Any Raccoon rehabbers in or around Pinellas county Florida?

[Skwerly]

Hi all,
It's been awhile since I last posted,(thankfully) I have'nt had any health problems with the neighborhood wilds that I feed.I do have a question though.There is a young Raccoon that has been hanging around my place.He moves very slowly,and when he breathes he wheezes.Otherwise,he looks OK;no obvious injuries.He is sleeping on my porch right now,I'm uploading a pic of him.
I'm not sure whether to just let him be and hope he "gets better",or contact someone more knowledgeable than me for advice.I tried to look at the list of wildlife rehabbers
on the forum here but the links seem dead.
Just in case he gets worse,I'm wondering:does anyone know of any Raccon rehabbers in Pinellas county(or nearby?)

Thanks!238808

:thankyou

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Back to Nature is over here in Orlando, they would take him.
The one I heard was over there moved to North of Ocala.

[Skwerly]

I did'nt want to disturb him,but I wanted to see what kind of shape he's in so I just went outside.He did'nt stir,and has bubbles coming from his nostrils when he breathes.
I touched him and he woke up,but was still groggy so I quickly opened my nearby pet carrier,grabbed him and put him in.He growled and struggled a bit as I put him in but thankfully he is now in the carrier.My guess is that he needs antibiotics.Can anyone please give me some help,and or advice?

[Skwerly]

Back to Nature is over here in Orlando, they would take him.
The one I heard was over there moved to North of Ocala.

Thanks for the info.I was hoping that someone nearer to me could help.Any others nearby?

[Skwerly]

I just got off the phone with several vets in my area,and I was not getting good vibes from them.First thing they all said was"Bring him in and we will give him to animal control",which almost always means instant euthanasia.
I'm hoping to find a private rehabber for this sweet young creature that takes raccoons.He has been around my place for days now and shows no symptoms of rabies,just seems to have a respiratory problem.

[anniedancer]

I hope you find someone to help this little guy. A lot of folks dislike raccoons, but I love 'em. Good luck and keep us posted.
Annie

[Skwerly]

I hope you find someone to help this little guy. A lot of folks dislike raccoons, but I love 'em. Good luck and keep us posted.
Annie


I kept calling around until I found a Vet that was open and promised me that a private Rehabber would see Pokey(my name for him because he moved so slowly),and not euthanize him without giving him every chance to make it.I'm convinced that all he needs is some antibiotics as he could move around(albeit slowly),and was eating the cat food I put out for him.I pray that he will be healed and released to the wild again.I will miss him.He is such a sweet little guy; he would sometimes raise his paw up as to wave "Hi" when he would see me come out onto the porch.I hope that everyone here will join in with prayer that he may live a long healthy life.

As for me and the Raccoons;I've grown to love them too.I used to feed only the Squirrels and some birds,but started feeding the 'Coons after I made a discovery.Every morning I had been finding small holes in my yard.I could'nt find out the source until one evening as I lay in my hammock I saw a few dark shapes silently moving around the backyard,pausing here and there.I watched and discovered that it was some Raccoons that were sniffing out and digging up the peanuts that the Squirrels had buried earlier that day.
Watching them struggle to laboriously dig out and open each peanut caused me to have compassion for their plight,and to make a long story short,I now feed a handful of Raccoons,some Possums and probably half the neighborhood cats too.:grin2I give them cat food I buy in 30 pound bags from Walmart for about 18 bucks.
None of them are aggressive and will patiently wait for me to put the food out.Some bring little babies to the yard and they are about the cutest things I have ever seen.
I really enjoy them and I'm glad that I have started helping them out,they are such intelligent,curious but gentle creatures.

[Skwerly]

I did find the site for the Rehabber in Odessa,here is a link to the site in case anyone in the area should need it:

http://www.wildlifehavenrehab.org/contactUs.php

[Sweet Simon's Mommy]

Bubbles?? be careful, he could be rabid.

[Skwerly]

I'm not a Vet,but after observing him I'm 99 percent sure that he does'nt have rabies.The "bubbles" were coming from his nose when he was laying down sleeping.
It was just mucous draining.He also had some mucous around his eyes.I'm convinced that he just had a bad respiratory condition,possibly pneumonia.
Here is another,closer shot I took of him.He is really precious.238830

[Skwerly]

Just thought I would add that it has been pretty rainy around my place lately,and a few days back I saw him on the porch eating and he was soaking wet.
Also,he has been wandering around the yard without his mother,not sure what happened to her.

[Rhapsody]

I just saw this post and wanted to put it out there that I know of a licensed rehab lady here
in Lakeland that takes in raccoon's if any one ever needs to bring them over this way just PM
me and I will be more than glad to give you her name and phone number... she has a nice set up.

[Skwerly]

Thanks for the info.

[jbtartell]

I just seen this.. yess be careful not to handle him barehanded.. at this age they are hiding and sleeping during the day.. if not rabies it could be the distemper virus.. or simply pneumonia.. not matter not worth the chance.. he should be scared of you too.. soo I again caution you to be very careful. rabies don't mean they are going to attack, I would really like to know this poor babies outcome if you don't mind keeping this thread updated. good luck and he is in my prayers. wish I was closer..