The reuniting box and more bad news.

Had a call in JoAnn's neck of the woods in Arlington for a baby raccoon found on the sidewalk. That would be this adorable little guy..... He was in great shape and a (possible) mom had been seen in the area so we scoped it out and set him up in the re-uniting box. Long story short....mom didn't come back, a rare occurrence, and for now he is in JoAnn's capable hands for a while until I can clear up the mess at my house! (I'll get to that soon....)

For those who wonder what the heck a re-uniting box is....here ya go!

My Dad made these. It's an enclosed box we can safely put the baby in with comfy blankets and heat if need be. The front has a hole big enough for a raccoon to fit in and there is a sliding door.

The box is set up in a good spot...

Baby, blankies and a snuggle safe are put inside....

The top is secured shut and the sliding door gets shut over the hole. Baby is tucked away safe from predators and warm. When mom comes looking, she can easily slide the door open to gain access to her kit. As we all know, raccoons are great at figuring out how to open things!! This is a piece of cake for her, but not something most other animals could figure out.

Most times we return the next morning and see the door slid open and we know the baby is gone before even looking inside. Unfortunately not the case this time....but the little guy is in good hands none the less!

OK...the reason JoAnn needs to hold on to the little guy.....
Saturday morning feeding time. All is well with the exception of Phil. All of a sudden he has front leg weakness. Not really using them to walk, but clinging to the cage door ok. I separate him out to keep an eye on him. His condition continues to decline neurologically, but still eating and not in any pain and seems quite comfortable. We do a parvo test (twice) and it is negative. It's a long weekend so no other tests can be run anyway, so as long as he's comfortable I just monitor his condition and continue supportive care. When he seems to start having trouble eating...but he still wants to eat, I start tube feeding him so he continues to get his proper nutrition etc....
Unfortunately I feel he is at the point where he is not going to improve, he is just getting worse, and he needs to be euthanized. It's heartbreaking and it could be anything! (except parvo!) Thanks to Laurie for handling this for me!!!....I just couldn't bear it.......We're working on having him sent out to a lab for a necropsy. His quarantine over almost 2 seeks ago, he had been with 8 other coons all showing no signs of anything. Doesn't appear contagious. It looks like rabies, however it was a sudden onset and some aspects don't line up with that....like no bite wounds or apparent exposure. No vomiting, no diarrhea, normal appetite through it all, no fever. If he fell in his cage...it really isn't big enough to have caused such a trauma. A miserable situation all around.
While all this is going on, Bramble decides to go off her bottle. After 2 missed feedings I once again pull out the parvo test kits....and of course...positive! They were still in quarantine anyway, so it's confined to her and her siblings. Thistle and Thorny are still eating like pigs and appear unaffected, but only time will tell now. For now, Bramble is on sub q fluids only until her symptoms go away and her appetite returns. If she makes it to that point her formula will be slowly re-introduced and recovery should be quick.
So crappy weekend all around....now just keeping a close watch on the parvo clan and an even closer eye on the gang that had been with Phil until we have some answers!

Luckily the 10 oldest coons are all outside safe and away from this mess! Tosser continues to do well....actually improving so I'm holding out some hope in that corner! JoAnn's 12 squirrels were released over the weekend to join the firs 6 still hanging around, so I am surrounded by lots of little squirrels waiting for me to throw them a treat when I head out to the shed to take care of the older coons! A wonderful way to start the day watching them have fun in the woods around me!