In an adorable effort to stop a cheeky roo joey from ‘sucking’ on her toes, the Australian Reptile Park has Frankie the Kangaroo Island joey wearing breathable, organic socks! Frankie has had a troublesome start to her short life, as upon six months living in Mum’s pouch, her mum Ollie’s pouch developed both mastitis and a pouch infection.
Thankfully, keepers were on top of this quickly and safely retrieved Frankie and were able to provide Ollie with the right treatments for both of her conditions and she is now thriving and happily hopping around the Park once more. Frankie, however, is currently being hand raised by her adoptive Mum, Mammal keeper Brooke Barton.
While Frankie settled in well with her adoptive mum Brooke, she developed a habit of suckling on her own feet! This caused a small sore area, and to avoid any issues, Keepers were able to fit small socks on Frankie’s feet to protect them in the short-term. She is still able to hop and play around like any other kangaroo joey but is protecting her feet in the process!
New mother Brooke Barton said of Frankie, “She is such a kind, sweet little girl who loves hopping around in her socks! She is healing excellently, and they will be off in no time. Once they’re off, it wont be long until she is reunited with Mum.”
Brooke continued, “Frankie requires 24/7 care in a mock, knitted pouch for warmth and four bottle feeds a day. Once she is big and strong enough, she will be let out and about to run amuck at the Australian Reptile Park in our free-range kangaroo area, where visitors will eventually be able to hand feed her and say hello!”
