Laura Stastny was mesmerized as she checked out the four baby armadillos at Nebraska Wildlife Rehab.
“It’s hard not to stare at them,” she said. “They look like little aliens.”
Stastny, the executive director, said one of two armadillos being treated for rodenticide poisoning gave birth to the identical baby boys on Monday night.
Nine-banded armadillos mate in the late summer, but implantation of the single embryo is delayed until sometime in the late winter. Once implanted, the four-month gestation begins and eventually results in a litter of four identical babies from the one egg.
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Because of the poison still in her system, veterinarians were concerned if the mother could give birth without problems.
The babies could have been malformed or the mom could have hemorrhaged after delivery.
All are healthy; however, the mom stopped lactating Wednesday morning.
“Our staff has taken over care of the four armadillo babies,” Stastny said. “They’re still doing OK, but our staff will be responsible for feeding them now.”
The babies will be fed a specialized blended formula designed to replicate their mother’s milk.
The adult armadillos are receiving a specialized insectivore diet of mealworms, crickets, earthworms, hard-boiled eggs and some produce.
The babies weigh about 4.5 ounces and are born with their eyes open. Their skin is like soft leather instead of the hard shell of an adult.
They’ll start walking around in a few days. They usually nurse for a few months and stay with mom until they are about 5 or 6 months old.
“Our hope is to transfer them somewhere where they can prepare for release,” Stastny said.
They’re a big hit on social media because they are so unusual. “They are just funny looking,” Stastny said, but still adorable.
Nebraska Wildlife Rehab has taken care of more than 800 animals so far in 2023, and right now has baby squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and opossums in its care. And more than 450 bats that will soon be released, likely around May 1 at Joslyn Castle.
An American white pelican came in Monday night that had been tangled in fishing line still attached to a rod near Valley. It also had been repeatedly shot with a pellet gun.
Stastny said many people don’t think a pellet gun will hurt an animal but infection can develop everywhere a pellet hits.
“If that tissue dies, there’s a real possibility it could be in serious trouble,” Stastny said.
A female lesser scaup that was also entangled in fishing line and had a fishing hook embedded in its wing is also receiving care. A ring-billed gull came in with a wing injury.
Also on the roster is an ill adult beaver.
NWR is doing a flying squirrel distribution study in collaboration with the Universities of Nebraska at Omaha and Lincoln and Nebraska Game and Parks. Meanwhile, a flying squirrel baby has arrived at NWR for care. This one was found in Lincoln, which historically is not its range.
“He and mom were found in somebody’s attic,” Stastny said. “People removed him from the house and mom didn’t pick him back up. It was probably too far away and she didn’t know where to find it.”
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