Welcome Bear and Digger.

A few updates on the raccoon front! This adorable little man came in Sunday. He was apparently found by some workmen somewhere in Boston. The woman that brought him left him outside for 2 nights before calling. I only wish she had called for advice before trying that. He came in very emaciated, cold and depressed. Non in good shape at all.

After warming up he's got a little more life in him....and is he cute or what!

Where's Waldo? LOL! He thoroughly enjoys his fur to snuggle with. Every time I check on him he is either under or on top of his "pseudo mom".

Lift the fur up and he's sound asleep under there! This picture is actually deceiving....his body condition looks rather good in this one, but I think it's the flash...

 It's hard to tell through all the fur anyway, but here you can see a little better how scrawny he looks....and that he's soooo happy to be snuggling! He has been on a re-feeding schedule and I am just starting to introduce regular formula to his clinicare. He is getting stronger every feeding and is eagerly sucking down his bottles now. I am optimistic but reserved....sometimes animals that come in this starved bounce back and seem fine, however the damage to certain organs has already been done and they crash. So lets send positive thoughts his way!

Unfortunately we lost little Itty. He was the weaker of the 2 tiny ones found on a sidewalk. But Bitty is going strong and thriving. He's still quite small for his age and will probably develop a lot slower than the rest of the gang, but he's a tenacious little dude! 

He is in with the 3 babies brought in by the Animal Rescue League (Rikki, Tikki and Tavi) so he has some company! They are all about the same age, but he's so much smaller! It certainly makes it easy to tell them apart.

One more has been added to the crew. This girl is the lone survivor of a terrible accident. The DPW crew were working on a street in Chelmsford. The excavator dug into the street to tear it up and unbenounced to them, dug right into the den. Mom was probably using some drainage pipes of some type, and all but this little girl were killed. So very sad!
Surprisingly not a mark on her! And what a chunky little monkey she is! She should be, she was very well taken care of by mom, and it was a very short time period between rescue and delivery to us! She's about half of Bitty's age and weighs about 50 grams more!

Needless to say Digger has settled in quite comfortably and will be able to join Bitty's crew soon.

 

Not to be left out, the original 6 are doing great! Romeo and Juliette have grown so much and are getting big! The Rowley 4 (Sampson, Delilah, Bonnie and Clyde), have opened their eyes and are shacking up with Romeo and Juliette. They're awesome!

 

Itty & Bitty

These tiny little boys came in to Laurie on Friday. They were found just laying on a sidewalk near a T station in Dorchester, I believe. They are very tiny for their age, weighing in at only 105 grams, were not staying warm regardless of how much heat she put them on, pretty weak and were not thriving very well. Being pretty runty, mom may have abandoned them.
Laurie spent the weekend getting them re-hydrated and, due to their very small size, got them started on formula by tube feeding. I told her I would take over so I offered a trade! LOL
On Sunday I got 3 new babies about the same age, but much bigger and healthier the way they should be! A very kind man had been made aware of the fact that the mom's tree had been cut down in Framingham on Friday. Although he lived in Worcester, he made the effort to try to re-unite them that night with their mom, sitting out there in his car most of the night! Unfortunately mom only came back for one baby, so he took the remaining babies in and cared for them until he got them to me Sunday. He did an awesome job and they were all in great health, perfectly hydrated and eating well!
Laurie brought me Itty and Bitty and took the new 3 with her.

I am guardedly optimistic about these 2. We started them on antibiotics just before she brought them and they are still being tube fed, but they seem to be improving. Both are maintaining their warmth, gaining weight and seem stronger and more active....and we've got perfect normal poop after every meal! How exciting is that! LOL  I don't think they are out of the woods by any means yet, but hopefully with a little extra TLC and effort, they will grow and thrive. Only time will tell at this point, so fingers crossed everyone!

The other 9 baby raccoons and 6 squirrels here are doing great. I'll try to get updated pics of them soon! We are all pretty much filling up with babies of all types now....

Crazy days.

It's been a crazy couple of days! It all started when I responded to a call where a tree was being cut down and a mother raccoon ran out with a baby and hid under the neighbors deck. When I got there I was told mom managed to grab 2 or 3 of her babies and they had the rest. I asked where they were and I was told "Right over there in the bucket......next to the baby squirrels!" Uggghhhh! 

So mom raccoon and mom squirrel lost a perfect home and it was my turn to try to make things better! 

First things first....I gathered the 5 remaining raccoon kits and brought them to mom and siblings under the neighbors porch. She wasted no time collecting them and retreating to the far reaches under there! I then set up a radio under there and instructed the homeowner  to leave it on and she should relocate the whole family during the night. Thank God the whole family was gone the next morning when I returned to check on the situation. Success!

Unfortunately the situation was not conducive to attempt a reunite with the squirrels. All 4 girls are now safe and snuggled in here.

Fast forward to the next day. I get a call from the Animal Rescue League. We've got possums and squirrels and coons, oh my! The first delivery included 4 extremely emaciated squirrels, 3 baby raccoons and 2 tiny possums. Two of the squirrels unfortunately did not survive, however the other 2 are doing great in Laurie's hands. 

Two other deliveries.....a single squirrel each time. Both little boys are doing well, cute as hell, and are now snuggled in with the 4 girls from the tree.

The 3 little raccoons were left in a box next to a dumpster. Luckily a kind soul rescued them and contacted the ARL to save them! They are quite comfortable here now and doing well so far!

The possums were also saved by a kind soul who discovered the body of the mom hit by a car, and turkey vultures making a meal of her and the unfortunate babies! These 2 were all that remained and are now safe and sound with Laurie.

An update from Mary on our new mother raccoon. She is quite relaxed and content in there and Mary actually managed to get a look at 2 babies! They look great so mom appears to be doing well after such a rough start.

Baby season is officially in full swing...

Looky looky!

Well look who finally opened her eyes! She's getting big and needs friends! Just as I was getting ready to see if Lisa wanted to add her to the group she has....

 .....four new babies have arrived! A little younger, but close enough to join her! Their tree was being taken down by the forestry department. Luckily the guys noticed the nest and were kind enough to stop cutting the tree down and wait for me to come in and handle it! All 4 are safe and sound, have been introduced to Chippy, and are now with Laurie.

 

 

And the squirrels are with Laurie because these 4 tiny ones came in over the weekend! It was going to be hard lugging these 4, Romeo and Juliette (whose eyes are starting to crack open by the way) and 5 baby squirrels to work, never mind having the time to feed them as often as needed at their young age!

So we have 2 boys and 2 girls, about a week old. Mom was chased off and these poor little ones were left in a trap in the cold for about 8 hours! Luckily a friend got a hold of them, warmed them up, and got them to me! All 4 are doing great and are just as cute as can be! Thank you Lisa!!

 

Mary reports our new mom has settled in quietly at her place. She is eating and drinking and Mary can hear happy baby sounds coming from in there! Whew! Considering all she has been through, she's proving to be a great mom so far.

This little bun was brought to me this morning. Mom and siblings had been killed by a dog yesterday it was thought, although after my initial exam he seemed pretty emaciated and dehydrated, more than a day's worth. The woman that brought him to me checked with her neighbor after dropping it off, and come to find out it had happened Friday! They had tried to care for it themselves, then got it to her only yesterday. Poor baby is so thin! But he did start to perk up a little after getting re hydrated, and now that he is in JoAnn's very capable hands, he just may have a chance!

JoAnn has quite a collection starting herself! A few other baby buns, some squirrels and a very tiny mouse. She's got her hands full with that crew.
We are off and running!