Scientific Name: Fat-tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata), Gilbert’s Dunnart (Sminthopsis gilberti), and Little Long-Tailed Dunnart (Sminthopsis dolichura)
Conservation Status: Lease Concern
Threats: Habitat loss and predation by cats and foxes
Will they visit?: Dunnarts will visit home gardens located near parks, reserves, and bushland
Natural Distribution: Dunnarts are widespread throughout the South West and Perth region
Fat-tailed Dunnart – (CC)Bernard Dupont. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Fat-tailed dunnart – (CC)James Booth. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Fat-tailed dunnart – (CC)Jo Virens. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Australia License (Atlas of Living Australia)
Habitat at a Glance
See Habitat Guide for more detail
Shelter: Hollow logs, balga skirts, and constructed nest boxes
Diet: Invertebrates
Water: Not required, obtain water needs from their diet
ReWild Benefit: Pest control
Habitat Guide - Shelter
Natural Shelter
Dunnarts are fairly adaptable to diverse habitats. They will find small places to shelter including hollow logs, crevices in rockeries, small tree hollows, balga skirts, and even birds nests. To encourage dunnarts in to your garden, plant tussocks of native grasses and dense shrubs.
Novel Shelter
Below is a habitat box template for dunnarts. Hide the box well within dense shrubbery, leaflitter, and rockeries. This will hide the box from resident dogs and cats. Before you build:
Nest-boxes are a long-term commitment and need maintenance and repair over time.
Chipboard is okay, but degrade after a year of use.
Hardier and untreated timber (i.e. Jarrah) will last longer and are less prone to attack by fungi, bacteria, and microorganisms.
Keep away from treated timber as this can emit fumes toxic to wildlife and their young.
Avoid using metal wire inside a box. A wooden ladder on the inside of the nest-box is much more suitable or grooved timber will work well.
Maintenance is critical to ensure wildlife remain safe. Last thing you want is a side panel falling off with an animal or its young still living inside.
Habitat Guide - Food and Water
Providing natural sources of food
Dunnarts primarily nocturnal and rather cryptic. They are mainly insectivorous. Gardens with shrubs, grasses, and thick layers of mulch will provide foraging habitat for dunnarts.
Providing sources of water
Not required as dunnarts obtain all their water from their diet.
ReWild Benefits
Dunnarts are great at controlling pests (such as grasshopers, and even mice) and help drive a healthy environment for our community. The greatest threat to local dunnarts is the lack of suitable habitat and the predation of cats and foxes. If you see them around, you can record your sighting on Atlas of Living Australia!
