All the squirrels in the barn are going in the outside pre-release cages this week.
3 of the 18 fawns at WBR
Check out that camouflage!
Hello! My name is Ashley Hewitt and I am interning at Wild Baby Rescue Center in Blairstown, NJ this summer! I will be keeping you updated on the orphaned and injured critters that we will be taking care of. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Week 2!
It's been a very busy week taking care of all the orphans and preparing the outside cages that were not cleaned out since last year. Monday started off by teaching a new intern, Kayla, how to feed and clean out the baby squirrel cages. There are only two groups left in the house that still need to be syringe fed formula. All the others are weaned and eating a mixture of peanuts, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pecans, and apples. Tuesday was the big "move all the squirrels to the barn" day. Since the outside squirrel cage has about 30 in it, there is no room for more. Most of the weaned squirrels that were inside were moved into larger cages in a room in the barn that also houses the chickens, goat, and fawns. I got to syringe feed the smallest of the three bunnies that are being cared for at WBR. And let me tell you, that is not a job for the impatient. The little thing takes FOREVER to eat. It probably took me an hour to feed a bunny that was only 3 inches long. But my supervisor, Hope, said that they always take long to eat and that I was a good person to feed them since I was so patient with it and that animals, especially bunnies, pick up on that. Wednesday another new intern showed up. Nick and I showed her how to feed and clean out the squirrels. They fed the two groups of squirrels and I got to feed the flying squirrels! Then the three of us went outside and I was in charge of directing the clean out of the groundhog cage. The hay and nesting boxes needed to be taken out, along with the dirt in the dig box. The dig box is a big wooden box that has a hole in the top and filled with dirt so that the groundhogs can dig and borrow in it like they would in the wild. This was not an easy task to begin with, considering how awkwardly shaped the groundhog cage is, but then add the 80 degrees and being in the direct sun. But anyway, we took shovels and put the dirt into a wheelbarrow and dumped it into the woods. We then refilled the box with new dirt. Then we had a not so happy end to our day. One of the fawns would not bottle feed so we tried to tube feed her. We thought it was going well, and even checked before we started that the tube was in her stomach and not her lungs but right after she basically passed out. She ended up aspirating it into her lungs anyway and she died. But on a lighter note, here are some pictures from this week.
Leia
Padme
Yoda
Fox Enclosure
Forest Gump- head injury and teeth problems- his teeth need to be manually cut because they grow in crooked
Outdoor Squirrel Cages
Lilly (died), Mowgli, and Ru
Ru- found in a rivine, has head trauma
Crates of Lettuce
Monday, May 23, 2011
Babys Everywhere!
Hello all! I started my internship last monday and WOW has it been busy at the center. At the moment the menagarie includes about 70 grey squirrels, 2 flying squirrels, 12 fawns, 5 foxes, a baby groundhog, 12 raccoons, 2 opossums, 2 mice, a skunk, and a few bunnies. We also had a chipmunk for a few days and was then released.
When I arrived last monday I started by helping feed the 30 or so squirrels in the nursery with another volunteer, Marie. They are "burrito wrapped" in a small towel and syringe fed warm squirrel formula. The nice thing about feeding the squirrels is they will let you know when they are full by stopping, unlike the raccoons, which would probably eat themselves to death. The fed squirrels in each carrier/tank are then put into a small holding tank so that their carrier/tank can be cleaned out. They are then put back in and placed back on their shelf on a heating pad. After the squirrels were done, Marie and I prepared the rabies and distemper vaccines for the racoons. Each dose of the rabies vaccine was in its own vial, while the distemper was separated into a liquid and powder. The syringe was first filled with the liquid, then it was squirt into the powder vial, mixed, and put back into the syringe. Each was 1cc worth of vaccine, the same size syringe used for feeding the squirrels. Since I don't have rabies shots, I cannot do much with the raccons, fox, or groundhog, but once the vaccines were given it was time for cleaning out dishes from the squirrels and doing squirrel laundry. Once that was done, the crates of vegetables and lettuce that were donated were sorted and unwanted items were put into the compost outside. Old squirrel tanks were scrubbed and washed and that was the end to my first day. By this time there was only one fawn, which we named Bambi.
Tuesday was similar, Marie and I fed and cleaned up after the squirrels, Kelly was in charge of the several fawns, outside squirrel dishes were made up, and the chickens were fed (eggs are used for the foxes).
Thursday was the next day I went. Since I was the only one there that day, I fed all the squirrels inside, cleaned their cages, prepared food for all the squirrels, and bottle fed fawns (by this time there were 8).
Today the new intern, Nick, arrived at the center and it was my job to teach him how to do everything. All of the squirrels are weaned except for two cages so Nick and I fed and cleaned those. We prepared all the squirrel dishes for the indoor and outdoor cages, then moved some of the older squirrels to the barn to make room in the house. The outdoor double squirrel cage has about 30 in it, and another cage has Forest Gump (obese squirrel that's on a diet! and also has teeth problems.). The double sided cage outside was not cleaned out since last year, so Jess (the "raccoon lady") and I did that, and re-set up the cage for one of the fox kits, Yoda. The other fox cage outside had holes in the ground from last year's foxes. Sand from Tractor Supply right down the road was used to even out the cage and fill in the holes. The logs were rearranged and the pond was taken out so it could be washed out. Two female foxes were put in this cage after it was finished. All but the two intensive care fawns were moved from inside the house in a play pen to in the barn.
I will be bringing my camera this week but here are a few pictures of the patients.
When I arrived last monday I started by helping feed the 30 or so squirrels in the nursery with another volunteer, Marie. They are "burrito wrapped" in a small towel and syringe fed warm squirrel formula. The nice thing about feeding the squirrels is they will let you know when they are full by stopping, unlike the raccoons, which would probably eat themselves to death. The fed squirrels in each carrier/tank are then put into a small holding tank so that their carrier/tank can be cleaned out. They are then put back in and placed back on their shelf on a heating pad. After the squirrels were done, Marie and I prepared the rabies and distemper vaccines for the racoons. Each dose of the rabies vaccine was in its own vial, while the distemper was separated into a liquid and powder. The syringe was first filled with the liquid, then it was squirt into the powder vial, mixed, and put back into the syringe. Each was 1cc worth of vaccine, the same size syringe used for feeding the squirrels. Since I don't have rabies shots, I cannot do much with the raccons, fox, or groundhog, but once the vaccines were given it was time for cleaning out dishes from the squirrels and doing squirrel laundry. Once that was done, the crates of vegetables and lettuce that were donated were sorted and unwanted items were put into the compost outside. Old squirrel tanks were scrubbed and washed and that was the end to my first day. By this time there was only one fawn, which we named Bambi.
Tuesday was similar, Marie and I fed and cleaned up after the squirrels, Kelly was in charge of the several fawns, outside squirrel dishes were made up, and the chickens were fed (eggs are used for the foxes).
Thursday was the next day I went. Since I was the only one there that day, I fed all the squirrels inside, cleaned their cages, prepared food for all the squirrels, and bottle fed fawns (by this time there were 8).
Today the new intern, Nick, arrived at the center and it was my job to teach him how to do everything. All of the squirrels are weaned except for two cages so Nick and I fed and cleaned those. We prepared all the squirrel dishes for the indoor and outdoor cages, then moved some of the older squirrels to the barn to make room in the house. The outdoor double squirrel cage has about 30 in it, and another cage has Forest Gump (obese squirrel that's on a diet! and also has teeth problems.). The double sided cage outside was not cleaned out since last year, so Jess (the "raccoon lady") and I did that, and re-set up the cage for one of the fox kits, Yoda. The other fox cage outside had holes in the ground from last year's foxes. Sand from Tractor Supply right down the road was used to even out the cage and fill in the holes. The logs were rearranged and the pond was taken out so it could be washed out. Two female foxes were put in this cage after it was finished. All but the two intensive care fawns were moved from inside the house in a play pen to in the barn.
I will be bringing my camera this week but here are a few pictures of the patients.
Poppy, Thumper, and Flower (from back to front)
Rafiki, baby groundhog
Baby Yoda
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