What do wildlife rehabilitators do with squirrels?

Different wildlife rehabbers will do different things with their squirrels once they have been caught, but we will avoid using traps and cages with squirrels as much as possible. What we choose to do is use one-way doors or exclusion devices to ensure the squirrel can get out of the property, but it can't get back in again. This has been proven to be the best way to deal with a number of wild animal control problems, and moves the animal on without any need for harm, stress, or injury. We never use poisons because these are both inhumane and ineffective. There is no registered poison for squirrels, and there is no set amount of other rodent poison - rat or mouse poison, for example, that you can use for squirrels also. There is a very high chance that you will cause the squirrel to die somewhere deep in your home, and that is, once again, going to be quite the extensive problem to sort out. You will generally also find that squirrels won't actually go anywhere near rat or mouse poison. If they do, you probably won't have put enough down to kill it. Squirrel traps in the attic are another option that rarely works, and this is because the squirrels have a tendency to keep well away from those cage traps. This is why exclusion devices and methods are considered the best way, and are tried-and-tested as far as we are concerned.



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Animals only go for rehabilitation because there have been human-related activities that have affected them. These people help in taking care of these animals maybe if they were trapped so that the animal can get back to life. Maybe the squirrel was orphaned because the mother died or left or it has been sick in such case scenarios there has to be someone to take care of it.

Most times people get permits to take care of these animals but a lot of them try to turn them into pets. One thing people should know by now is the fact that these animals no matter what you do they are still wild and cannot be tamed. You must have at least knowledge on how to care for this animals because they will not get better by you trying out different tests on them.

In case they have been injured the first thing these people do is to check how worse the injuries are or if they are sick they must get the specific diagnoses. Think about it one wrong move could kill the animal. Have enough knowledge on different species of squirrels and how to give each special care. During the recuperation period they must be given the right food to make sure they remain healthy.

Something else a rehabilitator should know is how these animals behave and how often they should remain caged. Squirrels love to get their food and hide some for the future that is why if you are not careful it will disappear before it heals fully. You do not want to be all over running around looking for one lost and injured squirrel because chances are you might not find it.

Squirrels unlike other wild animals are not exactly protected by the state or any federal laws therefore sometimes people prefer to let them die because they are destructive in nature. If you are a rehabilitator make sure you have a permit from the state you operate in so that you are allowed to work legally. There are some requirements that you must have fulfilled.

One should be trained and have done several oral and written examples to prove that they can work with these animals. If they feel like their lives are in danger of course they will bite therefore one should know how to come to them as a harmless being. There are no special rehabilitators for squirrels specifically since most of them fall under rodents.

Make sure you attend as many conferences as possible so that you learn from other people. Mentorship programs, seminars and training sessions are important for a rehabilitator not only in your field but also in other fields. People who are not rehabilitators and would want to take care of these animals need to be guided through therefore one you might be required to give them some lessons.

Teach them how to provide basic needs to these animals and carry out first aid and also the importance of returning these young ones to their families. Just like you feel better healing when surrounded by family and friends that is the same case with these animals. They should know the proper safety precautions that they should have in mind to make sure both the animal and you are safe.