Do you have raccoons living in your attic? If so, you need to make sure you take care of them immediately. Raccoons are not necessarily the same as squirrels because they are much larger and stronger than squirrels and cause substantial damage. When raccoons come into your home, they are looking for something they can eat or the place where they can give birth. It is not uncommon to find a baby raccoon in Toronto alone in the park, under the deck or in the yard. The first thought is the animal is orphaned and this is sometimes true. Most times however, the baby has simply strayed from its mother. Raccoons typically do not become nocturnal until after the first year. The baby might have simply gone out exploring while its mother sleeps, and will either return to the den or the mother will find it once she awakes.
What to Do With a Baby Raccoon
You need to wait at least 8 hours before you decide that the animal is orphaned. It takes 2-8 hours for a mother to find its lost youngling. There is also the possibility that the mother is moving the litter to another den and will be back shortly to pick up the young.
Meanwhile, there is still much you can do to keep the baby raccoon safe while you wait on its mother. Wear protective work gloves to pick it up and place it in a box with a hot water bottle. Wrap the hot water bottle in a towel before placing the young coon. Cover the box partially to make it easy for the mother to retrieve its young and inspect the box every few hours. Do not hang around the vicinity in case the mother is just out of sight. The mother might get aggressive or shy away from approaching.
It is not true that a mother raccoon will abandon a baby that has been handled by humans.
Avoid feeding the raccoon despite your instincts. Feeding the baby too quickly may cause it to asphyxiate and die. You may hydrate the animal with electrolyte supplements made for human infants. Feed the baby slowly by the mouth.
If you are sure that the baby raccoon is orphaned, call a wildlife removal expert. It is illegal to keep orphaned wildlife for more than a few days.
Call a Wildlife Removal Expert
You can’t keep the baby raccoon as a pet because it is illegal. Taking care of raccoons is also extremely difficult especially if you are not properly trained on how to handle wildlife. For example, you may have to manually stimulate the animal’s bladder and rectum to encourage the baby to pass waste. Mother raccoons do this using their tongue.
The raccoon removal expert in Toronto is able to give a proper assessment of whether the animal is orphaned. He will also take it away to care for it until it is ready to be released in the wild. Calling an expert to handle the orphaned or lost raccoon is mostly for the animal’s safety and well being. You might be doing more harm than good by attempting to care for it on your own.
Our raccoon removal experts equipped with thermal cameras that allowed them to detect raccoon nests in your attic or walls. We know where to look for baby raccoons and use only safe techniques when dealing with newborn raccoon babies. Remember that in some cases raccoon invasion can be unnoticed for a long period of time and can lead to substantial damage to your house insulation. We provide comprehensive wildlife inspection of properties for commercial and residential clients. Feel free to call us for non-obligatory consultation and quote.
Article Updated: March 11, 2020