!

He would often hop out of his pouch and jump right in to share Lulu's. She didn't seem to mind at all!

It is good to have a couple of joeys of similar ages. They can grow up together and be released at the same time. We have found that this helps reduce possible stress caused by being alone.

After only two weeks in care, Eddie weighed 1.5kg! Like Lulu he enjoyed his daily excursions to the big wallaby pen and loved doing laps at full speed! Usually after 3 or 4 he would rest for a while before doing it all over again. When he had enough, he'd hop back into his pouch.

Eddie grew very fast and after only one month in care, he weighed 1.75kg and would spend more time outside of his pouch. He would graze regularly with the larger wallabies, but still liked the security of his pouch if he got a fright! He was an amazing "Hopper" and powered around the pen for 5-6 laps at full speed. He would clear obstacles over 30cm in height.

Eddie was amazing - he projected a tough exterior as a big grown up wallaby, but he was still a joey inside! As he was developing social skills with the bigger wallabies in care, he would get the odd smack now and again! This didn't seem to deter him though and in time everything worked out.

He now has two playmates - Lulu and Ollie, both are a little smaller than him, but they make very good company.

At 3.5kg in weight, Eddie was not far off being ready to release. He had the first in a series of tetanus shots in preparation for his release. These shots are important because hand reared joeys need help to build up their immune system. Bottle feeding supplies them with the nutrients they need, but not the anti-bodies that they would normally get from their mother.

As he grew older Eddie would spend most of his day grazing or lazing around his enclosure. His favourite spot was to lie between rocks in the garden in the early morning sun. Maybe he thought that he was a "rock" wallaby and not an Agile?

After almost eight months of care, Eddie was released! He had grown into a strong young buck with "attitude"! He was released with three other wallabies - Lulu, Ollie & Pietro. He barely even said Good-bye, just checked out his new home and started eating!