A yellow rat snake and five nestling raccoons were among the eighty animals admitted to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida this past week. Other admissions include a common nighthawk, a black-and-white warbler, a white-winged dove, and a gopher tortoise.
The yellow rat snake was brought to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital by a woman who found the snake in her chicken coop. The woman raises chickens and said ceramic eggs are used to encourage chickens to lay eggs. She found the snake in her coop and realized the snake had ingested one of the ceramic eggs.
A physical exam showed the snake was in good health, was displaying normal behavior, and showed no signs of distress from ingesting the ceramic egg. The position of the egg was easily visualized. A radiograph confirmed the egg was about one-eighth of the way down the snake’s body.
Hospital staff settled the snake in an intensive care unit while discussing the best option for removing the egg. A check on the snake a few minutes later brought relief to everyone – the snake had regurgitated the egg and no invasive measures would be needed.
Monitoring the snake over the next several hours showed no health issues from the ordeal and the snake was incredibly active. The vet cleared the snake for release and the snake was returned to the yard where she was found. The woman who rescued the snake assured us she would stop using the ceramic eggs to avoid any possibility of the situation repeating itself in the future.
Hospital staff were incredibly grateful the woman held no ill will towards the snake and was so concerned for its welfare. Many people have extreme fear of snakes resulting in snakes being needlessly killed and/or disregarding their pain and suffering.
Snakes are a vital part of a healthy ecosystem. They prey on species such as insects and rodents that are considered pests by most people. Native snakes keep pest populations in check and are a natural means of pest control reducing the need for chemical pest control measures. Humans and native snakes can peacefully coexist, but to do so, people must conquer their fear of snakes and remember that a snake sees humans as a threat and therefore is more afraid of you than you are of it. Most snakes will flee when approached by a person unless cornered with no option but to defend themselves by striking out. That defensive behavior is similar to behavior any animal would exhibit when threatened by a predator.
Please, if you find an injured snake, offer assistance. Snakes feel pain and suffer just as other animals do. Cover the snake with a towel and place a ventilated box with the opening on the side next to the snake. Use a dustpan, broom, or shovel and gently slide the snake into the box. Close the flaps on the box and securely shut the box with tape. Always call the wildlife hospital for information if you are unsure how to help.
Five orphaned raccoon kits admitted in poor condition after trapping situation
A woman arrived at the von Arx Wildlife Hospital with a single orphaned raccoon kit. The kit was found in her yard in distress, he was making a loud crying noise and was frantic. When asked for details about how the baby was found, the woman mentioned a trapper had been hired and the mother raccoon had been trapped about a week ago meaning the raccoon kit had gone an extended period of time without milk and was starving.
Staff placed the kit in an animal intensive care unit and provided electrolytes since the kit was dehydrated. Care must be taken to avoid refeeding syndrome whenever an animal is admitted after going an extended time period without fluids or nourishment. Refeeding syndrome occurs when food is introduced too quickly after a period of starvation or malnourishment. In some cases, refeeding syndrome can be fatal.
To avoid refeeding syndrome with the raccoon kit, a treatment plan was established which allowed for electrolytes to be administered followed by a slow introduction of a dilute milk replacement formula over several days. Due to the kit’s young age, he required five feedings throughout the day and night.
The following day the woman arrived with three more kits, they also were in poor condition and starved. A similar treatment plan was started with the three new arrivals to address their level of dehydration. Until they were stronger, they could not be placed with their brother.
Amazingly, the next day the woman arrived with a fifth baby. The poor kit had gone the longest without care and was incredibly thin, weak, dehydrated, and had a high load of external parasites. She was placed with her three siblings since they were almost as debilitated as she was and we knew in her weakened state, it would relieve some of her stress if she was with her littermates. Progress has been slow but steady and each day the five kits are gaining strength. Along with multiple feedings throughout the day and night, all five raccoon kits needed a course of antibiotics since their immune systems were so compromised.
I wish I could say this was the only instance last week of mother raccoons being trapped with babies left behind to suffer and slowly die but it wasn’t. Two additional litters were brought to the Conservancy after their mothers were trapped.
In another instance, a woman called for information on how to remove a mother raccoon and her two kits from the ceiling of her office building. She sent a video of the mother raccoon nursing and grooming her two kits so we could evaluate the situation. Hospital staff recommended a very simple method to get the mother to move her babies to a new location so she wouldn’t have to trap and kill the mom and leave the kits orphaned. The woman was persuaded to try but ended the phone conversation by stating if the mother raccoon didn’t move, she was going to use her pellet gun to resolve the situation.
To end the week, a situation arose at a gas station in east Naples. A mother raccoon was getting into the garbage cans near the front doors and even though staff at the gas station knew she was a lactating female, they still called a trapper and had her removed leaving her babies waiting for their mother who was never going to return.
The suffering that occurred in all these circumstances could have been avoided. Trapping should never be the first option considered when dealing with a “nuisance” wildlife situation. Resolving the issue that is attracting the animal must be the focus as is finding a humane option to “evict” the animal from the area. Hiring a trapper who will knowingly remove a lactating female without finding the babies and removing them with the mother is cruel, inhumane, and unethical. No animal should be left to die slowly of starvation especially nestling babies that are helpless and dependent on their mother for their survival.
Please, have compassion for other living creatures and encourage that compassion in others. If you have a situation you consider to be a nuisance situation, call the hospital for advice on how to resolve the issue humanely. While relocating “nuisance” wildlife may be the easiest solution for the property owner, it is not in the best interest of the animal. Most relocated animals do not survive and it doesn’t resolve the issue. It just opens up the territory for another animal to move in. There are techniques that can be utilized to resolve many “nuisance” wildlife situations while allowing a wild animal family unit to stay intact. There are nuisance wildlife trappers who truly care about the welfare of the animals involved and can help find permanent solutions to the “nuisance” situation.
Recent Releases
Two double-crested cormorants, three brown pelicans, two eastern screech owls, a common nighthawk, three gopher tortoises, a peninsula cooter, two Florida red-bellied turtles, two Florida softshell turtles, a blue jay, three eastern cottontails, an osprey, two fish crows, and three northern mockingbirds were released this past week.
Opportunities to Help
Please visit the Conservancy website at conservancy.org to view all of the amazing volunteer opportunities at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Your volunteer time, donations, and memberships are vital in helping us continue our work to protect Southwest Florida’s water, land, wildlife and future.
Joanna Fitzgerald is director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, Naples, Florida 34102. Call 239-262-2273 or see conservancy.org