Oh wow, thank you dear Knight! Those are very helpful links.
Very good information! Thank-you for finding it for us. I have made the thread sticky so it will always be available to anyone looking for it.
If we find first aid info for other types of pets we can post it here and have a handy pet first aide section. Even if you know what you are doing, in an emergency, it is better to have things written out where you can read them.
Thank-you for finding hamster first aide. I think they are talking about Syrian Hamsters.
Dwarf hamsters are different. They are not prone to infections and bacteria, but they do get heat stroke, heart attacks and strokes. Their big emergencies are teeth over growing and needing clipping(a life and death issue) and an over packed check pouch that they can't empty without help.
Good one! Most baby birds do not need rescuing. They are fine. The mom knows where they are. If you take them home then they are lost.
Helping injured birds is tricky. I always found that providing a safe quiet spot for a few hours was enough to get them going again. If the injury is severe it may not be possible to save them anyhow. Birds are fragile. Sometimes all you can do is provide a quiet place for them to die. That is a kind thing to do and we need to be at peace about that.
A couple of excellent books on first aid/caring for injured creatures. Both written by Les Stocker.
[Les, together with wife Sue, has run Britain's famous St. Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital for many years, so he certainly speaks from experience.]
Practical Wildlife Care (Second Edition)
St Tiggywinkles Wildcare Handbook: First Aid and Care for Wildlife
Thank you for the links about the wild birds. So many people feel tempted to rush in and 'rescue' when they find a young wild bird who appears to have fallen out of the nest. But the best thing to do is leave it, as the parents will know, will be nearby, and will continue to feed it.
I know...it's hard when we think about possible dangers to it, such as foxes, cats, etc. But if we leave it, it will have a good chance, whereas if we take it, it will almost certainly die.
It's best not to handle it at all, but in an emergency (such as if it has fallen where traffic goes) then moving it onto a safe area as near as possible to where it was found, is okay.
However, once I found a baby bird fallen from a nest in my garden. Mindful of what to do, I left it where it was and didn't touch it. But sadly, the next day it had died! Perhaps it would have died anyway.
Thank you for the book titles also, Knight. I would like to read those, and will try to find them.
Quote:However, once I found a baby bird fallen from a nest in my garden. Mindful of what to do, I left it where it was and didn't touch it. But sadly, the next day it had died! Perhaps it would have died anyway.
Likely the little bird was out of the nest because something was wrong. Animals seem to be able to sense a problem and know when to let a baby die. It is just hard to trust their judgement. We want to fix everything.
Practical Wildlife Care sounds like a good book. It woild be good to have as a handbook.
I have heard of St Tiggywinkles. Don't they rescue Hedgehogs. So where does the name tiggywinkles come from?