911 Advice for Raccoons

“I found an orphaned eyes-closed baby raccoon. What do I do?”
Baby raccoons which still have their eyes closed are far too young to survive without their mother. Here’s what you do if you find a baby raccoon:

Using heavy gloves and/or a towel, gently pick up the baby and place it in a box lined with a clean t-shirt. Make sure the lid has air holes and place a rubber band around the entire box. Follow the stabilization protocol located below and contact a wildlife rehabilitator.

“Does the mother stay with the babies?”
Yes. Mother raccoons stay with their babies and will move the entire family one by one if she feels any threat or danger to them. She will forage at night (sometimes during the early morning hours and/or at dusk) to find food and water. If you have food and water outside for your domestic animals then that is an open invitation for wild animals to come and live at your house! Simply pick up the food at night to discourage nighttime “visitors”.

“How often does the mother feed the babies?”
Raccoon mothers feed their babies often at first (every 2 hours) until they are older. A few weeks after their eyes are open they will start to follow their mother in the search for food and water.

“I have picked up the babies -- won’t my scent keep the mother away?”
NO -- the scent of a human on her baby will not keep her from continuing to care for her infant.

“How do I know whether the babies are old enough to survive on their own?”
They will leave the current nest for another location with their mother when they are able to walk and are approximately 3 months old. The best way to tell is by contacting a rehabilitator who can help you to determine the age of the raccoon. Raccoon babies stay with their mothers up to 9 months or until maturity sends them on their own paths.

“How many babies do raccoons have?”
Raccoons can have up to 8 babies, but it is more common to see 2-4 in a litter.

“The babies are blue and cold. What do I do?”
Raccoon babies cannot endure the cold. They MUST be kept warm until help can be obtained. Please follow the stabilization protocol given below.

“Are baby raccoons dangerous to me?”
Raccoons are a rabies vector species, which means that they have been classified as a wildlife species which has been known to carry rabies. Although the incidence of rabies is extremely low here in Texas in raccoons, you need to exercise common sense in approaching any wild animal, including an infant raccoon. Raccoons are highly intelligent! They have sharp teeth and will vocalize their displeasure at being disturbed (even if you are trying to help them). They will usually not attack a human, but can and will turn and snap when they feel threatened, or if you are in their “space”. If you do not feel comfortable approaching an infant raccoon, please do not hesitate to contact a wildlife rehabilitator, animal control shelter or humane animal trapper to help you with the raccoons. Raccoons also carry various diseases which can be harmful to your cat, dog, and you; but the opposite is also true -- raccoons can contract diseases (viruses) from your domestic animals if they are not up to date on their vaccinations. Parvo and distemper are the most common viral infections which can cross species. Remember -- co-existence is the key AND the answer!

“How do I get a raccoon to leave my attic/chimney/shed where it has had a litter?”
Raccoons do not like bright lights, noxious fumes or loud noises. Try placing a radio near where the raccoons are living and play it during the evening hours. Ammonia-soaked rags in a bowl placed near their nest will also help nudge them along and out of your environment. A bright light turned on in an attic along with the other techniques are often also helpful and persuasive in getting them to “move along”. Once you see where the mother raccoon is getting in, secure it as soon as she leaves so that others will not follow and move in!

“My cat/dog just brought in a baby raccoon. What do I do now?”
Cats puncture and dogs crush. If there are any injuries whatsoever, a rehabilitator should be contacted as soon as possible. Cat bites are almost always fatal, so if there is broken skin on the animal then its life is compromised... Keep your cats indoors!! Cats are the killers of millions of species of wildlife each year! Follow the stabilization protocol located at the end of this advice sheet.

Please follow the instructions below IF:

The babies are in imminent life-threatening danger;
The babies are injured;
You have determined that the babies are abandoned and/or orphaned.

If any of the above stated situations fits your particular scenario, then contact a state-permitted wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible. If the baby raccoons are determined to have been abandoned and you need to transport them to a rehabilitator, please do the following:

Use a small container such as a shoebox. Punch air holes in the lid.
Line the shoebox with a clean t-shirt or baby receiving blanket that you do not mind giving up.
Place the babies inside the shoebox and put a rubber band around the box and lid, securing it for the ride.
Babies must stay warm. Fill a clean tube sock with uncooked white rice and tie off at the cuff with a piece of string. Place the sock into a microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes. Place the sock inside the shoebox and put part of the t-shirt or other piece of clean cloth over the sock. You don’t want the sock to be so hot that it could burn the babies. The babies will crawl next to the warmth of the sock and stay there for the ride to the rehabilitator. Another option is to put a wet washcloth (wrung out) into a ziplock baggie and microwave until warm but not hot. This acts as a portable heating pad!

If it is going to be a length of time before you can get the babies to a rehabilitator, please do the following:

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FEED THE BABIES -- TO DO SO COULD CAUSE THEIR DEATH

Follow the instructions above as per the shoebox or other small container.
If you have a heating pad, set it on low and place the pad on a non-conductive surface (your bathroom counter or washing machine lid will do just fine).
Place the container with the babies half-on and half-off the heating pad. This will allow the babies to move away from the heat if they need to.

Raccoons require a specialized formula. Alone, most replacement formulas are not sufficient in ingredients to sustain a growing baby raccoon. A rehabilitator has been trained to offer the formula appropriate for this species and knows the correct feeding schedule and protocol of rehydration. You also run the risk of aspirating the baby by using an incorrect feeding utensil (such as a baby bottle with nipple). Mom raccoons also stimulate the babies after feeding in order to help them eliminate. This process is vital to their health and life. Baby raccoons are incredibly fragile and do not take handling by humans well. They will die of stress if handled improperly. Keep baby raccoons away from children, household noise (such as vacuum cleaners and so forth), domestic pets and bright light.

Raccoons do not make good pets. They are wild things and have wild instincts. They do not trust humans and do not accept other domestic animals as companions. Please do not consider keeping these incredible and fragile creatures as pets -- to keep a raccoon in a cage for the rest of its life is to doom it to a life of sadness and broken spirit.

For further information, please contact:

Diana Orr -- State-permitted for small mammals
Wildlife Rehabilitator specializing in the eastern cottontail and other native lagomorph/hare species
WildRescue, Inc. / Rabbit Rescue / Rabbit’s Rest Sanctuary
Copper Canyon, Texas Phone: 940-241-1242
wildrescuetexas@yahoo.com www.rescuedrabbits.org www.iwrc-online.org

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

911 Advice for Raccoons
Copyright Diana Orr All Rights Reserved August 2004