If youB次元官网网址檝e ever seen a turtle or a bunny in the wild and thought, B次元官网网址楾his must be a lost pet. I shall rescue it,B次元官网网址� Amber Quiring thanks you for being a kind and caring person.
But please, donB次元官网网址檛 do it.
The owner ChilliwackB次元官网网址檚 Reptile Room said theyB次元官网网址檝e had far too many people bringing them animals that should be left right where they are.
B次元官网网址淭he most common ones, by far, are the red-eared sliders (turtles),B次元官网网址� Amber Quiring said. B次元官网网址淏ecause they are so abundant in our area, people find one in a parking lot or in their yard and bring it in to us because they think itB次元官网网址檚 someoneB次元官网网址檚 pet.B次元官网网址�
Alligator lizards are another one Quiring sees often.
B次元官网网址淭hey are found everywhere, up Chilliwack Mountain and down by the Fraser and Vedder rivers,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淧eople who think theyB次元官网网址檙e helping catch these lizards, they bring them inside and they come here asking me what they need to feed them.
B次元官网网址淭hey see an Alligator lizard in the fall and they wonder why itB次元官网网址檚 just sitting there doing nothing. Well, almost all reptiles are ectothermic, meaning they move slowly in colder temperatures. So that lizard is just chilling there because itB次元官网网址檚 chilling, getting ready to hibernate.B次元官网网址�
The third one is bunnies. Wild rabbits are all over Chilliwack.
B次元官网网址淧eople see a bunch of little baby bunnies running all over their yard, and they scoop them up thinking theyB次元官网网址檙e saving them,B次元官网网址� Quiring said. B次元官网网址淏ut whatB次元官网网址檚 usually happened is those bunnies have just left the nest for the first time and nobody knew a nest was there. We probably get 10 to 12 or so litters brought in to us every season.B次元官网网址�
Once a baby bunny is removed from its home, its odds of survival drop considerably. Even if itB次元官网网址檚 taken back to where it came from, it wonB次元官网网址檛 be welcome.
B次元官网网址淚f we touch them, the majority of the time their mom wonB次元官网网址檛 want to care for them anymore because she smells the threat on them,B次元官网网址� Quiring said. B次元官网网址淪heB次元官网网址檒l ignore them and theyB次元官网网址檒l either thrive or die.B次元官网网址�
Bringing a wild animal into a home with existing pets can also be a bad idea, particularly with lizards.
B次元官网网址淚n their natural habitat, they have natural immunity to things like E. coli and whatever else theyB次元官网网址檇 be picking up from rocks and streams,B次元官网网址� Quiring said. B次元官网网址淵ou bring this animal into your home and youB次元官网网址檙e touching it and you bring in your bearded dragon to see if they can be friends. Well now youB次元官网网址檝e just introduced E. coli or something else into your bearded dragonB次元官网网址檚 immune system and it doesnB次元官网网址檛 have immunity to bad bacteria and stuff like that.
B次元官网网址淚t might take you too long to notice to something is wrong and that animal may die.B次元官网网址�
All of that said, Quiring has a very simple rule of thumb for deciding whether to B次元官网网址榮aveB次元官网网址� an animal.
B次元官网网址淎nimals you find in the wild should be left in the wild unless they are very clearly someoneB次元官网网址檚 pet.B次元官网网址�
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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