OkcPets Magazine May 2023

May / June 2023 • OKC Pets 25 within hours of their birth. If you find a baby turtle, snake, or lizard, LEAVE IT ALONE. Reptiles are territorial, and re- moving them from their home territory can lead to their death. In addition, keep dogs and cats away from reptiles — the most common reasons that WildCare gets turtles are because they have been attacked by dogs or hit by cars. If you see a turtle crossing the road — a common occurrence in Oklaho- ma, particularly after rain — as long as it is safe for you to do so, move it to the side of the road in the direction it was traveling and off the road 10 or so feet. Birds Knowing about the development of birds can help to determine the right course of ac- tion when you find a baby. When birds first hatch, they are called hatchlings. They have no or few feathers, and their eyes are closed. As they develop, they grow feathers, their eyes open, and they are called nestlings. At the hatchling and nestling stages, they live exclusively in the nest and are completely reliant on their parents — both Mom and Dad have parental roles in the bird world. If you find a hatchling or nestling on the ground, the best thing to do is put it back in the nest. The parents will not reject the baby because of your smell. If the nest is too high, you can affix a makeshift nest im- mediately below the actual nest, and most bird parents will attend to their young in the second nest. Moving the nest to another section of your yard does not work. In most cases, we want to REUNITE hatchlings and nestlings. If you find a baby bird on the ground but it looks like a fluffy version of its parents, it is a bird fledging — learning to fly. You will see the parents close by and taking turns feeding their young. This is a dangerous time for a baby bird because it encounters many risks, with pets and other predators being the greatest. The best thing to do is to LEAVE IT ALONE and keep cats, dogs, and people away from the area. It can take several days for the baby to take flight. Do Not Keep Wild Baby Animals as Pets Caring for baby wild animals without proper knowledge and training, supplies and food, and medical oversight usually ends badly. Baby wild animals are cute. When people find them, they are sometimes tempted to make them pets. First, it is illegal to do this in Oklahoma and in most states. Second, wild animals cannot be domesticated like cats and dogs. This takes many generations to accomplish. The animals might become habituated, but often, when they reach sexual maturity, they act out, biting and scratching their owners — sometimes quite seriously. Third, wild animals carry diseases. Animals that people take in during the spring and raise as pets end up not being able to live in the wild or able to safely live with people. Every year, WildCare admits 20 to 40 wild animals formerly kept as pets. Although the organization has a good record of “wildling” these patients — teach- ing them how to fend for themselves in the wild — it does not always end well. Even people who try to care for baby animals with the intention of releasing them back to the wild often end up bringing them to WildCare once the animals are in distress — the babies are dehydrated and dying because of diarrhea, they have aspi- ration pneumonia from being fed inappro- priately, they have bloat and spinal damage or metabolic bone disease from being fed the wrong diet, and other problems. Too much damage has been done because of ignorance or following advice “found on the Internet.” In many cases, WildCare’s team must euthanize the animals to spare them from ongoing suffering or because they are medically beyond saving. Attempting to care for a baby animal ends up being cruel, irrespective of the original intentions. Although many bad outcomes for baby animals cannot be pre- vented, those situations can be completely avoided — never try to care for or keep wild baby animals. Please call WildCare Oklahoma at (405) 872-9338 or another wildlife rehabilitator with questions about any baby wildlife you might encounter this spring. Nestling house finches await their next meal. At WildCare, baby birds are fed every 30 to 60 minutes. Photo by Jesse Pline, WildCare Oklahoma.