raccoon help

[scoobysnack]

A friend of mine found a baby raccoon last night. Small like fits in the palm of her hand, eyes open tries to climb.

They tried re uniting it but so far nothing. If he's still there WHAT DO WE DO!!! Emergency care til a rehabber is found.

[Loopy Squirrel]

Same as a squirrel. Get it warm then start pedialyte. You can either use a bigger syringe w/ one of those pet nurser nipples on it or a pet nurser. Just be careful if you use the pet nurser bottle because it can cause aspiration if the whole is too big. It is easier to put the nipple on a five or ten cc syringe and guide it down. If the coon is bigger you can use a small baby bottle w/ a small nipple on it meant for a small infant so the flow is smaller. Drip some into his mouth so he gets the taste of it. Sometimes they'll nurse right away and sometimes they won't. Rubbing under their chin or their back sometimes stimulates them to nurse.

[wheezer]

I also think raccoons use KMR (kitten replacer formula) instead of Esbilac for squirrels.
A side note, for me I found baby raccoons the hardest to get to suck on a bottle. My friend who does only raccoons even tube feeds them at first when they don't suck (she is an expert, a novice shouldn't wouldn't try this). I found them very frustrating compared to squirrels....but I may be prejudice:tilt

[wheezer]

OOOOPS I forgot to put at the end...I sure hope you find a rehabber soon:)

[scoobysnack]

She doesn't see him right now but is going to keep checking.

How do you age raccoons. This guy sounds tiny like without the length of his tail fits in the palm of her hand.

[scoobysnack]

More questions LOL

Handling him? If he should come my way. How worried about rabies/distemper should I be?

Kitten formula.... I can get some no problem.

I raised some many many years ago at a vet office I worked for. I don't want to raise one, but will if I have to. As soon as she lets me know if he's there I'll call a rehabber. I will stabilize him (warm and hydrated in that order) and get him moved on.

Thanks for all the info... I don't know raccoons LOL.. but then again.. this time last year I didn't know a thing about squirrels either!!!

[Mars]

Always wear gloves when handling coons. Some states require testing at the least possible expose for rabies. You can save the little ones life just by wearing gloves. Also check out my post on feeding racoons in the rahabbers circle for info on other concerns. :)

[Loopy Squirrel]

I agree w/ Wheezer they can be very stubborn about taking to the nursing. One of my friends uses corn syrup on the nipple to get them interested. You almost have to hold their mouths shut around the nipple. It is a struggle but once they figure it out then they don't ever want to wean. It sounds like this baby is between 2 and three weeks old. Can't tell for sure w/ out seeing...just a guess. Don't worry about rabbies or distemper at this point. If it had a current infection it would be dead by now. The oldest known baby to develope rabies in human care was six months old. That baby was normal until six months when it started showing symptoms. A friend of mine who specializes in raccoons spoke to his friend at the CDC and they say that the only time a raccoon is contagious w/ rabies is when it goes to the salivary glands and then to the brain. The virus can lay doormat and they are not contagious until it reaches the brain. You would know this by it showing neurological symptoms. Anytime one comes in showing any type of neurological symptoms, like a walking drunk, we are very careful. It is more likely distemper or poisonings but we have to be careful. I have yet to see rabies w/ all the raccoons that I have done. If you have dogs as long as they are current w/ their vaccines they should be o.k.. Just use caution w/ raccoons. If you feel more comfortable, use rubber gloves when handling because of the raccoon roundworm and a towel. Always wash hands after handling just to be safe. All animals pose a risk of diseases...just be cautious.

[TexanSquirrel]

Good luck!!!

[Mads]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5890RoEUHVA

I had a baby racoon a week and 1/2 ago, I ended up giving him to a rehabber here in town because I didn't think I could handle the commitment of a racoon. I had called the rehabber and she warned me about rabies, as she is vacinated for rabies, most of us are not....and she said not to even bring him in the house, but I did, and not touch, but I did....

Perhaps the safest way to raise a coon would be to get yourself vaccinated. I didnt' realize that you could, but Tonya said she was, so it's available. Many coons though can show symptoms of rabies, but it's usually distemper, which in the beginning looks the same.

My rehabber did mention that her brother has a female coon in the backyard that they raised and the first 2 years were great, but the coon is now a problem as they made it into too much of a pet. She's a bit mean and she thinks she owns their place and now everyone is scared to walk out in the shed in the dark just incase she's there. They swore to themselves they would not go down that path again with a racoon, if they saw another baby, they would turn and run as quickly as possible. And she's telling me this story, as she's packing up the little rocky racoon to take home with her, and she's visably very excited to be leaving with this baby! So much for her thoughts of "running the opposite way"...

[fltech]

Loopy and I take in quite a few raccoon babies during the year. We also get calls for older or juvie raccoons "acting weird". They usually have to be put down do to distemper. Out of all the coons, we have not had one that was rabid. Usually distemper or parvo. Niether of us have the rabies pre-exposure vaccine since we found out that if we got bit, we would still have to finish out the shots. We don't worry about that anyhow, what we are concerned with when handling the coons is the roundworm they carry.

All in all, they are neat creatures and have the funniest personalities. There are a couple that are unreleasable and can be handled. They are vaccinated, but there is that controvercy about it, but it hasn't hurt them.

[scoobysnack]

The little coonie was reunited with momma. All is well. Thanks so much all.

I almost had bat questions. Some people at a party we did today had seen one "fall" from a tree. I think it was more like... a child spotted one sleeping on a low hanging branch and the adults attempted to rid the area of the bat only succeeding in knocking him on the ground. They had picked him up in a paper towel and discarded him by a tree trunk.

I of course went and got him, stuck him in a bucket and as luck would have it a fish and wildlife truck came by (we were in a state park) so I handed the little guy off to him.

Thank goodness...

[Loopy Squirrel]

I am so glad the mom got the baby. Lord knows the mom does the best job. As far as the bats are concerned they cannot fly from the ground up. They get blown down a lot during high winds and rain and if there isn't anything to climb up on they can't fly. It is best to handle w/ a washcloth and try to put up on a tree branch and continually check to see if he has left. Be sure to check the ground in the area just incase there is something wrong and he can't fly and he's down again. I have had that happen if they have a head trauma.