Building Release Houses

Planning of the new release houses has been like any other project. However, we found out quite quickly that it was impossible for us to finance the three houses in one go, because we are retired and only on a small pension. So, we started with number one.

At the back of the house runs a creek with a steep bank which tapers about three metres down. So the footings of the structure had to be build up for more than a metre to be level. The footings also serve as a ‘rat wall’, so they stop rats and mice from digging channels to get inside. This is important, because those channels would be gateways for snakes to get inside for easy pray on the injured animals. The walls and the ceilings of all the structures are closed with shade cloth. This is a very strong material but flexible enough not to hurt the paws of the animals when they run up and down the shade cloth walls. However, since shade cloth is no match for rats, especially the native rats (Melomys sp), we used a dense mesh, called Snake and Mouse Wire, as an outside layer.

This first new glider enclosure is attached to the deck of our house via a stair case so we can access it from the house and from the outside.

We started building this enclosure in August 2013 and finished in June 2014.

The last of the three Glider Houses was finished in March 2017. So after nearly 4 years of labour and $29,000.00 spend on building materials, we were able to accommodate several colonies of sugar gliders, Yellow Bellied and Greater Gliders, Feather Tail Gliders and also up to 40 Flying Foxes until they are ready for release.

Enclosures 2 and 3 ready

Caring for Wildlife

Enclosures 2 and 3