Really...Baby Coon....

[annanicole18]

Quote:
bite? it's eyes aren't even open yet ....
i've successfully raised coons when they were that small.
DO NOT take it to animal control unless you want it dead.We always took "our" babies to the local AUDUBON WILDLIFE CENTER where they would reintroduce them into the wild.

They are fairly easy to raise, you treat them as you would a kitten. Feed them kitten formula from a small animal bottle. You will find basic directions on the formula pkg. which you can get at your local vets as well as petshops,feedstores or even walmart i believe. You do need to be sure to stimulate the bowels with a damp,warm wash cloth or soft rag after each feeding. They do need feeding every 2 hours or so at that age.No telling how long that "kit" has been w/o a meal so that's a priority .

those maggots are a real issue also.if you use 'baby bath' warm water and be VERY careful you can clean the little guy up by rinsing it off( no soap/shampoo) then blow dry it on low setting and towel dry it in combination ,be careful not to burn it with the hair dryer though.
when he's dry make a 'nest' for it in a box with a towel or soft rags with a heating pad under them .Set the heating pad on a temp. that makes your hand feel warm when you touch the cloths.
Coon kits are adorable creatures as babies .they love to cuddle and follow you around and pat your face and purr when they're contented .They can be very amusing too and when they open their eyes it's a steady adventure in MISCHEF to be around them !However....they ARE wild animals and can become VERY AGGRESSIVE when they reach puberty and older....NOT a good pet. Also, i suspect you need a license to even keep them.
Hope this helps

thanks for the info i was afraid that many places would just put it down. the little belly must feel better because no more noise and fussing and starting to sleep. how concerned should i be about rabies and roundworm? of course i'm wearing gloves all the time but still a little worried

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
absolutely handle with care HOWEVER it's eyes are not open yet so it's more likely that the mother disappeared and due to that issue perhaps the sibling(s) died in the nest which brought the flies........
i would just use those disposible gloves when you handle the little guy..the kind that you can buy anywhere for a few $ for about 100 of them...

if rabies was an issue with the little 1 i think that it would already be dead, 1-1/2 week old( just guessing age due to it's eyes not being open yet) coon kits are pretty fragile as all tiny babies are. Not sure about the roundworm issue but most puppies and kittens have them as well until old enough for the vet to medicate.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
No... mother *could* have died of rabies, younguns too young to have symptoms yet. There is very definitely raccoon rabies in OH. If you have not been vaccinated, and nobody IS except vets and wildlife people, it would really be rather better for YOU (as well as for the raccoon itself) for you to find a rehabber who will take it. I don't know about your area specifically but these days they are pretty common. Rubber gloves won't help when you get bit, and you pretty much *will* get bit eventually, according to the people I've known who've done this sort of thing. Actual wildlife rehab people are much better set up to give it what it needs, and also raise it in such a way that it can potentially be released again without becoming a serious nuisance.

(Raccoons are only too happy to become pets -- albeit smelly, bitey, get-into-everything pets that can't satisfactorily be vaccinated against rabies -- and when they are hand-raised that way, you are often stuck between keeping them illegally and sometimes unpleasantly, or euthanizing this critter you raised from a pup, or releasing it to become a SERIOUS nuisance locally because it has no fear whatever of humans and knows quite a lot more than its wild kin about how to get into their sheds/windows/etc.)

Good luck, but please try to find a rehabber to take him?,

Pat

 

[mhwc56]

Quote:
No... mother *could* have died of rabies, younguns too young to have symptoms yet. There is very definitely raccoon rabies in OH. If you have not been vaccinated, and nobody IS except vets and wildlife people, it would really be rather better for YOU (as well as for the raccoon itself) for you to find a rehabber who will take it. I don't know about your area specifically but these days they are pretty common. Rubber gloves won't help when you get bit, and you pretty much *will* get bit eventually, according to the people I've known who've done this sort of thing. Actual wildlife rehab people are much better set up to give it what it needs, and also raise it in such a way that it can potentially be released again without becoming a serious nuisance.

(Raccoons are only too happy to become pets -- albeit smelly, bitey, get-into-everything pets that can't satisfactorily be vaccinated against rabies -- and when they are hand-raised that way, you are often stuck between keeping them illegally and sometimes unpleasantly, or euthanizing this critter you raised from a pup, or releasing it to become a SERIOUS nuisance locally because it has no fear whatever of humans and knows quite a lot more than its wild kin about how to get into their sheds/windows/etc.)

Good luck, but please try to find a rehabber to take him?,

Pat

it would DEFINITELY be better to get someone who is a rehabber to care for the kit just b/c they have more experience ,licensed etc. ( DO look up Audubon Wildlife Centers near you)
What i don't understand though is WHY does everyone keep posting that the kit WILL BITE...?????
if it's so young that it's EYES AREN'T OPEN YET then it should pretty much fit in the palm of a hand with room to spare. i have raised coons this size/age before over the years and THEY WILL NOT BITE when this small any more than a week old kitten would.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE is that hand-raised from this young age is that they DO NOT try to bite until they are several months old and going into "the ugly teen hormonal age". I have NEVER been bitten by the coon kits that i hand-raised .

 

[WoodlandWoman]

In my state, if you contact the DNR and ask them, they will give you contact information for the rehabbers or centers in the area that will take particular species.

I wonder if a flea comb would help to get some of the fly eggs off?