HEATING PAD DANGERS

[I Love Lucy]

This past Sunday night I received 3 newborn squirrels who were just taken from their mother unnecessarily because a woman didn't want them in her yard while she having construction done. These babies were only 13-14 grams. They were well hydrated and in excellent shape. I fed them 6 times over night during a 12 hour period of time and they were doing beautifully - eating, peeing, pooping.

I keep one heating pad upstairs in my house for them for at night and one downstairs for the daytime. In the morning I brought them downstairs and put their sterilite container on the heating pad on low. I fed them and all was great.

An hour later I checked on them and one was dead. I picked him up and he was like a hot potato. I frantically found the other two, she was lethargic, turning purple and overheated. I tried everything to save her but she died 4 hours later.

The heating pad had a major malfunction and was too hot to even hold. My poor babies died because of it. I had checked the pad before and after I fed them and it was fine but it must have short circuited in that hours time.

Some how one little boy survived. He has been slow to gain weight but is finally doing well now. I've named him Hercules.

This has been the most difficult thread for me write but I needed to share my experiences with all of you. Accidents happen to all of us and sometimes lives are lost but hopefully my story will help spare even one life.

I've been rehabbing squirrels for the last 4 years and have successfully raised and released over 125 squirrels. I've experienced a lot but nothing has or will ever scar me like this. I am completely devastated.

PLEASE WATCH YOUR HEATING PADS CLOSELY. CHECK FOR OVERHEATING AND HOT SPOTS.


IR - Please move or edit this if you need to. Thanks for the other day. I really needed it.

[island rehabber]

:grouphug
Jean, I know how hard it was for you to write this. But if one little life is saved because of your tragedy, maybe it will lessen the pain. And I will bet that many little lives will be safer, because we will be more diligent in checking our equipment and our babies. Bless you for sharing this. :grouphug

I may put a copy of this as a sticky in one or two more other places.

[I Love Lucy]

:sad :sad :sad :Cry :Cry :Cry Thank you IR.

[CritterMom]

May I make a suggestion? I did this with Mister P out of sheer ignorance, but it worked wonderfully.

Instead of laying the fleece flat in the bottom of their container and laying the babies on that, I started with that - a few layers thick, flat on the bottom, and then I filled the box with dozens and dozens of pieces of fleece cut to about 6" x 6" squares. I called it the rag pile, and the fleece squares, which were just dumped in there, were about 6" DEEP. When Mister P was chilly he would burrow down, when he was warm enough, I would find him sprawled on top of the pile. The small pieces prevented him from getting stuck in a fold.

I had three "ragpiles" and every day would dump the old into a laundry net and wash it and replace it with another pile.

[Kat762]

I'm so sorry Lucy, it was a tragic accident and not your fault. :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug Hercules is a wonderful name for that special little boy,and thank you for sharing this so others may be saved.
May I ask what brand heating pad it was ,maybe there is a bad batch ?

Also ,does anyone know where to get heating pads without the automatic shutoff ? My heating pad is done and I can't seem to find one that doesn't shut off in 2 hours.

Thank you again Lucy and I'm so sorry for your loss :( :grouphug :grouphug

[rozdow]

This is tragic.... I'll be sure to check my heating pads very often!:shakehead

[CritterMom]

I'm so sorry Lucy, it was a tragic accident and not your fault. :grouphug :grouphug :grouphug Hercules is a wonderful name for that special little boy,and thank you for sharing this so others may be saved.
May I ask what brand heating pad it was ,maybe there is a bad batch ?

Also ,does anyone know where to get heating pads without the automatic shutoff ? My heating pad is done and I can't seem to find one that doesn't shut off in 2 hours.

Thank you again Lucy and I'm so sorry for your loss :( :grouphug :grouphug


I have always been able to find them at CVS drug stores...

[PBluejay2]

What a terrible tragedy! It seems no matter how conscientious we are, sometimes things happen beyond our control, things that slap us in the face and say "wake up!"--nothing is certain! I wonder how many people lost babies to the new Esbilac thinking they were feeding their babies just what they needed. I know this must be hard for you, and I'm sorry it happened. Maybe I shouldn't ask this now, but can you give the brand of the heating pad--just in case others might be defective?

[rozdow]

If one cannot find a heating pad without an automatic shut-off, could one use the following in a "pinch"..... heating mats for seedlings. I start many plants from seed and the heating mat warms the soil just enough to get th:dono em going. My mats are not temp. adjustable but they seem to emit a "low" heat.

What are your thoughts, is this an option for an emergency?

[I Love Lucy]

Unfortunately I do not know where I bought or the company name of the heating pad that malfunctioned. I was so hysterical that I threw it out instantly and then spent hours trying to save the little girl. I've been so focused on Hercules this week that I didn't think to look to see which pad it was. We have had two garbage pickups this week so it is long gone. Thank god.

Walgreens carries their own brand that does not have a shut off. I have two of them now and I do know the bad one was not those.

I have always been paranoid about heating pads because I feel leaving them on 24/7 is definitely a fire hazard and a malfunction risk because they are not intend to be used that way. I've always made sure to check constantly and I do not place the heating pad on a solid surface because of the heat concentration. I put the heating pad on a piece of white wire shelving so air can circulate around the bottom then I put the plastic container on top. In my containers I put a few layers of fleece on the bottom so the babies can't get underneath it and lay directly on the plastic bottom. I then put small pieces of fleece on top for them to be able to bury or unbury themselves. I also make sure that only 1/2 to 2/3 of the container is on the heating pad so they can crawl to warmer or cooler areas of the container. I keep racking my brain trying to think of what else can be done to eliminate the risk of a malfunctioning heating pad but I don't think there is.

I recently bought a heating mat that is used under glass aquarium for reptiles. They are made to stay on all the time and can be set to a more specific temperature. They are quite expensive but it may be the way to go for rehabbers. I'm going to experiment with it this week by putting a plastic container with fleece etc. on it. Of course with no babies in it until I'm convinced there is less of a risk then heating pads. I'll keep everyone posted.