Oct. 3, 2008: Just a goodbye. Playing surrogate
mom to orphan wildlife has been one of the most rewarding things I have done -- and a whole lot of work, too. People have
no idea what goes into it. But my site will be gone at the end of the month. Donations are nonexistent. Even when I had PayPal
donation buttons and links to items I was selling on eBay and Ioffer I received two donations in three years. Not even $5
or $10. Websites cost money and so do supplies. During baby season I average five calls a week and I am not kidding, from
as far as Nova Scotia that I myself wonder what they are googling to get my site. Usually people say I am the only one who
calls back. From Hedgehogs to Deer (no kidding). The last two siblings have made their own nest outside and I will give them
a month in which they no longer return to their home cage, then I will close up. I can no longer afford to do this. It's
a tough economy. I hoped to generate enough to keep my website up but that has not happened and the web hosting company has
made it very difficult for we who do our own design to edit my site. The sister and brother you see as three week olds (with
the formula and syringe) are now healthy, strong and wild squirrels. God bless and thank you for your confidence. FOUND A SICK, INJURED OR BABY SQUIRREL? I
CAN HELP
my focus is quality care
----------------------------- Greetings!
This site is dedicated to the care of orphaned baby squirrels and opossum, non-rabies vector species. I am glad to refer you
to a rehabber of other wildlife. I am FWC permitted and first want to thank you for taking the time to help the baby until
you can get the orphan to me, a vet who takes in wildlife or another rehabber. FIRST:
TWO CRITICAL THINGS: Warming & hydrating. Warm up baby in a few ways: put the little one in a box on a heating pad set
on low, or next to a warm water bottle wrapped in a towel, or in a pinch, hold baby very gently against your tummy. Squirrels'
temperature is a few degrees higher than we humans. They'll warm up fast with your help. Placing baby in a small box,
swaddled in a t-shirt will help keep baby warm as well as reduce stress and fear. Please keep a heating pad on low under the
towels or wrap a bottle with very warm water in a pinch.
NEXT: Check for serious injuries such as bleeding,
gouges, scratches. If baby has been attacked by a cat is it urgent to bring it to a wildlife vet as cat saliva contain
properties lethal to squirrels and time is of the essence. I can direct you to one of two 24-hour wildlife vet who can help.
IMPORTANT: If you can, try to remove any fleas, ticks, lice, maggots and
ants from baby. I know this is less than pleasant but you are handling a very small critter and those parasites can
do a lot of harm quickly. It's better to place the baby in a small baby tub of warm water to rid then keep baby in a towel
over a heating pad. It's rare to find orphans wildlife that bad because if you find them alive quite likely they have
not been away from mom for too long. But they are fragile, helpless and parasites put a lot of stress on developing
immune systems. HYDRATE: PLEASE! Never feed a cold baby. And never feed them milk. Their little
systems cannot digest when they are cold. Once warmed, try to get baby to drink some room temperature pedialyte through an
eye dropper or a small syringe. If you don't have that, Gatorade or Powerade cut with water, or a mix of warm water and
sugar and a pinch of salt will work in a pinch. This is NOT food, only a way to get electrolytes back into their little systems.
With squirrels, please take care not to aspirate as they choke easily. Holding them in an upright position while feeding in
tiny amounts at a time. ABOVE ALL please do not give the baby milk of any kind, even infant formula, or soy beverage, half
and half or non-dairy creamer. They cannot tolerate these. Their systems will shut down, they will become either terribly
constipated or have mucus and runny stools. Milk is poisonous to their systems. The only product rehabbers use is Pet Ag's
puppy milk replacer (Esbilac). It has helped rehab many healthy squirrels, with strong bones, glossy coat, razer-sharp reflexes
and a joy for life in the treetops. If you don't have access to that, please just offer pedialyte until you can find a
rehabber. But please, please do not wait more than a few hours because pedialyte is not food, and the babies are already hungry
and dehydrated by the time people find them.
REUNITE: Most wildlife moms will be nearby. Contrary
to popular belief, a squirrels and other mammals will will take back young that have been handled by humans. But mom won't
retrieve a cold baby, so that's why warming baby up is so important. Once warmed, leave baby near where you found
it such as at the base of a tree -- only if you can watch it to be sure it will be safe from cats and other predators.
Squirrels mothers are persistent and will continue looking for the baby, provided the environment is safe for her. She has
other babies to be concerned for.
If mom doesn't fetch her offspring in an hour or two, she won't.
THAT'S WHERE I come in: Please call a wildlife rehabber. I have raised both orphaned squirrels
and opossum and I am happy to come pick up baby, or you can drop it off to me or one of the two vets. I have supplies and
enough facilities for a few babies. I do not take in more than I feel I can provide a healthy environment in which they can
grow up. I'm also happy to talk anyone though helping to keep the little one hydrated until you can drop baby off at one
of several wildlife vets or I can get it the next day. If you are out of the area I am glad to help direct you to a rehabber
in your area. 813-690-1326 Please leave a voicemail and if I don't answer immediately I am usually good about getting back
to you within an hour or two. And thank you for caring! We who grew up in Florida have watched our precious natural resources decimated
during the past four decades with unrestrained growth that has destroyed our wetlands, eroded our shorelines, downed palm
and oak trees and boy it's taken a toll on our wildlife. They struggle to survive on ever decreasing habitat. Saving a
little critter may seem insignificant in the whole scheme of things, but I figure you got to start somewhere, even if it is
one orphan at a time.
or email me here
I use the money from my stained glass art I make to help pay for supplies. Please see my gallery page for the stained glass
I make. I also started selling on Amazon.com. Click HERE to see some of the stuff I have from my personal collection, not
garage sale stuff. OR please click the Paypal link at the bottom of this page to make a tax-deductible donation.
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| brother and sister rescued july 2008 |
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| they are about three weeks here |
| here the sibs are about 9 weeks, sept. 20, 2008 |
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| i call them Larry and Lucy. They are starting to go outdoors |
| Sisters. |
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| Rescued early January 2008 |
| 11 week old Lola, March 2006 |
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| I called this guy Buster because he survived. |
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| Rescued September 2007 |
| 6-week-old baby boy, fall 2005 |
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| This was Buddy, my first squirrel I rehabbed |
| 5-week-old opossum siblings, spring 2005 |
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| At 8" long, I released both in my yard, where i found them |
| 5 week old female, Christmas Day, 2005 |
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| I called her Christmas. She remains in the area as is normal. She had a litter August, 2006 |
| she had fallen from her nest Christmas Day '05 |
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| three weeks later, a thriving 8-week-old girl |
OH THOSE OPOSSUM!! SEE HERE...
URGENT! THE PARAGRAPH BELOW CONTAINS AN ERROR I DID NOT PUT IN AND FOR SOME REASON CANNOT ACCESS TO CHANGE.
IT IS EXTREMELY URGENT: WE DO NOT, NOR HAVE EVER, FED ANY WILDLIFE ESBANIL IT IS A TYPO NOT BY ME. WE FEED THEM WITH ESBILAC. THE WEBHOSTING COMPANY IS SUCH THAT I CANNOT GET ACCESS TO THIS PARAGRAPH (THOUGH WE
USED TO BE ABLE TO) AND I DO NOT KNOW WHY BUT HOPE IT WILL BE CORRECTED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Please! I know it's tempting to want
to keep and care for baby yourself when it's tiny, needy and adorable. But wildlife require special care, special diets. Too
often I've gotten calls from people who either have a very sick opossum from improper diet or a juvenile squirrel going nuts
(literally) because they are coming into season and no longer behave like the sweet baby. Please do the right thing
and call a rehabber right away. If you cared enough to save it, you care enough to bring it to one who can help, as soon
as possible.
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I don't solicit money or receive money for each squirrel or opossum I raise. But a donation
of esbanil, nutrical, calcium supplement -- if you can -- is greatly appreciated. I do this as a labor of love. I
make and sell stained glass panels and artwork that -- when I sell! -- I use to replenish wildlife supplies. Please
follow the link to see my work. Thanks,
Gina Thomas P.O. Box 320302 Tampa, Fla. 33679
| Max at nine weeks. Rescued in July '06. |
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| Time flies! Max was about four weeks, eyes closed, when rescued. He's been on his own for 7 months. |
Member of the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association CLICK HERE
Member of the Florida Wildlife Rehabilitators Association CLICK HERE
In addition to the animals I rehab and release, I field
an average of three calls a week about orphaned bunnies, racoon, skunk, even deer and ducklings and I always provide a referral.
Calls have come from as far as Nova Scotia (really) and is a wonderful statement of people's concern for our environment
and natural resources. I sell items on eBay and Ioffer and my seller i.d. for both is bohemian_bungalow. added Sept. 22, 2008: Infant wildlife need special environment and feeding to grow into healthy adults who reclaim their
life in the wild. Squirrel infants are always suckling on their moms, this is a big part of the way they thrive. Please take
care who you leave the little one with. I have heard there is one who is "tube feeding" -- intubating directly into
the infant's stomach to "save time." If anyone had to do that, the person is not a rehabber and does not have
the time to raise any mammal, on four legs or two. Squirrel babies, called "kittens" have already lost mom and that's
a tough blow. The least we can do is let them enjoy their meals by eating from a syringe with the appropriate nipple on the
end, and let them take their time and be nurtured, vital for all beings to thrive. "Tube feeding" has left orphans starving, sickly and it is unnatural.
My very young, eyes closed babies stay in a box of about 18" long by one foot, with a heating pad under half the
box. Eyes open they move to the cage, where they can have the joy of learning to explore at their own pace and have hiding
places where they can feel safe.
I also use Mr. Mitten, a large mitten that feels just like mom's fur, and each time I get baby to feed, they are usually
on their backs suckling on Mr. Mitten, which just shows the need to suckle. Tube feeding is, in my opinion, ghastly. Squirrels need natural light, to be near a window to hear
the outdoors. They need plenty of toys as they are notorious for goofing off when young and that includes chew toys and femur
bones. They need a big enough area and a nest box where they can feel safe, secure and know that is their domain. You will
see happy well fed babies bouncing around on a teddy bear that, with proper nutrition and environment, they will grow into
strong adults with glossy coats, bright alert eyes, razor-sharp reflexes and teeth and a love of climbing the tree tops. I
do not see how anyone can provide this if one is taking in so many orphans, the rehabber merely warehouses animals in overcrowded
cages that are too small, or feeds them in an unnatural way. If you've taken the trouble to save a little wild one, take
care who you leave it with.
| one of a pair of twin herons |
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| SEE GALLERY PAGE CLICK HERE |
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