I am trying to care for an orphaned chipmunk-all fur,eyes open,slow enough to catch-what do I do?

Our cat killed the mother- we've seen 2 adolecents, one of which was smaller than the other. I had an old cage from H.S., that I put the smaller one in, as we could not find the other. Eyes are open, has fur, is mobile, but slow enough that I could catch it. I was affraid that our cat would kill it, so I put grass in the cage and crushed up some walnuts and put water in the feeder. He fits in the palm of my hand. I don't want to keep him, but I also do not want my cat killing it either. I just want it to get big enough to make it on it's own....yet I am affraid that it will become dependant on my care and not be affraid of us, thus lessening it's chances of survival outside( and with our fat killer cat roaming around!) Will the vet be the best choice (that is if they even take it!) Would a pet shop take it? Or do I just put it back outside and wait for the cat to get it? :(I am trying to care for an orphaned chipmunk-all fur,eyes open,slow enough to catch-what do I do?
Look in the yellow pages or do an online search for a Wildlife Rehabilitator in your area. If you don't come up with anything, call a local exotics vet and ask if they have the name of one. If that turns up nothing, call your local animal shelter and ask them for the name of a local rehabilitator.





Wildlife Rehab people are well versed in caring for orphaned wildlife and then returning them to the wild.





Bless you for caring. Good luck!I am trying to care for an orphaned chipmunk-all fur,eyes open,slow enough to catch-what do I do?
I just found an orpaned chipmunk yesterday too! Online research says to keep it warm, use an eyedropper or oral syringe to give it pedialite rehydration liquid and to feed it use esbilac (puppy milk replacement- at most pet stores).


Do your own research by searching 'orphaned chipmunk'


Good luck! I'm afraid the one we found is going to not make it as it is younger, eyes not opened. P.S. my reasearch says you must stimulate it to have a bowel movement before and after each feeding or it's bladder will rupture and it will die.


You have to use a q tip or your wet finger and lightly rub the genetial area to get it to go #1 or #2.
most likely a vet won't take it. vets love animals, but they aren't really the type of people who will take over any animal when an owner cannot care for it--they will most likely recommend putting it down or setting it free. a pet store also probably won't because of risk of disease...plus i'm not sure if it is legal to even sell them.





you could try to take care of it as a pet, ask a vet if they can vaccinate it for rabies or whatever else it might have (i'm not really sure what wild rodents carry). go to your local library and try to check out a book on care for chipmunks/squirrels/etc (they probably require similar care). you could look online, but make sure the website is credible. a library is always the best place to go to find credible info easily! if it becomes dependent on you, it won't be able to survive in the wild, so you could keep it. but pets are fun and rewarding! only do this if you are ready to take on the responsibility.





if you prefer not to take care of it long, give it some water in a little dish (most like how it will find water in nature, versus a hamster-water-bottle) maybe a small piece of a berry or nut..nothing with spices or weird additives, try to keep ti as plain as possible! i would recommend freeing the chipmunk in a location the cat cannot get it. it will be easier for the chipmunk to be in its original area though...so maybe keep your cat away.