To Be or Not To Be....a Licensed Rehabber

[DarkLies212]

I contacted the LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to get some information on the process of becoming a licensed rehabber and wow..the rules..the permits (god the permits, to release, to treat, to overwinter, etc etc). Are all states this bad?

Should I go through with it? I would looove to help out these squirrelies officially...but...would it be better to just work under the radar? tinfoil
I really don't like how they have the power to just waltz right in there and euthanize all the animals in your care :madd :hissyfit :gun2

[SugarBugFerret]

I am struggling with the same questions in my state. Testing, references, yada yada yada... Without a license, an official has to obtain a warrant to enter your home. But if you are licensed, you have basically given them permission to waltz in whenever they choose. That kind of bothers me. I do like to do things correctly and by the rules, but dang, some of these said "rules" just don't make sense to me! :thinking

[stepnstone]

I contacted the LA Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to get some information on the process of becoming a licensed rehabber and wow..the rules..the permits (god the permits, to release, to treat, to overwinter, etc etc). Are all states this bad?

Should I go through with it? I would looove to help out these squirrelies officially...but...would it be better to just work under the radar? tinfoil
I really don't like how they have the power to just waltz right in there and euthanize all the animals in your care :madd :hissyfit :gun2

Being non- permitted is not just a risk for you, it's the animals being put at a risk as well.
Working "under the radar" is great until someone or something blows your cover and puts you (and them) at risk for DWF to exercise their power to "just waltz right in there and euthanize all the animals in your care" ...along with you facing fines and charges.
Different States can vary on their wildlife permit requirements, but they all have the distinguished characteristic of being anal.

Being a legal rehabilitator with having the proper permits and credentials is the way to go if one has the opportunity,
I would encourage it!

[island rehabber]

Being non- permitted is not just a risk for you, it's the animals being put at a risk as well.
Working "under the radar" is great until someone or something blows your cover and puts you (and them) at risk for DWF to exercise their power to "just waltz right in there and euthanize all the animals in your care" ...along with you facing fines and charges.
Different States can vary on their wildlife permit requirements, but they all have the distinguished characteristic of being anal.

Being a legal rehabilitator with having the proper permits and credentials is the way to go if one has the opportunity,
I would encourage it!



:goodpost:attention

I agree 100%. All states are different and some really are more anal and obnoxious than others. In NY state, all you basically need to get a rehab license is a pulse. :shakehead In neighboring Pennsylvania and New Jersey, however, it's a much more lengthy, involved process and you'd better know what you're doing. My belief is that in the long run, the stricter policies protect wildlife and prevent hoarding. :nono

Also, once you are licensed you are eligible to take classes and attend workshops and seminars produced by the state and national Wildlife Rehabber organizations. This is where you will really learn something more than just how to get formula and feed a starving baby. It's what separates us from the general public. :thumbsup

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I agree with those that say to get the permits. I'd recommend shadowing at a wildlife center or with a licensed rehabber near you before jumping straight to getting your own permit. You can likely become their subpermittee (I'm sure the laws are different in each state, but you can do that here in Ohio) and take animals in under their permit. This gives you a chance to see if being a rehabber is for you before you commit to the time and expense of establishing yourself. I've seen dozens of subpermittees come and go at the center where I volunteer and you may be surprised to see how rehabbing actually is. I'd say 1/10 or less that are really interested in rehabbing actually become long term rehabbers. Rehabbing is not for everyone. It can be extremely sad, exhausting, and expensive and a lot of people find that it's more than they can handle. Then there are those, like myself, that absolutely love it and can't imagine their life without wildlife in it. Yes, it's heartbreaking at times and there will be days you wonder why you chose to be a rehabber, but when that next baby that needs you comes along, you want to take it in and can't believe there was a moment you wished you weren't a rehabber.

The biggest advantage to having your own permit besides being legal is that it'll get your name out there so people with injured and orphaned wildlife know you are a rehabber in the area. If you aren't legal you're doing everything under the radar and have to be careful who you tell.

[Fireweed]

I agree with those that say to get the permits. I'd recommend shadowing at a wildlife center or with a licensed rehabber near you before jumping straight to getting your own permit. You can likely become their subpermittee (I'm sure the laws are different in each state, but you can do that here in Ohio) and take animals in under their permit. This gives you a chance to see if being a rehabber is for you before you commit to the time and expense of establishing yourself. I've seen dozens of subpermittees come and go at the center where I volunteer and you may be surprised to see how rehabbing actually is. I'd say 1/10 or less that are really interested in rehabbing actually become long term rehabbers. Rehabbing is not for everyone. It can be extremely sad, exhausting, and expensive and a lot of people find that it's more than they can handle. Then there are those, like myself, that absolutely love it and can't imagine their life without wildlife in it. Yes, it's heartbreaking at times and there will be days you wonder why you chose to be a rehabber, but when that next baby that needs you comes along, you want to take it in and can't believe there was a moment you wished you weren't a rehabber.
Really great advice, SR&BT. DL, I would try to do this first. You'll gain so much experience this way and be able to understand a lot more of what rehabbing involves. You can ease in to rehabbing this way, too, if you discover you can't live without rehabbing. And you'll have support - which is so helpful for new rehabbers, I think! :thumbsup
All the best, whatever you decide!

[DarkLies212]

I'm incredibly interested in doing this! I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on here. When I'm more stable (financially and any other kinda way) I'll definitely look into the shadowing thing!

I really do appreciate all the thoughts and opinions. I feel a whole lot better with them, to be honest.

Does anyone have any tips of how to get started? After shadowing and all that...Also, so I have an idea, what do y'all mean by..expensive? That might take a little longer than I thought...

[stepnstone]

I'm incredibly interested in doing this! I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on here. When I'm more stable (financially and any other kinda way) I'll definitely look into the shadowing thing!

I really do appreciate all the thoughts and opinions. I feel a whole lot better with them, to be honest.

Does anyone have any tips of how to get started? After shadowing and all that...Also, so I have an idea, what do y'all mean by..expensive? That might take a little longer than I thought...

Here in my State you would work under a licensed master rehabber and are permitted as an apprentice. A "Master" rehabber is just one with an established licensed, not to discredit the experience behind them. There are several classes / workshops you have to attend for your credits and after a period of time (2 years here) you can apply for your own license under the recommendation of the rehabber you worked under.
Rehabbing is expensive as everything is out of pocket, caging, housing supplies, med supplies, food and vet expense. It all adds up but to do the job properly you do what must be done.
Even when one has their supplies built up, outside of the food that's a constant expence, there is always something that can pop up and takes you to the bank...

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

You have to have outside cages to get the animals ready for release, formula is $10 a pound and you'll probably go through 2-3 pounds per squirrel at least, less for cottontails, more for opossums, and if you're taking in coons and/or fawns they take a lot more. Then you have their fruits and veggies, which for about 30 animals is around $20 a week. Then there's all the syringes, nipples, blankets, etc. that they need. I'd say now that I've got all the caging I need, I probably spend $1000 a year on wildlife. The caging is the major expense, but if you do it right it'll be a 1 time expense.

[DarkLies212]

The $1000 is a lot less than I expected. I expected about that much a month to be honest..
Here, from what I read, you don't *have* to be under a master rehabber at all, it's just an option, so I'll continue to look into it.

If y'all don't mind me asking, what's an ideal property size for doing this?

Keep the thoughts and tips coming! :thumbsup Y'all are prepping me for something I could only dream of doing!

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

$1,000 is after you get established. Each outside cage will cost you more than that so at the start your yearly costs will be much higher. I tend to rehab cheaply as well. I get nuts when they go on sale in the winter for .50-$1 a pound and buy them out and then use them all summer for the creatures. I also mix like the exact amount of formula I need. Usually 2 tbsp. a day does the trick for the 30 creatures I have. Plus I mostly rehab cottontails, which are by far the cheapest to raise because they are weaned by 4 weeks of age and eat clover, which is free :). So, if you rehabbed say 30 squirrels at once, your expenses would be much higher.

I rehab on 1 acre, but do not soft release anything but birds. It's pretty quiet here too. The neighbors aren't out often and there is a fence on the one side.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

The best thing you could do is find a rehabber nearby and volunteer with them. Ask them anything and everything you can think of and ask if you can take a litter of baby squirrels home. You can take the squirrels until they are weaned and then give them back for the rehabber to put in their outside cage and release from there. If that goes well, you can build an outside cage or 2 and keep taking babies from the rehabber. After a year or so you'll know for sure if you're a rehabber or not. If when you give your babies back you miss them and want them back, that is normal, but also can be a sign that rehabbing is gonna burn you out. If you are excited to see them in the bigger cage being wild and miss having babies to care for then you're likely on your way to becoming a rehabber. Biggest test is when one dies. It is normal to be heartbroken, but if you're a rehabber you'll be excited for and will get just as attached to the next baby that comes your way. If you're not cut out to be a rehabber, you'll miss the one you lost and will dread the next call because the same thing may happen (you get attached and then it dies). You may even find that you are not able to give your whole heart to the next one because you can't get attached to another baby that dies- this happens to so many rehabbers and they ignore the signs that they have compassion fatigue and keep rehabbing and become those rehabbers that we all hate- the ones that are just going through the motions but their heart isn't in it at all. As a rehabber, it's not that we don't get heartbroken over every single loss, we do and some days the only thing getting you out of bed will be those little tykes you still have, but we tend to bounce back quicker and treat each animal as a new opportunity to help.

So, just rehab and be open with how you're feeling and you'll know if rehabbing is for you or not. And if it isn't for you that doesn't mean you're any less of an animal lover or care any less, it just means its not for you. You can still likely volunteer at a center or you could donate items to a rehabber, etc. to help out. And if you find that you are a rehabber after the year, then get your permits and rehab :thumbsup

[SammysMom]

SRBT, this is a truly well thought out and perfect way to explain rehab! Thank-you for putting it into words!

[kastillo]

Yikes! At the peak of baby season we spend probably 400 a month on supplies and food, and we are relatively small, with a top total at one point of being only 25 wildlife animals in our care.
What am I doing wrong? Am I spoiling them>? Now that it's winter, I spend about 150 every 6 weeks, so I guess it averages out.

I was getting my permit until my state came out with the RVS ban plus opossums on that list. I'm wary about saying anything here, but... it's still an issue, and the DCNR hasn't changed it's mind about the ban yet. :( And it's very strict about no NR"s period.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Wow, possums on the RVS list, who came up with that? That is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. They are less likely to have rabies than squirrels.

I think the difference is I take in mostly cottontails (about 80 cottontails a year and 20 or so squirrels and 20 or so opossums) and you probably take in mostly squirrels and opossums. Each bunny costs less than $20. Since I take in less squirrels, I overwinter less creatures, so my winter bills are super low, like $10 every couple weeks.

If you mix your formula up by the half cup or cup, you'd be shocked at how much you waste. My subpermittee goes through almost as much formula as I do and she takes about 5 squirrels a year and I have 30 animals at a time! I also have an apple tree and tomato plants, pick clover, and buy things when they're on sale. I do wean my squirrels at 10-12 weeks whether they still want formula or not as well. I know a lot of people here give them formula as long as they want, but they are plenty old enough to be eating and when they're half grown, no way their mom is still letting them nurse, so I wean them.

There are ways around NR rules depending on the NR. Mikey, my NR that died in October was a head trauma baby that I could put other babies with because he was super friendly to them and he was great for singletons. Well, he was in the cage for 2 inspections and since he runs to his nestbox to hide he blended right in. The wildlife officer asked about how many squirrels there were and that and I told him and jokingly said he could go check it out if he wanted. He laughed and said no thanks and I said good thinking. The others would have jumped out at the guys face lol. My 3 legged cottontails I just put into a carrier in another room. Even if there was a surprise inspection, as long as you don't have more than 1-2 NRs you could put them elsewhere for the inspection. They aren't going to be searching your entire home. Here in Ohio you can get a permit to keep NRs if they are serving a purpose too, I've just been too afraid they'd say no and then would know I had a NR. The rules that you need to stick to are the species you can rehab and those you can't rule. Here you can't rehab coons. No way I'm getting caught with coons, I don't rehab them.

[kastillo]

Wow, possums on the RVS list, who came up with that? That is about the stupidest thing I've ever heard. They are less likely to have rabies than squirrels.

I think the difference is I take in mostly cottontails (about 80 cottontails a year and 20 or so squirrels and 20 or so opossums) and you probably take in mostly squirrels and opossums. Each bunny costs less than $20. Since I take in less squirrels, I overwinter less creatures, so my winter bills are super low, like $10 every couple weeks.

If you mix your formula up by the half cup or cup, you'd be shocked at how much you waste. My subpermittee goes through almost as much formula as I do and she takes about 5 squirrels a year and I have 30 animals at a time! I also have an apple tree and tomato plants, pick clover, and buy things when they're on sale. I do wean my squirrels at 10-12 weeks whether they still want formula or not as well. I know a lot of people here give them formula as long as they want, but they are plenty old enough to be eating and when they're half grown, no way their mom is still letting them nurse, so I wean them.

There are ways around NR rules depending on the NR. Mikey, my NR that died in October was a head trauma baby that I could put other babies with because he was super friendly to them and he was great for singletons. Well, he was in the cage for 2 inspections and since he runs to his nestbox to hide he blended right in. The wildlife officer asked about how many squirrels there were and that and I told him and jokingly said he could go check it out if he wanted. He laughed and said no thanks and I said good thinking. The others would have jumped out at the guys face lol. My 3 legged cottontails I just put into a carrier in another room. Even if there was a surprise inspection, as long as you don't have more than 1-2 NRs you could put them elsewhere for the inspection. They aren't going to be searching your entire home. Here in Ohio you can get a permit to keep NRs if they are serving a purpose too, I've just been too afraid they'd say no and then would know I had a NR. The rules that you need to stick to are the species you can rehab and those you can't rule. Here you can't rehab coons. No way I'm getting caught with coons, I don't rehab them.

I do mix up formula by the cup, but i rarely waste any. Alabama dcnr came up with the ban in august this year, they made it easier to get your permit now ny simply filling out a form. But the rule is now you must euthanize upon admission raccoons foxes coyotes skunks feral pig bats and opossum.
Some of these species i wouldnt get anyway, but possums? Really?
There is a whole thread about it somewhere on here.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

I missed the thread. That's crazy. There isn't a RVS permit you can get to rehab them? Here you can't take in coons where I am or deer fawns in the whole state, but everything else you can if you get the RVS permit and you don't need one for opossums, although you do need to be category 2 because they take more skill to raise (I agree with making them category 2 since they need to be tubed and are prone to MBD).

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

1 cup= 230 mL, so if you mix up 1 cup powder that is 2+ cups of formula which is gonna be like 500 mLs. My average amount per creature is probably 5-6 mL since I usually have mix of pinkies and older babies, so that would feed like 100 creatures! No way I ever have that many. Max amount of formula my squirrels ever get is 20 ccs, so that would still feed 25 babies and I never have 25 older squirrels at once. So, I never use that much formula in a day. My average is 2 tbsp formula powder per day. That makes 60 ccs formula which feeds about 11 babies which is the typical amount on formula, or I have some weaned and more tiny tinies that drink less formula.

[kastillo]

No RVS permit as of yet. They say you must euthanize upon admission. Now how can that go wrong? :skwredup

This law is being fought by licensed rehabbers throughout the state. No updates as of yet. Seems the pres. of the DCNR took the advice of a USDA person and made this law.

There are many news stories on the internet if you search "Ban on fur bearing species in Alabama" or something of that nature.

I was told that another state ( I think Pennsylvania??) had a similar ban some years back, but it was rescinded pretty quickly.

I mean if someone finds a coon, opossum, bat, etc.... and is told if they hand it over, it will be euthanized, they are likely going to try to raise it themselves. So, if this law is trying to cut down on "human/wildlife disease", I believe it will do exactly the opposite.

Well meaning people with no training what so ever will try to help these animals, possibly hurting themselves, and likely hurting the wildlife.

ok done with my :soapbox

[island rehabber]

:goodpost

[kastillo]

DarkLies, I'd say go for it, after you've worked along side a licensed rehabber for a while, and you've got to be totally prepared for the work load to come when the word gets out.

You can register with the NWRA, and have your name listed in the member's directory and what your specialty is. And that would get the word out for you.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

That is crazy. Sad about the opossums and raccoons but just insane for the bats. Bats are having enough troubles right now, they don't need to be euthanized when they could be rehabbed on top of everything.

[DarkLies212]

I'm just absorbing everything in and loving all the different tidbits of info I get!
As for the not being able to save them all thing, I've had 2 of my 5 not make it - a poor baby who had a terrible 'twitch' when I got her (neighbor was going to throw her into the trash can! :madd ) I didn't think she'd make it through the night and it was right after a hurricane, so there wasn't anyone accepting any babies :( She died a week later :( The second one was my first real attachment. She was Ambrose's sister who we think choked to death while she was eating :( alone in the house (in her cage), so no one was able to even help her. While it still makes me sad, I just think that they lived a longer life than if they were left to die on the ground or in a trash can. When I released the other 2 who survived, I cried, but seeing them running around with a wild friend made me want to do it all again next year :) I'm glad I'm on the right track with those feelings at least!!

Which reminds me, what on earth could you do if a squirrel was choking?

It's incredibly ridiculous to immediately euthanize! Aren't rehabbers supposed to protect them >_> And such adorable creatures, too! I hope that law gets shut down immediately!

I hope I touched on a lot of the things that were mentioned...

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Sounds like you have the right mindset.

I've had babies choke on grapes before. You have to get the forceps out and get it out of their mouth. You can usually tell they're choking because they'll have spit all around their mouth and will act like their nursing.

It is sad the number of animals that are euthanized without even getting a chance! I try not to think about it because that is the saddest part of rehabbing for me.

[DarkLies212]

How do you get it out without causing more damage with those things? :eek
Are grapes a choking hazard for all ages? I read somewhere that someone peels them - is that what I should be doing? He doesn't get them often at all, but if there's a chance I want to fix it asap

[island rehabber]

How do you get it out without causing more damage with those things? :eek
Are grapes a choking hazard for all ages? I read somewhere that someone peels them - is that what I should be doing? He doesn't get them often at all, but if there's a chance I want to fix it asap

Yes: peel them, cut in half and pull out the little stem in the middle.

[DarkLies212]

Oh wow, thank you! :eek
I think I'm still going to be paranoid now...

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Grapes are fine once they are weaned and beyond the sucking stage, they'll just scoop out the center and eat it and leave the peel. When they're babies, they need to be peeled and diced really small if given or they'll suck them down and choke. I've retrieved grapes from the backs of 3-4 squirrels and never had any issues. Obviously be careful not to poke or grab the squirrels mouth :).

[DarkLies212]

Is it odd that Ambrose eats the peel?

[Anne]

No not odd, just not a really good idea since there is a choking problem. Even with my adults I peel mine before feeding to be safe; also not too many as grapes aren't the best fruit to serve.

[squirrelsrule&bunniestoo]

Maybe it's a foxer thing? My guys always leave the peels (they're foxers).

[PennyCash]

Wow, just reading and absorbing this thread. Thank you all for this discussion. :grouphug