Required to get rabies vaccine

[Piston95]

My son was looking into rehabbing squirrels. He loves them so much. We have a ton of them at our new house and that has only strengthened his attachment

He is interested in rescue and rehab. However he is convinced he will need to take the rabies vaccine to do it. He has reacted poorly in the past to vaccines and so this is dissuading him. Wondering if any one could shed light on if the rabies vaccine is required or recommended for squirrel rehabbers? Hoping your input will encourage him

[CritterMom]

I sincerely doubt it. They are very expensive to boot. There is a list of "rabies vector" animals in each state as some are considered to be in some states and not in others. Things like foxes, raccoons, etc are always RV animals. If you are rehabbing THOSE you require a vaccine. Squirrels are NOT a RV species.

[Charley Chuckles]

Like CM said 👍
To my knowledge no one has ever gotten rabies from a squirrel....
Now a raccoon and such yes, in fact as I type I'm trying to get this raccoon off my deck away from my pool with my water blaster as he finds it fun🤦
No Rocky your not my new outdoor friend, if only I could convince him 🤣

[lovesquirrels1]

I do not think the risk of rabies from a squirrel is very high. In fact the possibility of going into shock from the vaccine might be higher than the risk of contracting rabies *if* he only handles squirrels and not larger mammals. He will have the weigh the risks of both things. Personally, I've had the rabies vaccine and I did not experience any side effects.