Sibling armadillos admitted to wildlife hospital

By Joanna Fitzgerald | Director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital

Three nine-banded armadillos were among the 120 animals admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida this past week.

A resident in a North Naples gated community called the wildlife hospital after seeing four young nine-banded armadillos wandering in her yard. She mentioned there was a dead adult armadillo in the road so she believed the armadillos were orphaned. The woman texted a photo of the armadillos to staff at the hospital that confirmed the armadillo pups were too young to be on their own and needed to be brought to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital for care.

The woman mentioned she was no longer at home so she couldn’t contain the armadillos. She suggested we talk to her neighbor who seemed concerned; when hospital staff spoke to the neighbor, he had personal reasons for not being able to provide assistance.

Several hours passed and by the time a security guard at the community got involved, only one of the four armadillo pups was still around and able to be rescued. Hospital staff texted the woman and her neighbor one final time at the end of the evening and asked that they please put a box over the pups if they spotted them again so the pups wouldn’t disappear before help could arrive. Thankfully, the following day two of the remaining three armadillo pups were rescued and transported to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital; the fourth armadillo pup was the biggest of the litter and apparently was too quick and elusive to capture.

All three armadillo pups were placed in a large recovery space in the bird room at the hospital. The armadillos hadn’t gone long without their mother’s care so they were alert, active, and in good body condition. Staff offered the armadillos a diet of earthworms and a liquid protein slurry mixture. The babies wanted nothing to do with the slurry but eagerly ate the earthworms. Two of the babies began to show signs of having a respiratory infection so all three were started on an antibiotic.

Currently, the three armadillos are responding well to our treatment regimen.

Nine-banded armadillos almost always give birth to four identical pups. Reuniting the littermates means the youngsters will have each other to bond with and they will engage in normal behavior just as they would if they were in the wild.

Please, if you see a young animal you believe may be orphaned or in distress, call the wildlife hospital immediately while continuing to monitor the situation. Hospital staff can provide information and assistance. Our priority is to keep the public safe as we help an animal get the care it needs.

Recent Releases

A raccoon, eighteen mottled ducklings, six northern mockingbirds, three Virginia opossums, five eastern cottontails, four mourning doves, a loggerhead shrike, a northern cardinal, a brown thrasher, a Florida softshell turtle, two gopher tortoises, a downy woodpecker, three royal terns, a blue jay, two common grackles, two red-bellied woodpeckers and two osprey were released this past week.

Opportunities to Help

Support the Conservancy’s mission to protect native wildlife. The von Arx Wildlife Hospital is hosting a virtual Wildlife Hospital Baby Shower on Saturday, June 5 to raise awareness and support for the hospital’s youngest patients. Donate gifts online through the Conservancy’s Amazon Wish List through the month of June. Visit www.conservancy.org/babyshower. Every donation supports the Conservancy’s work to protect Southwest Florida’s water, land, wildlife and future.