Wild Rescue One’s main goal is to help unwanted pets and injured wildlife. One of the best ways we can accomplish this is through educational presentations and correct information. We want to prevent wildlife and you from being injured and to make sure people have the right knowledge to care for their reptile pets. We thrive to spread education and understanding in any way we can.
Exotic Reptiles
If you are considering purchasing or adopting a reptile as a pet, we would love to speak with you before you make that purchase. We can give you the information that you will need to know to care for your new pet. We can give you guidelines on proper housing, substrate, lighting, heating, and food/nutrition. We can give you some pointers and ideas of what to expect for the species that you are considering.
Before you make a purchase – know what to expect to determine if you will be able to care for the animal for its lifetime!
Native Wildlife
If you think there is native wildlife in need of rescue – call us before touching or taking the 
animal from the wild!
There are times when baby wild animals are abandoned because their parents have been injured or killed, but many times, infant wildlife are discovered that are not in need. It is best for the animal to be raised naturally and human interference is of last resort. Call us, your county wildlife officer, or county wildlife rehabilitator to help determine if the animal is in need of rescue!
Wildlife Orphans
Think Before you Act
Is it Really an Orphan?
In the spring and early summer, you may have the good fortune to observe a nest of birds or a young mammal with no adult in sight. Enjoy the scene, but unless there appears to be something amiss (a nest out of the tree, broken legs or wings, or wounds and bleeding) – LEAVE IT ALONE!
Many species of animals are raised by one adult that may temporarily leave its offspring in search of the next meal. Wildlife parents are devoted to the care of their young and rarely abandon them (abandonment is usually a result of injury or death). Since they cannot be in two places at once, the young may be left alone several times a day.
Need Help Finding a Wildlife Rehabilitator in your County or State?
Check out Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (OWRA)’s Website for links to locate a wildlife rehabilitator in your area:
Information on Young Wildlife:
Songbirds & Birds of Prey:
Nestlings, nestling songbirds, and birds of prey (hawks and owls) usually lack feathers or are covered with down. They are not yet able to perch. These young birds must be placed back into their nests or new nests must be constructed for them.
Fledglings – When songbirds and birds of prey leave the nest, they are “fledglings” and have feathers covering their bodies. They leave the nest for short periods of time and often fall out of trees. If this happens, keep your pets indoors and observe the fledgling. Watch from a distance to see if the bird can get out of harm’s way by itself and if the adult birds continue to care for the young bird.
Ducks and Geese – Young mallard ducks and Canada geese are commonly separated from their brood as they follow parents to food or water. Parents usually return for the stragglers.
Mammals:
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit – Eastern cottontails feed their young at night and will not be on the nest during the day. Rabbits leave the nest when they are just three weeks old. A small rabbit with its eyes open and ears standing up is self sufficient and does not need your assistance.
Squirrels – Squirrels will retrieve their offspring when they fall or venture from the nest. They also have alternate nest sites if one nest is destroyed. Give the adult female squirrel plenty of time to find and rescue her young.
White-tailed Deer – A small fawn alone in a meadow is not necessarily an orphan! The female deer often protects her young by leaving them alone in a secluded spot. Do not attempt to rescue a fawn - their chance of survival is greater if left alone. Read more about the white-tailed deer fawn.
Opossums – Opossums are marsupials. The young stay in a pouch on the female’s belly for several months. After emerging from the pouch, the family unit stays together for another six weeks.
Fox and Coyotes – Foxes and coyotes make a den in hollow logs or trees, under a rock pile, or occasionally in ground borrows. Pups are born from February to May. Pups may be left unattended when the adult animals go off to hunt for food.
Raccoons – Large hollow trees in woods are preferred den sites, but nests may be in ground burrows, rock or brush piles or old buildings in proximity to people. The female cares for the young which are born between February and June. Raccoons feed primarily at night. The young scavenge with the female at two months of age and set off on their own in the fall.
Rabies:
Rabies is a virus that attacks nerves and brain tissue of most animals. When an animal is sick with rabies, the virus is shed in the saliva. It is then spread to other animals or people when the virus-laden saliva gets into a wound or mucous membrane. This is usually through a bite. Most rabies is found in wildlife such as skunks and raccoons. Pets get rabies from wildlife. Dogs and cats pose the greatest risk in spreading the disease from wildlife to people. Birds and reptiles do not carry rabies. Wildlife with rabies lose their fear of people. If rabid, raccoons and other nocturnal animals may be out roaming during the day.
What Should I Do if I Have to Rescue an Orphan?
After consulting your wildlife district office or wildlife rehabilitator, keep the animals in a warm dark area until they are placed with a permitted wildlife rehabilitator. Avoid handling the animals –this is for your benefit as well as theirs. The animal may carry parasites or diseases that could harm you. Handling by humans stresses the animal which may cause it to act defensively resulting in a kick, bite or scratch for you. It may also cause a mental and physical overload for the animal contributing to its death.
Act on Positive Information:
If you have found an obviously injured wild animal or know for a fact that an animal has been orphaned, intervention is an acceptable course of action. But don’t plan on raising the animals on your own. Young wildlife require special care and feeding that is beyond what the average household is prepared and able to manage. Only a licensed wildlife rehabilitator can legally care for native wild animals. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
Humans are always a young wild animal’s LAST hope for survival, NEVER its best hope. A young animal should only be removed from the wild after all avenues to reunite it with an adult animal have been explored.
May I Raise a Wild Animal Myself?
No. Native wildlife are legally protected. It is illegal for anyone to possess a native wild animal unless permitted by the Division of Wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitators have a permit to provide care to orphaned or injured wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitators are not employed by the state.
What Can I Do to Prevent Wildlife Orphans?
- Check for nests before cutting down a tree or clearing brush. It is best to cut trees and clear brush in the autumn when nesting season is over.
- Place caps on all chimneys, vents and window wells to prevent animals from nesting there.
- Keep your pets under control so that they do not injure wild animals.
- Educate children to respect wild animals and their habitat, and not to try and catch or harass them.
- Exercise caution when driving and watch the roadsides for wild animals, especially at dawn and dusk.
Presentations
We give educational presentations to schools, youth groups, church groups, and any other person or organization upon request. We do not charge for our presentations, but donations are always appreciated for our time, fuel costs, and to help with the rescue efforts.
Educational presentations are limited to personal time availability. We are all volunteers, and we must take off work to conduct presentations.
Most presentations last for one hour, but we can customize our discussion to meet your time availability and discuss on topics relevant to your needs or current teaching curriculum.
We will bring a number of live animals with us, some of which may be large boas and/or pythons, alligators or crocodiles, iguanas, and/or turtles. We maintain positive control and restraint with the animals at all times, and we take all safety measures necessary. We will not allow any child to hold an animal unsupervised, but will allow most animals to be touched. If there is any concerns, these too, can be modified.
If you would like to schedule an educational presentation, please send an email to Mike or call 740-704-2924.
Due to the stress involved in transporting animals, our reptile presentations may be limited in time and travel distance.