Strictly not pets, but I’m getting my 2nd of 3 pre-exposure rabies vaccinations this weekend so I can work with skunks and the other rabies vector species (bats, coyotes, fox, groundhogs, raccoons) next spring!
While I haven’t been able to handle them, I have prepared their food. Out of all the baby animals formulas we have, skunk milk smells the best!
I joined up to work with the owls and other raptors, but all the animals we get are fascinating in their own ways.
I’ve been lucky enough to interact with a rescue skunk. It was basically a disinterested cat… sniffed my hand a bit then wandered off.
The rescue possum was quite a bit more nervous. Oddly much more so than the one I had to remove from my house (got in through a previously unseen hole under my kitchen sink).
I’ve really enjoyed seeing how different individual animals’ personalities can be.
One of the last skunk babies we had sprayed someone 4 times before we figured out it was getting freaked out by the orange gloves. Any of the other gloves and it was fine.
I haven’t spent near as much hands on time with the oppossums as I had wanted, but the times I have had to grab them, they tend to act scary, but then not really do anything if their tough guy act didn’t get me to leave.
I’ve got tons of pics of them. I think they’re very adorable.
This is the last batch of joeys we incubated.
I grabbed this guy to move it to an outdoor enclosure.
This one is coming out after I dropped off breakfast.
The opossum I’ve had to remove from my house gently resisted being picked up and that’s it. I wore gardening gloves to avoid an accidental scratch and had my wife carry a box below it in case I lost my grip, but it was all unnecessary. The little guy/girl wasn’t too concerned about being carefully carried outdoors.
The handful I’ve had to handle seemed very shy. For most, I’d be going to clean the juveniles’ cages, but after they saw me coming to pick them up, they’d usually climb the wall and I would just leave them there while I cleaned up and gave them food.
I had one run on me and be pretty feisty. It didn’t bite, but it did not want to be touched one bit.
We had a momma opossum have a surprise litter and since she was already in an outside pen, she got to raise the family there. They were all extremely pleasant and everyone loved them. Momma was a picky eater, but that was about it.
This is the one I had to transport back outside on a very noisy July 4th. The constant loud fireworks (most likely illegal) that lasted well past midnight must have been quite traumatizing.
It hasn’t been bad so far. The way I’m getting it is an interdermal shot instead of intermuscular, so it’s a shallow injection with a small needle. It feels like a bug bite, a minor skin bump, I didn’t have any itching, but it hurts really bad if I forget it’s there and scratch it by accident. The first injection is still visible, which I’ve never had from another shot, but otherwise I don’t feel it, so I’m thinking it’s not abnormal, but I’ll ask tomorrow.
I was extremely tired the next day, but I have been sleeping like crap all year and I had to drive 6 hours round trip, so it’s probably just that. The shots are very expensive, and the place I’m going is doing a clinic where we can use the same vial of vaccine for multiple people, so it’s saving us all a ton of money.
Even with all the gas money, I’m still saving at least $500 on the shots. Plus I stopped to see a pair of nice waterfalls and listened to a whole Discworld audiobook on trip one. Tomorrow I think I’ll hit up the state college’s store where they sell the ice cream they make in their special ice cream program and maybe hit up the wildlife rescue out there if the rain is light.
Strictly not pets, but I’m getting my 2nd of 3 pre-exposure rabies vaccinations this weekend so I can work with skunks and the other rabies vector species (bats, coyotes, fox, groundhogs, raccoons) next spring!
While I haven’t been able to handle them, I have prepared their food. Out of all the baby animals formulas we have, skunk milk smells the best!
I joined up to work with the owls and other raptors, but all the animals we get are fascinating in their own ways.
Wow.
I’ve been lucky enough to interact with a rescue skunk. It was basically a disinterested cat… sniffed my hand a bit then wandered off.
The rescue possum was quite a bit more nervous. Oddly much more so than the one I had to remove from my house (got in through a previously unseen hole under my kitchen sink).
I’ve really enjoyed seeing how different individual animals’ personalities can be.
One of the last skunk babies we had sprayed someone 4 times before we figured out it was getting freaked out by the orange gloves. Any of the other gloves and it was fine.
I haven’t spent near as much hands on time with the oppossums as I had wanted, but the times I have had to grab them, they tend to act scary, but then not really do anything if their tough guy act didn’t get me to leave.
I’ve got tons of pics of them. I think they’re very adorable.
This is the last batch of joeys we incubated.
I grabbed this guy to move it to an outdoor enclosure.
This one is coming out after I dropped off breakfast.
The opossum I’ve had to remove from my house gently resisted being picked up and that’s it. I wore gardening gloves to avoid an accidental scratch and had my wife carry a box below it in case I lost my grip, but it was all unnecessary. The little guy/girl wasn’t too concerned about being carefully carried outdoors.
And yes, opossums are ABSOLUTELY adorable.
The handful I’ve had to handle seemed very shy. For most, I’d be going to clean the juveniles’ cages, but after they saw me coming to pick them up, they’d usually climb the wall and I would just leave them there while I cleaned up and gave them food.
I had one run on me and be pretty feisty. It didn’t bite, but it did not want to be touched one bit.
We had a momma opossum have a surprise litter and since she was already in an outside pen, she got to raise the family there. They were all extremely pleasant and everyone loved them. Momma was a picky eater, but that was about it.
This is the one I had to transport back outside on a very noisy July 4th. The constant loud fireworks (most likely illegal) that lasted well past midnight must have been quite traumatizing.
Aww so cute! It looks like it was its first Fourth of July, still small.
I’m right next to the park where they do the town fireworks and I always feel my terrible for the bats that seem to think it’s the end of the world.
What’s your experience with the vaccination so far? I’ve heard it can be pretty brutal in terms of side effects such as fever and more.
It hasn’t been bad so far. The way I’m getting it is an interdermal shot instead of intermuscular, so it’s a shallow injection with a small needle. It feels like a bug bite, a minor skin bump, I didn’t have any itching, but it hurts really bad if I forget it’s there and scratch it by accident. The first injection is still visible, which I’ve never had from another shot, but otherwise I don’t feel it, so I’m thinking it’s not abnormal, but I’ll ask tomorrow.
I was extremely tired the next day, but I have been sleeping like crap all year and I had to drive 6 hours round trip, so it’s probably just that. The shots are very expensive, and the place I’m going is doing a clinic where we can use the same vial of vaccine for multiple people, so it’s saving us all a ton of money.
Even with all the gas money, I’m still saving at least $500 on the shots. Plus I stopped to see a pair of nice waterfalls and listened to a whole Discworld audiobook on trip one. Tomorrow I think I’ll hit up the state college’s store where they sell the ice cream they make in their special ice cream program and maybe hit up the wildlife rescue out there if the rain is light.
You make my day better, every day. Just wanted you to know that.
I always love to hear it. It makes my day better to talk to you guys about owls and misc other animals too.
Owl of the Year Qualifier starts sometime next month, so be sure to come play along!