Caring for your macropods (I hope this helps)
	I keep an extra playpen ready so I can clean the one the joey was in if necessary, but with only one joey you shouldn't need two. I will sometimes have five or ten joeys at one time and need all the spare rooms for nurseries. Check out PeeWee's Pampered Pets for some really nice travel pouches for your new joey.

Ready for a joey

This is a clean playpen ready to be used. Notice the water bowl, feed bowl and coastal hay. Coastal hay does not have the sticks in it. All joeys are started out on Happy Hopper First Crumbs. The first crumbs have more nutrients in it and are available all the time for the new joeys if they are interested. After that bag is eaten I switch to Happy Hopper Lil Hopper. When the joey finishes that bag it is switched to Happy Hopper Mac Breeder or regular Happer Hopper. I also pull a small amount of grass, dirt and all, but shake of most of the dirt but not all from an area that has  NOT been fertilized and introduce it into their diet. The pouch on the end of the play pen is the outer pouch sewn together from scrap material long enough to fold over the top about a foot or so. It is attached to the play pen with three baby diaper pins, pinned through all three layers. I adjust the pouch just above the bottom about two or three inches so when the joey is in the pouch it just barely touches the bottom of the playpen.

Inner pouch

This is what I use for an inner pouch. It's just a T-shirt with the arms and neck removed and sewn together to make a rounded bottom like the mothers pouch. This inner pouch makes the joey more comfortable while feeding and toileting them. They seldom pee or poop in their pouches if you toilet them right after feeding. If you toilet train them you can take them with you every where you go in their travel pouch. I suggest you always have them on a leash if they are large enough to jump away from you. They would be very hard to catch if startled.

Pads

These are a lifesaver. The picture says it all. They can be purchased at Walmart near the pharmacy and only cost about five dollars. What a time saver on the clean up. I keep the joeys on the bottle until they reach about 10-15 pounds, sometimes less, sometimes more. Wally, my wallaroo male will still take a bottle and he is approaching 20 months. It is a good way to medicate them if necessary. I continue to toilet them until they are moved outside. But gradually introduce them outside forabout an hour a day for a week then a little longer each week. Be sure to keep an eye on them in case they get overheated. You can tell if they continuously lick their arms, bring them back inside. Once you start to put them outside they will start to poop in their pouch. But that's just a sign of growing up.

Vinyl pillow case

Here is a tip no one ever told me. In fact I had to learn all this on my own. I have never seen a site that explains all this. If you own a playpen or purchase one, don't spend the extra money for a cloth bottom one. Accidents do happen and they are extremely hard to clean. My wife bought some clear vinyl and made a pillow case and slipped the bottom section of the playpen right into it. It cleans like a breeze now but if you use any chemicals cleaning it be sure not to put the joey back in it until the chemical odor is gone.

Ready for a nap.

Here is a female wallaroo ready for her nap. Joeys this size spend most of their time in the pouch. I cover the playpens with an old sheet to give them some privacy and helps keep them in the playpen. But when they get around eight pounds they are really curious and jump out. Those .99 cent clamps from your local hardware store will keep the sheet in place. BE SURE TO KEEP THE TOILET SEAT DOWN OR THE BATHROOM DOOR CLOSED. THEY WILL JUMP INTO THE TOILET AND DROWN.

Bottling with eyes covered

Bottling is easy, just lay the joey across your lap with its head resting on the arm of the furniture so you have both hands to work with. See how I have covered its eyes to calm it down? Sometimes you have to take your thumb and index finger and open their mouths to get the bottle in until they learn what you are doing. They will all push backwards with their heads, take their arms and grab the bottle, clinch their fists. They make you think they don't want to eat, but thats only nature. Once they get the bottle in their mouth they will enjoy it. Not all joeys are the same, just like people, they all have their own personality.

Potty Training

All joeys need to be toileted by gently rubbing their cloacal (butts). If you don't do this they will poop and pee in their pouches, the floor and everywhere else. And who wants to take a stinky roo to the Outback Steakhouse or your local hardware store? Be sure to start with at least two Kleenex because they pee first. Have the Kleenex box real close because you have to grab new ones very quickly. After they pee through about 10 or so Kleenex, two at a time, then they start to poop. For that you can use only one unless they have diarrhea then you will need three or four. From time to time they all get diarrhea so you will need to buy some butt paste from the drug store, some Pedialyte and unsented baby wipes. I have had joeys go from solid to diarrhea in the same toileting. I still haven't figured out why. Use the baby wipes after every toileting to clean the hair in the cloacal area. I use Slippery Elm Bark capsules for diarrhea sometimes. These are available from any GNC or health food store. If the diarrhea lasts for more than two feedings, I open the capsule and put half of the powder in the first bottle. Then use one capsule every other feeding. I also use Critical Care is another thing you must have on hand. It is also great for diarrhea. Your vet will probably have it. Tell the vet that macropods are treated just like a dog or cat. Or contact me for nationally available vets that are familiar with macropods. PS: Don't surprise the employees at any restaurant with a roo in a pouch. Ask the manager first if it's ok and you may get a free meal at certain places.

Opening joeys' mouth

See how my fingers gently open the joeys' mouth to allow the bottle to go in? This little guy is Cotton and a good demonstrator. Some joeys don't need this to take a bottle, they just take it with no encouraging but others need a little help. Cotton belongs to Jason and Amy. We started calling him Cotton because his fur is as soft as cotton. This picture does look a little extreme but Cotton is a ham.

Mixing the Biolac milk replacer

Here are some things you might consider to make mixing the milk replacer easier. I use a Rival immersion hand blender purchased from Amazon.com for $13.00, a Good Cook digital scale purchased at Walmart for under $20.00, one liter bottles purchased at Walmart, and six ounce feeding bottles purchased from PeeWee's Pampered Pets. Weigh 240 grams of milk replacer on the scale, then place it in the mixing bowl. Fill the one liter bottle about half full of water, pour into the mixing bowl and mix on slow speed until all the lumps are gone. This takes about a minute. Pour into the one liter bottle and finish filling the bottle to 1000 ml with water. The bottle only shows a 900 mL mark, but you will know where the 1000 mL mark is.