Wallaby
A kangaroo relative built smaller, and a marsupial, so the joey finishes growing in the pouch. It grazes, and it moves by hopping rather than walking.
Overview
A wallaby is a grazing marsupial that finishes its young outside the womb. Gestation is about 30 days, and then the joey spends roughly 280 days in the pouch and keeps nursing until it is 12 to 17 months old. Red necked females can also hold a fertilised embryo in suspension for up to eight months and resume the pregnancy later, which is called embryonic diapause.
Adults run 92 to 105 centimetres in the head and body with a tail of another 70 to 75, and weigh 14 to 19 kilos. They are crepuscular grazers, resting through the day and feeding at dawn and dusk, essentially solitary but willing to feed in loose groups of up to thirty, and they live 15 years and more.
Temperament
Nervous by design. A grazing animal in open country survives by leaving, and a startled wallaby leaves at speed regardless of what is in front of it, which is how most injuries in captivity happen.
They can be calm with the people who feed them and stay wary of everything else. Hand reared ones are steadier, and males can become dangerous with maturity in a way that catches owners out, because a mature male will box and kick with a foot built for it.
Care and grooming
Grass and browse, with pellets to fill gaps rather than to replace the grazing. The gut is built for a slow constant intake of fibre, and rich food produces the same problems it does in a horse.
The specific one to know is lumpy jaw, a bacterial infection of the jaw that is common in captive macropods and is closely tied to husbandry and diet. It is hard to treat once established, so the prevention is the care, not the cure.
Living and exercise
A grassy paddock, shelter from weather, and fencing that is solid, visible and forgiving. Wire mesh at speed is what breaks necks, so soft or solid barriers are standard for macropods rather than optional.
They need room to move and they need to be able to see out of it, since a wallaby that cannot see an approach gets startled by everything. Ownership is regulated and the rules differ by state.
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