We tend in the trade to call furless joey's noe-nates. I don't really know why, as the term neo-nate means newborn and in reality furless marsupials don't quite fit that description.

Kangaroo joeys, indeed most marsupial young experience two births if you think about it. The first is the birth from the birth canal to pouch (external womb), the second is the emergence from the pouch to terra firma.

The pouch life of the joey begins as an embryo, a stage where eutherians would have no chance at all if aborted.

The care of furless joey's requires dedication, determination and patience in large amounts. Neo-nates are premature babies and come to us not fully developed often externally always internally, for instance a Swamp Wallaby weighing 155grams, will have no teeth, it's ears will be glued to it's head and while eyeballs are formed it may or may not have eye movement and the lids may not be defined. If a male it will not be able to retract it's penis. The same applies to an Eastern Grey, up to 350 grams in weight.

Personally I consider the chances of raising an Eastern Grey joey under 200 grams a very slight one and while I have great faith in our modern formula's they just can't be that perfect, but formula is not the only consideration, the most difficult hurdle is management. Even with a humicrib, these very fragile mites, who bruise where we handle them, which in turn causes very heavy skin losses to those areas, are so underdeveloped that deformities and/or vital organ problems are a very real danger. Feeding is of course the greatest hazard and is probably the greatest cause of death in furless young.

Swamp Wallabies on the other hand can be raised with good results from 155 grams. A Wallaby of this size is approximately at the same stage of development as 340 gram Eastern grey. It goes without saying that the same management problems apply.

If you are interested in working with the furless, I will share with you a list of items I consider to be on the must have list.

HUMICRIB this is a great asset if you can manage to get one. It only requires the temperature to be set and humidity level checked then you just get on with your other work and know your kid is just right - not too hot, not too cold.

AMOXIL AQUEOUS DROPS no pinkie in my care has ever gotten through without needing amoxil. Lung congestion is a natural result of aspirated milk and must never be neglected.

NILSTAT for candidiasis (yeast infection) these little tykes have no immunity system functioning for them at this stage and sooner or later yeast infection will raise it's ugly head and if left unchecked will bring about the death of your baby.

VITAMIN C pinkies are totally unable to synthasize their own vit. c and as it has a very short life, deficiency does occur. It helps to prevent crystals forming in the urine, assists skin tone, bowel efficiency and immunity.

OLIVE OIL excellent for lubricating nostrils which have a habit of becoming clogged and need to be checked regularly to ensure your baby can breathe freely while feeding. I use it on problem skin areas such as tail, hands and feet but should not be used liberally as it is too heavy.

WHEATGERM OIL use as an oral treatment if bowels become too sticky, in these situations a drop can be put on the anus after toileting, it helps lubrication next time. Wheat germ oil is a food as well so it is much more beneficial to use this than paraffin or chemical lubricants which can well be incompatible to a pinkie. Never forget you are working with a premie baby and even though a product may be safe to use on a human baby that usually applies to full term babies, premmies are a very different kettle of fish.

EUCALYPTUS OIL I use a dab of this on internal pouches when lung congestion is suspected.

LAVENDER OIL can help calm a stressed joey, again a dab on internal pouch.

SYRINGES 2.5ml, 5 and 10ml syringes and a supply of bicycle valve rubber for feeding.

TEMPERATURE GUAGE preferable one that tells you things like baby bath water temp. Needed constantly in pouch if humicrib is not being used.

Last but not least be sure that all your baby clothes are sewn with a french or double seam as they will suck on loose threads and they can cause problems if threads come loose and are ingested. Loose threads can also become entangled around extremities and inflict crippling wounds.

MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES For the past five years I have only used Wombaroo products. I personally find I have better results and feeding the very young is easier due to the lesser volume necessary for maintenance.

To feed very small joey's i.e. less than 300 grams weight, I use a syringe with bicycle valve attached. In this way I can feed out the milk as the joey sucks and stop when it stops. From then I graduate to a wallaby teat and a syringe, two methods can be used here.

1. Let the joey suck on the the teat and drop the milk in with the syringe as it sucks or,

2.Put the teat directly onto a 10ml syringe and follow same procedure. Remember always, one drop of milk down the wrong way is all it takes to cause a lung infection and/or death.

Check nostrils regularly for plugs, I dip a tooth pick in olive oil and moisten around the offending material and the plug itself, it is then a matter of hooking out the problem. This is another common cause of failure.

Jerking while feeding is something that occurs fairly frequently also, and while this is not fatal it is disconcerting as, again, over the years I have learned that while sometimes this is nothing more than an involuntary muscular movement, it can indicate all is not well and this is one of those occasions where you need very good instincts and a devoted feel for your work. Some of the problems sometimes associated with jerking are - yeast infection, vitamin C shortage, temperature needs checking, formula too hot, tummy pains, sore mouth.

Dry skin is the anathema of pinkie care, but since I have been using Wambaroo the problem has kept to a minimum. Of course the smaller the baby the greater the problem and joey's less than 200grams seem to have a hard time shedding skin. Mind you the shedding is a totally natural process but it shouldn't come off in sheets or be dry and cracky. Increase fluid intake if possible.

I keep my bottles and teats for furless babes in a saline solution. Milton and other like products are never used in my home as they are far too severe on such delicate systems.

Family situations are very important if you wish to work with pinkies. It is my belief, that if you have children under the age of 10 years you should not even entertain the idea of trying. A mothers first priority must always be her children and with the neo-nates if all is not perfect you can sit for 3/4 of an hour to feed a few mls., try that every two hours and sooner than later you are going to loose your cool. An inexhaustable amount of patience and few interuptions are required and you must always be relaxed when you are handling them. I have found many times it is because for one reason or another I, myself, am anxious and tense, a few minutes spent calming myself makes a big difference. When I have neo-nates they always - always come first every time.

If a pinkie is left to get too hungry it is almost impossible to feed. They clamp their tounge to the roof of their mouth and jamb their jaws together and it takes a great deal of patience, continual self calming and up to 3/4 of an hour to change their mind. You must never force their mouths open. If after 3/4 of an hour feeding has not progressed to your satisfation put the baby down and try again half an hour later.

Routine is very important to me when it comes to feeding joey's they get used to a set time period just as we do, their tummies tell them to suck, just as ours tells us to eat. If however you are the sort of person who can carry the joey on your person, demand feeding is also quite satisfactory, providing you feed on cue.

My babies, being kept in a crib can't tell me and one does tend to lose track of time, so, if I set my routine say 2pm 4pm 6pm etc. I know exactly where I'm at. Consider also that these babies have already had their lives disrupted, they have lost everything they know. A routine at least gives them somthing to rely on. They must also always feel secure, don't unwrap your baby totally unless you have to change it's clothes. The only time I handle my pinkies is at feed time, to toilet them I uncover the bottom half only holding the legs over their tummy, the baby remains swaddled in it's little pouch while this is completed, I then tuck the baby up so that only the head is exposed, this prevents the panic stricken struggle that can always be counted on when they are unwrapped. Keeping the baby calm and content is very important also.

At this stage bonding is not as critical as it is with the older joey's, I always like to move my pinkies on to other carers at the stage where fur is just beginning, it is much easier on them as at this stage the most important things in their lives is their pouch and food. Older joey's are a different story, it bears well to remember that your orphan has gone through the trauma of losing one mum and if you keep it long enough to bond to you (2 - 3 weeks) knowing well you are going to move it on for release at a later date, then that joey has to go through the trauma of losing it's mum all over again and losing two mums is often just too devastating for many and they die or get very sick on transfer. To me that is just too cruel.

Watch the joey's poo this is the greatest yardstick to a good digestive process. You only get out what you put in. When you first get your baby the poo will be dark green, almost black, this will change after about 24 hours to a yellow or yellowish brown, both are quite acceptably within the normal range. Consistency should never be thinner than bulla cream, but most often toothpasty. If this is not the case and the product is thin and watery then the baby can be judged to be on an inadequate diet - too much water not enough food. By 500 grams they usually pellet. As previously stated I ues Wombaroo and find this formula easier to use on these neo-nates than anything else I have used in the past. I have very few skin problems and I don't like rubbing preparations on them anyway, it doesn't really help, the one exception being the tail, that must be kept soft.

Many carers don't use Wombaroo and for those that use Divetalact or Digestalact must always add a little calcium powder to the formula daily, the amount depends on the size of the baby. Other things that can be considered as suitable addatives, to increase nutrition for neo-nates are cream (35% fat) egg yolk, or wheat germ oil. Fibre foods such as farex cannot be given until the joey is at least velvet furred.

Ivy Hawken