Baby Raccoon Information
What To Do If You Find A Baby Raccoon - Finding a small animal in distress can be a harrowing experience, and it is natural for any compassionate human being to want to do anything they can in order to help that animal, particularly when it is as cute as a baby raccoon. However, there are a lot of challenges that those who actually want to help a baby raccoon will need to overcome, and one of the primary factors is that most people simply do not have the equipment or the food in order to be able to care for such an animal. There are however steps that you can take, and if you follow this guide then you will be giving the baby raccoon the best possible chance at survival.
Reuniting The Baby With Its Mother
The first step that you should take is often the most difficult, as many people's first instinct will be to run up to the animal and to coo over it, but in reality this can actually prevent the baby raccoon from being recovered by its mother. The best chances of survival for the baby is if the mother is simply nearby, and comes to collect her cub when she realizes that it is gone, but many female raccoons will be reluctant to do so if they find their baby and it has the scent of a person on it. Carry out a visual inspection of the baby raccoon from a distance to see if there are any visible injuries, and if not, monitor the animal from a safe distance over a few hours to see if the mother recovers her cub. If this doesn't happen, then you can take the next steps to try and get the animal to a specialist.
Can You Raise A Baby Raccoon As A Pet?
This is a very difficult subject for many people, as once they have helped the baby raccoon they may want to keep it as it is a cute animal and looks as though it would make a good pet. The reality is that it is very difficult to raise a baby raccoon as a pet, because they have so many instincts for a wild animal, and do not deal at all well with life within a domestic property nor life within a cage.
Keeping The Baby Raccoon Warm And Safe
The first step is to try and get the baby raccoon into a safe and warm box so that they can be transported, and this is best done by using a cardboard or plastic box that will have sides high enough to prevent the baby from getting out. Look to fill a hot water bottle with warm water, and then cover it in a cloth and place it inside the box so that it will keep the animal warm, but not too hot. Where possible, use a cloth that doesn't have any small loops such as most towels, as the paws can get caught in this material. You can then gently place the baby raccoon in the box, and take it home so you can arrange the next steps.
Should You Feed The Animal?
The biggest concern for most baby raccoons will be dehydration, and while cold tap water isn't going to help, gently heated distilled water at around body temperature can be used, and a solution of one pint of distilled water, one teaspoon of sugar and a third of a teaspoon of salt can help to rehydrate the animal. When it comes to feeding the animal, do not use cow's milk as this is harmful to the baby raccoon, but if it will take you a few days to find a specialist, puppy milk replacement or kitten milk replacement can be used, using a bottle feeder designed for puppies and kittens.
Finding A Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist
There are a variety of different specialists that can help in this kind of situation, and your best bet for finding a wildlife rehabilitation specialist is to call or visit your local veterinarian, who will usually have a list of contacts. These specialists will have the skills and knowledge to be able to help the baby and to try and save its life, so getting the baby raccoon to them is imperative, and should be done as quickly as possible.
Transporting The Baby Raccoon To The Rehabilitator
Provide the box with a fresh hot water bottle filled with warm water, and make sure that it is safely secured in the car. If you have any friends or children that can travel in the car with you, they can carry the box to make sure the baby raccoon isn't shaken around too much during the journey. While it may be difficult to let the cute little animal go, it is definitely the best step for the baby raccoon's chances of survival.
Go back to the main Raccoon Removal page for more information about raccoon babies. How do you care for them? What food do you feed them? Are any raccoon babies for sale, and is that legal?
