Advice please! Bat in bathroom

I don't even know how it got in, as the window is closed, (perhaps through a ventilator?) but I just found a little bat sitting in the sink.

I know they are specialyl protected and you have to be terribly careful with them. But there probably isn't anyone I can call at this time of night about it.

What shall I do with it? Just keep the door closed? Find it something to eat? Find something better for it to sit in?

I have leather gloves which I could use if I needed to pick it up, but that probably isn't a good idea. It must be rather confused, poor thing.

I've got no real advice but this might be of help?

Thanks! It doesn't say how long it's ok to keep it in the box for, with just a little bit of water. Might it be better just to leave it in the bathroom for now where it has more space?
I can get a bottle cap of water for it anyway.
and how long can it manage without food (that must be bunny training, to wonder that!) There are insects around the house, do I need to try and get a few in a jar for it?

ETA I got it the water and put the plug in the sink so it couldn't get caught in the hole. The poor little thing seems to be shivering - perhaps that means it's very ill. Worried I will find it dead in the morning, would be so sad.

Can you ring the RSPCA?

Their 24 hour line looks like it's only for cruelty cases. The RSPCA site links to the same advice BattleKat linked to - and says to contact the bat conservation people when they open.

I doubt the average emergency vet would be much cop with a bat.

Vita, are you in the UK? If so, ring Tiggywinkles. http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/
They have a 24 hour helpline and can advise. In the mean time, a cardboard box with a little water (as advised previously) and DON'T PANIC. If still alive tomorrow (and it may well be... call the bat conservation trust for a local bat car worker.
http://www.bats.org.uk/

The RSPCA do call outs for wild animals too, out of hours. Perhaps ring them and ask for some advice on who to contact?

I'd just worry so much because they are so small and vulnerable! Also, I'm pretty sure they should be hibernating now!

If possible wear gloves when moving it into the box, but most UK bats cant break the skin even if they attempt to bite, as their teeth are tiny-small.

They are not all in hibernation yet - it is getting cold, and many will be in a state of torpor, but when it is milder, they do wake up and try to feed.

Also... If / when you transfer it to a cardboard box, put a tea towel screwed up in the box for it to climb onto / hide in.
While you have it in your gloved hands, open the wings carefully and check for fractures (you can clearly see the bones) or tears in the wing membranes. (small tears will heal quickly) or any other OBVIOUS injuries.

I scooped it up in a dry flannel - it squeaked so much, poor thing, but at least that meant it was well enough to make a noise - and put it in a box with the cap of water. Very lucky I still had the box, from a kettle, I'd meant to recycle it earlier but it was still in a cupboard. It's now in the box, sitting on the flannel, the last I saw. (It had barely moved in the sink but I'm not sure if that was the surface or if it was too ill to move.)

Tiggywinkles has a message to say a) bring animals in to them (but that's only for people who are quite near them and I'm not) b) if it's a large animal such as a deer call another number, or c) phone back after 930am.

Thank you for your help.

Presumably all I can really do now is wait for morning. Hopefully it will still be alive and someone can fetch it.

ETA Farplace I'd already put it in the box by the time you posted your last message. Though it was so tiny and I am not sure I'm dextrous enough to have been able to handle its wings. It clung to the flannel anyway so it has some energy to grip. I noticed that it had darker patches near its tail end.

When my cat caught one I was told soak cotton wool with water as bats don't drink but will suck moisture, and I gave it meal worms with a pair of tweezers till it stopped eating them

It stayed in the shoe box with a towel for 3 days I always fed it outside or by the open door and it left when it was ready, but I did ring the Bat Man and he said he would come to get it if it didn't leave within a few days:roll:

Good luck

I feel like i'm going mad here, but it's gone. :shocked: I didn't fully close the box, but most of the opening was covered with flaps of cardboard. I jst went to have a look at it and there was nothing there. I looked all over the room and I can only presume it went behind the sink pedestal which was nearby. I feel dreadful now for not having taken proper care of it - I didn't think it would go out as it seemed so lethargic. Should have brought it in here and / or closed the main lid. Just hope it is okay wherever it is, will have another look in the morning in case it is still in the room. Hopefully not stuck under the floorboards. I will speak to the bat people and see if they still want to send someone out.

Where abouts are you? I saved one from a cat last month. Google bat hospitals. You'd be surprised at how many are around. They say they can get out of a thumb sized hole. Hope you find him.

how is bat today?? Ooops, I just seen that it vanished. They are LIKE that!

Hello

Thanks again for all your help last night.
It didn't turn up again. : (
The bat line did just say that if a bat is shivering it means it's warming up and getting ready to fly - so that was a good thing after all! Hopefully it has got out the way it came in. They advised to look out for it over the next day or two in case it didn't.