05/21/2026
It's not dead until it's warm and dead. It's a phrase we wildlife rehabbers say a lot, because it'a true. These little orphaned groundhogs were saved by a young man late last night. When I got there to pick them up, two of the three were suspected to be deceased because they were cold and stiff. But after a little bit of warming up, they started coming back to life!
These three should not be outside of their den at this age, so the fact that they are means mom is gone and they were starving enough to venture out. Cold, starving, orphaned - it's a lot for any baby critter.
They are warming up in the incubator and receiving fluids. We'll work to get them back to a warm, hydrated state before trying to feed, as feeding a cold and dehydrated baby can kill it.
[To expand on that: there is a thing called refeeding sydrome, which is what happens when you try to push too much nutrition too quickly into a starving (emaciated) body. The sudden intake of food triggers rapid, dangerous shifts in fluids and electrolytes, particularly phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium, which can lead to severe organ complications. We have to carefully reintroduce food into their systems so that doesn't happen.]
Send us patience, mental alertness to monitor the minute changes in their condition, and healing vibes for these and all of the other 200+ animals currently in our care. ๐โค๏ธโ๐ฉน๐ฆซ
