Baby raccoons will leave their den after 10 months. After that, the raccoon is thought to be fully independent. Some baby raccoons will be mostly ready between 8 and 12 months depending on how ready the raccoon is. They typically leave their dens in early spring. Baby raccoons can be inadvertently abandoned by accidentally falling off a tree or when the mother might be in trouble. In urban places, baby raccoons might be abandoned because the mother might be involved in an accident. Raccoon deaths by traffic is an unfortunate by-product of wildlife thriving in cities.
If you do see abandoned baby raccoons do not jump to help immediately. Instead, you will need to make the difficult choice to leave them for the night. The mother might come back. Distressed baby raccoons will scream and squeal for their mother to come back.
Call Raccoon Control to have it picked up by specialists in wildlife control so it can be brought to a rehab centre.
So, what do you do when there is no other option than to take care of baby raccoons? Read below for more information:
Get a box a put a heating pad in the box and set the heating pad on the lowest setting. Put rags or a bath towel on the heating pad. Next, put the baby raccoon in an old shirt or sweat pants and gently put it down in the box. Be careful not to make it too hot. Another alternative is to fill a water bottle with hot water and wrap it in a cloth. This way the raccoon will be gradually heated. Warm the baby slowly in a dark place over several hours.
Before feeding the raccoon you must ensure that the baby raccoon is at its core body temperature (101– 103ºF/38.3–39.4 ºC). Trying to feed a cold baby raccoon will result in death. Warming the baby raccoon fast will result in organ failure.
When you often find orphaned raccoons there is a big chance that you will find them dehydrated. A good homemade dehydration formulation can be made from 1 pint of boiled (or distilled) water – 1 teaspoon of sugar – 1/3 teaspoon of salt or a good alternative is the beverage brand Gatorade. Once again make sure that the baby is at a stable body temperature before giving something to hydrate.
Before feeding the baby raccoon make sure that it’s warm and calm before giving it formula. Start the baby raccoon out on KMR (kitten milk replacement formula by PetAg) Infant Formula – KMR. 1 part powder to 2 1/4 parts distilled/filtered water. This is important because it may harm the fragile baby raccoons. Never give whole milk, raw eggs, or honey to baby raccoons this can cause a digestive bacterial infection.
Baby raccoons should be fed 5 times a day. If the raccoon does not take a bottle yet go to a pet store and buy a nurser bottle or a baby bottle with a preemie nipple. Heat the formula up to its body temperature (101– 103ºF/38.3–39.4 ºC). Feed the baby raccoon on its tummy and rub its back gently until it sucks the formulation. Make sure to feed the baby raccoon in a quiet dark room. Stop feeding the baby when it stops looking for the nipple or stops sucking vigorously.
If you find orphaned baby raccoons on your property, call the technicians at Raccoon Control and speak to one of our operators.