Temperamental Bat

A/n: This particular species was a starting point for the creation that eventually became Floof, so that should say something about the kind of species we're going for. At least in this instance it is actually a bat and not something completely different.
  Temperamental Bats are a lovely species that developed along slightly different pathways than I intended when I put their DNA together. It seems to work for them, though, so I'll take it.
  T-bats are not emotionally temperamental, which is fortunate because they are still nocturnal flying mammals and if they were it would be a whole different kind of stress.
  Their life cycle is a bit circular, since they grow wings, which eventually grow unwieldy and the skin flaps fall off, and then they look something like a mouse until they grow the wings back again. It can happen a dozen or so times in their lifespan, which is about ten years. Shorter than most species of bat, but they don't seem to mind terribly.
  The population is relatively small and so far has not interbred with other bat species so I don't know if they're compatible or not.
  When at the peak of the cycle, their wingspan tends to cap at around four feet from tip to tip. When they undergo their metamorphosis, they tend to shed two and a half feet of that, to leave them with significantly shorter arms. This process is not usually painful.
  After they undergo their metamorphosis, they are relegated to the ground. Others of the species will bring them food, which is traded for childcare, in a sense. The T-bats cling to the walls and keep an eye on the smallest of the species who cannot fly yet at all. It takes about a week to start growing wings again, and another two weeks for the span to be significant enough that they can fly.