2 days ago, Mr. No More Pets, my dad found a baby soft shelled turtle. It is SO young, it still has a yolk sac! This thing JUST hatched. It was in the middle of the road, the size of a quarter...how he spotted it, I don't know. But he brought it home. Mind you, its healthy and all, but as I have in the past with hatchling turtles, I raise them till they are at least 3-4" and then set them free in safer areas, giving them a fighting chance.
Then this morning, a box turtle, juvenile, was on the road. We pulled over and I moved him onto the grass and went to work. My father drove by the same spot not 15 minutes later and there was a baby bird. It was in the road and he moved it to the bushes and waited, but its parents never came. Its hunger cries attracted a cat, so he took it home rather than leave it there to get killed. He brings it to my work for me to assess the situation with it. If it still had its eyes closed, I was gonna call a rehabber. If it was a fledgling, I was gonna give it a few days to get its flight and set it free. But it was in the middle. Pin feathers, eyes opened, and eats like a hippo. So I opted not to give it to my rehab friend and to care for it myself for now. I use to breed cocketeils and its at the same maturity level of when I would take the babies out to hand feed. First feeding was difficult. It was imprinted on its bird parents. Trying to get it to take a syringe with weird tasting formula was a task. Second feeding...it was like Audrey II from Little Shop of Horrors. It totally gets it now. Now when its hungry, it chirps for me and the moment it sees me, it opens its "little" mouth. 5 feedings so far today...and a lot of poop. It has an internal parasitic worm. Saw one in its poop. Pretty normal for wild birds. I have to check to see if its old enough for a dewormer. That is part of its problem. It should be feeding every 2 hours, but its feeding every hour and pooping a LOT, all symptoms and side effects of worms.
But its healthy in all other aspects. Eyes are clear, fantastic eater, and it tries to walk...but it sorta just stumbles and tumbles for now.
I am also 99% sure its a Mockingbird. Florida's State Bird and a protected species, so yeah....I am a criminal for what I am doing. So I think this is the last straw for me. I am going to get my license as a rehabber and make this official. I am not going big time into it. No gators or bears or anything. I'll stick to what I know for now, small animals, reptiles and birds mostly. Do it all out of my home like I do now. Nothing will change, except I'll have a paper to say I am not doing it illegally. I really have bonded with this little guy and don't want to just give him up. Its been a long time since I did a long term rehab. Other than the turtles. BTW, we named it Mogwai.
Currently, I am feeding it ZuPreem Baby Bird Formula, mixing in some pulverized crickets and nightcrawlers....so gross, I know. But they are insect/seed/fruit eaters, so I gotta add the bugs.
Oh and of course, pictures....Its mouth and legs are HUGE compared to the rest of its body! Its so cute
I'm glad that they have you to help them.
It will be bittersweet though. I will miss Mogwai, but at least I have the knowledge I gave her the best chance out there. She will take flight will a full belly and is always invited back to my yard because I plan to get some berry bushes and a suet feeder for Mogwai and all his/her friends.
