Summer 2024 Update
This summer we have already admitted 6 snapping turtles and 13 painted turtles, 10 of which were admitted within just four days time! All of these patients were hit by vehicles while trying to cross the road.
Turtles cross roads for several reasons including seeking out a mate, to lay eggs, to go back to its original territory after laying eggs, or seeking out new territories. When a female carrying eggs gets hit on the road it is a detriment to their population, it could mean the loss of not only the breeding female turtle but also the loss of dozens of future turtles.
While driving please be aware that these turtles often look like rocks and that we should all do our best to try to avoid them in the safest way possible. We would also recommend, if safe, to help these turtles cross the road in the direction they are facing.
Two of the three screech owls we have admitted so far this year have been immature “branchers“ attacked by cats. Cats are a common household pet that can wreak havoc to our natural world with their instinctual hunting/prey drive when allowed outside. These owls are examples of this.
When a cat catches a prey item it leaves pin prick wounds that not only bleed excessively but will very easily become infected from the bacteria found in cats mouths. One of the screech owls was able to rebound from the attack with the help of antibiotics and pain meds while the other did not survive through the night.
This year we have admitted 6 coyote pups. Two did not survive because of their emaciation and overall debilitated state. The four that survived still had their eyes closed upon admit meaning they were under two weeks old and would still be 100% reliant on their mothers milk. Three were found on the side of the road, from different litters, and one was brought to a woman’s back door by her dog.
We spent the first few weeks purely bottle feeding 4 times a day before gradually transitioning them to a solid diet supplemented with milk replacer. As these pups get older and continue to grow we start to move them from small enclosures to larger ones allowing them to follow their natural history of adventuring out of the den by just 6 weeks of age.
They are currently in our “West Wing” of the hospital where they are able to run, play, and interact with each other in as natural of a setting as possible for the time being. We have the intention of moving them to their final outdoor enclosure when they have had adequate time to acclimate to the weather.
