Newly licensed rehabber!

[u/hyperpug]

Hi everyone!

I just got my license today and can’t wait to help out some wildlife. I have been fostering critical neonatal kittens for years so I have experience caring for baby orphaned mammals, but would love any tips on how to get started.

Are there certain species that are “easier” than others? I think I’ve read that cottontail can be released at like 5-6 weeks old while squirrels will need to stay inside for a bit longer. How about birds?

I am in touch with some local rehabbers who will guide me when I get my first case, but they are all super busy right now so I don’t want to bombard them with all of my questions. Any tips/advice for a newbie would be greatly appreciated!!

[u/Embarrassed_Ad7096]

Absolutely! Congrats first of all!!

Squirrels and raccoons are easiest (in my opinion). Opossum are my favorites but their diet (especially as babies) is very very specific and can be a bit overwhelming. Cottontail would be the most difficult (for most). They do have a the shortest rehab..

Rehab lengths vary per animal of course, but this is MY general guideline for release.

•Cottontail - 150 grams (roughly 4-5 weeks old)

•Squirrels - 20-24 weeks old

•Opossum - 3.5 pounds

•Raccoons - 6-9 months old

Given you’re in NY (I think I read that ?), I don’t think you can do RVS unless specifically licensed for that so raccoons may be out of the equation. I’d advise starting with squirrels. Of course all animals have their own difficulties, but I think overall they’re the “easiest”, even though they are somewhat longer rehabs.

You absolutely need various stages of caging. Incubators are good, but babies grow quick! I advise having- Incubators, totes (with holes), one story cages, 2 story cages, pre-release cages. You’ll need a few of all…you never know if you’ll need to separate babies.

[u/hyperpug → u/Embarrassed_Ad7096]

Thank you for the detailed response! Super helpful. Yes I am in NY, so can’t do raccoons. Now I gotta figure out what to do space-wise because the plan was to keep them in my foster room, separated completely from my cats, but there is no room in there for multiple cages if I want to do squirrels. 🥲 The rehabber that I’ve been talking to does mostly cottontails and she keeps them in small rabbit cages and play pens, and those don’t seem to take up too much space. But now I am nervous about taking cottontails after seeing how everyone thinks they are the most difficult ones!

[u/Embarrassed_Ad7096 → u/hyperpug]

If you have an extra closet in that bedroom, you can likely make it work! I stack cages inside of each other (smaller ones inside of my largest until I need it), outside under my porch, in the closet- you name it! If you only want to do squirrels right now you won’t need as many! I go through 4 stages of caging before putting them outside in pre release. I use totes for my teenies, one long (but single story) rabbit type cage so they can practice climbing some without getting hurt if they fall, one half of a critter nation cage and then the full critter nation cage. So pretty much a minimum of 3 inside cages.

You have to make sure the wire spacing is pretty tight or they’ll escape so I don’t typically recommend kennels for most wildlife babies (even adults for some species).

If you want to PM me, I can send links or examples of what I use!

Cottontail are difficult but they are quick rehabs and don’t take up much space. In my state it is not required to pre-release them, it’s actually advised against so that helps because you don’t need a special outdoor enclosure for them either. But that may be different in your state based on the requirements there.