Little Alice is an orphan pouch Joey who came into care with her Mum Michelle on the 14-10-2015 weighing 310 grams she is approx 5 months old.

Her Mum presented as very sick sitting on the ground not eating or passing scat very little urine and also had a nasty eye infection.

Mum was treated with fluid to start in hopes she was strong enough to recover and also eye antibiotics.

Due to her nursing her baby we decided to just monitor rather than start injectable antibiotics which could interfere with the babies gut flora as advised by the vets.

Mum deteriorated and on day 3 we weighed Little Alice and found she had lost 40 grams and was dehydrated. Now a tiny 270 grams.

We checked Mums milk supply and found the milk had stopped and she was passing blood.

We then sadly had no choice but to remove Little Alice from her Mum and feed her.

Mum took no interest in Little Alice and wasn’t distressed or worried when her baby was taken. We knew Mum was very ill as normally Mums will stop at nothing to get to their babies.

Little Alice was treated for dehydration and setup with her new Mum who is a teddy bear. She sleeps in a sheepskin pouch which sits in the front of her Teddy in a basket.

Little Alice was fed 4 hourly on a special milk formula called Biolac 150

Mum was then treated with strong course of antibiotics and made a remarkable recovery but was no longer able to care for her baby.

Sadly despite making a full recovery from infection we discovered that Mum had gone blind and on day 24 we had her put to sleep.

Little Alice continues to thrive and now is a big healthy 800 grams. She is eating leaf and loves to climb around but spends most of the time sleeping. She has now been moved to a gunyah (Eucalyptus tree branch mounted on a stand) with her teddy and pouch. She likes to climb around and explore her new home. Alice is now on 4 milk feeds per day

Alice will be formula fed until approx 13 months, but in care for around 18 months then she will be soft released.

Meet Barry in care for 3 ½ months after he was attacked by a dog.

A local resident found Barry at the end of December 2014. Barry was high in a tree so we contacted our local tree climber to help rescue him. Barry put on a big fight and we were forced to abandon the rescue due to the stress on him. We watched his movements over the next day but he stayed high in the tree. Unfortunately at some point he moved and we lost sight of him for a few days until he was located again on the 4-1-15 by another resident sitting in her backyard.

Barry was finally rescued and treated with antibiotics for a month. The wound was completely maggot infested and was flushed and cleaned. The wound was then treated with Colloidal silver and silver cream with amazing results.

Barry lived inside until the wound had closed completely and hair had started to grow.He then was moved to the outdoor enclosure. He continued to gain weight and heal well and finally we were overjoyed to announce his release on the 22-3-2015.

Initially Barry wasn’t expected to live with tissue damage a major concern we were unsure whether the wound could ever successfully heal and grow fur again.

Barry left the shelter a healthy weight of 11.27kg; he put on nearly 2kg in care. Barry has been micro chipped and ear tagged for identification in the future.

Barry is an amazing success story.

Little Nell came into our care in August 2013 after she fell from the tree she was in with her Mum. Sadly her Mum took no interest in rescuing her tiny baby and after several unsuccessful hours of us trying to reunite them, we took Nell into care. Nell was a tiny little thing who could fit in the palm of your hand, weighing only 700 grams thus giving her the name ‘Little Nell’.

We started her on 5 bottles a day of special formula milk as well as Eucalyptus leaves. As she grew her bottles were reduced, eventually being weaned off milk at around 14 months.

She was a very energetic baby who loved to run around, playing chasey with her toys, hide and seek with us and swinging like a monkey between branches and on the furniture!!! She was a lot of fun and a delight to raise.

As Nell grew she was moved to the outside nursery trees during the day but still coming inside at night. Eventually she spent her first night out enjoying the great outdoors. Our resident male Frank, liked to give her a hard time, so we would put her in the outside pen at nights just to keep her safe. Nell was fully independent at 18 months and free to go from tree to tree.

Nell established her territory here at the Shelter and over at the neighbouring properties and still remains in the same territory today. She is now 6kg, still petite but just beautiful. We are very proud of our Little Nell.

Nell celebrated her 2^nd Birthday on the 18^th of January 2015.

If you would like to help us care for orphaned joeys like Nell, please click on our link and donate.  Every dollar donated goes directly to the Shelter and helps us care for sick, injured, orphaned and abandoned Koalas on Raymond Island.

Last month we were featured in Gippsland Lifestyle Magazine

For those who were haven’t read it yet the PDF can be downloaded below.

Or if you wish to purchase the magazine it is sold in these locations

I have just been released back to my home in Gravelly Point Road.

I spent 6 weeks in care after a tourist’s dog decided it wanted to play with me and hurt me quite badly.

Of course everyone knows that Koalas don’t like to play with dogs, in fact we really prefer to be well away from them and we often get very stressed when dogs are near us.

Anyway as a result of the attack, I received a permanent hole through my skull. I’m thankful that it has now covered over with skin. I also received a badly injured eye. All healed now.

I’m grateful to Grant Kuseff from Main Street Vet who treated me at the clinic. I had stitches to my head, wounds flushed and IV fluid administered. After being at the clinic for the day, my carer took me home to the comfort of the shelter. I certainly was well looked after and spoilt. Food was served twice daily, more than I could eat. It was just wonderful. My carer also had to administer antibiotics and pain relief for 14 days and a further 5 days of eye ointment.

I was a bit naughty at first and liked to fight with her but I soon calmed down and realised the needles weren’t too bad.

My carer Susie was great and over the hot days kept me cool with a fan, it certainly was 5 star accommodation and I don’t have private health cover either. Soon my carer told me; ”Tim it’s time to go home”, I was happy. But I thought to myself, “Gosh I’ve got to get my own food now and who’s going to scratch my back?”

I was released once the weather cooled down a little to give me a good chance to get back on my feet.

I’ve got yellow paint both sides of my lower back so people can recognise me in the trees.

If I’m unwell and you see me with a blood nose or sitting on the ground, please call my carer. I will most likely need her. However I’m fighting fit now and enjoying the smell of the trees and my mouth is watering thinking about all the yummy food over at Tom and Jane’s.

I will never be as I was before the attack, but I’m well enough for now to be out enjoying what I do best-eating and sleeping not to mention eyeing off the gorgeous girls. Thank you to my fellow friends for looking after me.