Rescuing squirrels and wild rodents

Most of the phone calls that Small Victories (our former rescue) have received over the past few years have been regarding young squirrels found outside of their nests, injured squirrels, and errant mouse-like creatures (rats are pretty easy to identify).

• If you are looking to solve a problem with an animal that’s taken up unwanted residence, contact Humane Wildlife Control. 

Here is your basic advice on what to do and how to care for wild rodents:

1. Goat milk is the universal replacement milk.
2. Soy milk comes a close second.
3. Rabbits take puppy formula, but not kitten formula. 
4. Don't take a baby rabbit (or even a bird) from the wild just because it's alone. Its mother will come back to look for it. You must be sure it's abandoned by its physical condition, or by monitoring it regularly throughout the day, without touching it.
5. What small animals in distress need is 1) warmth and 2) liquid energy.
6. Sometimes they actually need to see a vet, too.
7. But if they don't, they need a secure, warm (but not too warm), dark (away from prying eyes) space in which they can recover.
8. Babies need to be fed every few hours. Count on one overnight feeding.
9. Squirrels sleep 75% of the time.
10. Once a squirrel's tail begins to be bushy, it needs solid food (start with porridge) and climbing exercise.
11. You can't keep them and domesticate them. It's inhumane to cage a wild animal for long, and it's illegal.
12. Take the squirrel outside for walks. Introduce it to trees.
13. Handle small rodents as little as possible while you clean their cage.
14. Release mice in an environment as similar as possible to the one in which you found them. If it's a house mouse you don't want, find it a secure shelter where it won't be bothering anyone - or unlikely to be poisoned.
15. Don’t feed wildlife you don’t want to increase in population. I didn't mind having a wild rat sheltering in my backyard, but for its own safety, I removed the bird feeder.