MACROPOD COURSE DISCLAIMER

Our joey carers consist of those caring for either younger joeys who are pouch-bound and require more time and attention, or older joeys who will need access to a grassy safe and secure area to explore. Consider all of the following factors before signing up for this course, as it will help you determine what age joey would be most appropriate for your situation, or if joey caring is truly a suitable choice for you currently:

• Do you have young children? Young and/or boisterous/loud kids may cause harmful levels of stress for joeys
• Do you have a cat or dog? if so, is it possible to keep TWO points of separation between the joey and your pet at all times? Cats and dogs do not co-exist with wallabies in the wild and even if your particular pet is very friendly and not dangerous, exposure to domestic animals can cause issues if a joey does not learn to run away from them once released back into the wild. A point of separation is a fence, wall, door, or gate that completely separates the access between the area where the joey is and the area where your pet is.
• Do you have a secure yard or area with grass readily available? This is mandatory to look after older joeys who spend time out of the pouch. The area must be fully enclosed with no gaps or holes, and the fence must be at least 1.7m tall and opaque, with ample grass supply and no other potential dangers to a joey within the enclosure.
• What is your working situation? are you able to take a joey in a pouch to work with you? Younger joeys require feeding and toileting every 3 hours, and older joeys still require milk 4 times a day. For most carers, this means they must be working from home or are able to take a joey in with them and care for it while at work. Consider what might be possible/not possible in your situation.
• Are you sure you are prepared for this? Being able to look after a joey sounds like an amazing opportunity for many people to experience their cuteness and do something good for the world. The truth is, caring for joeys is not as glamourous as it may initially seem. It is tiring, thankless, takes up A LOT of your time and there is endless poop and pouches and bottles to clean. Think of this as being more similar to looking after a demanding human baby rather than having a cute pet This course only serves to train the skills and knowledge necessary to be qualified to care for a joey.

Once you complete this course you will become a part of our family of wildlife carers that we may potentially be in contact with once there is a joey requiring care and The Agile Project has chosen you as a suitable carer. This does not guarantee that there will be joeys to care for. For each joey that comes in and requires care, The Agile Project reserves the right to assess and choose the carer it goes to based on what is best for the wallaby.