Aussie Animal Magic

Elliott arrived in July 2003 weighing only 380 grams.  He was extremely thin and fragile looking and I really didn't hold out a great deal of hope that he would survive.  However it is amazing what a little bit of TLC will do and two months later he was thriving and  weighed 982 grams.  He was a delightful kangaroo, very gentle and extremely curious about the world and liked to pop his head out of his pouch during the day.

Elliott continued to progress quite well and he weighed approximately    2 kilos by the end of October and had quite a bit of fur.  At this time he started coming out of his pouch frequently during the day for short hops.  Although he was quite unsteady on his feet at first he soon mastered the art of hopping in a straight line.

Elliott continued to progress really well and in mid December he moved outside into the garden full time and was quite happy hopping around and sleeping in his hanging pouch on the back patio.  He learnt to eat grass and lap his milk from a bowl and to pull towels off the washing line. 

We had a lot of hot weather over December and January but it didn't seem to worry him at all.  In mid February I noticed one day that he was a bit lethargic.  I was immediately wary and took him straight to the vet.  Unfortunately the news was not hopeful - he had a severe chest infection.  The vet prescribed massive doses of antibiotics but we were unlucky enough to lose him the same night.  He had been prone to chest infections since we got him and I had pulled him through two earlier incidents during his time with us. 

I am happy to say we were lucky to have him in our family for eight months and he grew from a tiny joey into a fully furred, seven kilo, independent, juvenile kangaroo.  I feel that I had done my job to the best of my ability and that he had had a good life even although it was cut short.  Both Sheridan and I took turns to nurse him on our laps during his last hours and we are grateful for that time.