Winston Wild Things • Wildlife Rehab/Rescue

05/24/2026

🖤

How to help licensed wildlife rehabilitators:

Wildlife rehabilitation is a labor love & compassion. Many licensed wildlife rehabilitators are not paid & lack funding from the state or federal government.

Many work full time jobs on top of rehabbing wildlife day & night, while taking calls from the public, caring for their families, & their pets. Baby season is tremendously draining emotionally, physically, & financially for these very special individuals.

They rely heavily on donations & to help with the costs of formulas, medications, medical supplies, vet bills, cleaning supplies, etc.

Please be kind to them & if you can not donate, ask if there are supplies they may need. You can offer to volunteer or help with transport. And if those aren't options, follow them on social media, like & share their posts so others can see what an amazing group of people rehabilitators are!

05/24/2026

Couldn’t have said it better!

05/22/2026

If you find a turtle in the road, move it in the direction it was traveling. Please don’t relocate it to a pond miles away. Turtles know where they’re going and are determined little dudes. If the turtle is injured, has shell damage, was hit by a car, or has fishing line or a hook attached etc, contact a licensed wildlife rehabber. 🐢

05/21/2026

The nursery is overflowing. Wildlife season has exploded. Between an HBC opossum mom with a pouch full of babies, squirrels, bunnies, groundhogs, and all the other animals currently in care, supplies and space are disappearing faster than I can replace them.

Many of you know my long term goal is to move wildlife care out of my house and into a dedicated rehab space. Every donation right now helps me work toward converting the garage into a proper wildlife rehab area and building a lean to for outdoor housing and pre release space. That means safer housing, more room for animals, easier cleaning and sanitation, and ultimately the ability to help more wildlife in need.

If you would like to help, donations of any amount truly make a difference. Every dollar goes directly back into the animals and the supplies needed to care for them.

Venmo:
Cash App: $WinstonWildThings

Amazon Wish List - https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1GTOUF5WM08N7?ref_=wl_share

Even a share helps get this post in front of someone who may be able to help.

Thank you for continuing to support the wildlife that so many people overlook and believing in me. 🖤🐿️🐇🦫

Remember to be kind 🤘🏻

05/19/2026

This is what malocclusion / overgrown incisors can look like in squirrels. Their front teeth never stop growing so they have to constantly wear them down by chewing. If the teeth are injured, misaligned, broken, or not meeting correctly, they are not worn down.

Signs can be-
Teeth visibly sticking out of the mouth
Curved or crossed teeth
Drooling or constantly wet fur around mouth/chin
Trouble eating or dropping food
Weight loss/ lethargy
approaching people because it is starving (like desperate babies do)

In severe cases, the teeth can grow into the roof of the mouth, gums, or even toward the skull, causing infection, starvation and death if untreated.If you ever see a squirrel with overgrown teeth, they need a licensed wildlife rehabber ASAP. This is not something they can “fix on their own” in the wild. Early intervention gives them the best chance. Thankfully, some cases can be reversed with proper trimming and continued monitoring if caught in time.

This little guy is hopefully one of the lucky ones. This is the second trim in less than 3 weeks and they have grown THAT much.

05/19/2026

😑 -literally our faces when they p**p and see the unwanted gold, just be honest. It’s not to give you a talking to, it’s to know how much we need to flush and what we are working against.

05/16/2026

Sorry, but us rehabbers are exhausted & honestly a ridiculous amount of time is being wasted arguing with finders. Every single day we are spending sometimes literal HOURS begging people to hand over babies and injured animals while being told “Google/ChatGPT said this” or “I already gave it water/formula because I’m not letting it starve.” There are reasons we tell you NOT to give food or water. A cold baby cannot digest formula. Wrong feeding causes aspiration. Every species is fed differently with different formulas, amounts, schedules, weights, and methods. Water can kill dehydrated wildlife if done incorrectly. We are not trying to be difficult. We are trying to keep them alive long enough to actually help them.
🚩And please do not say you “found another rehabber” just to avoid listening/keeping the creature etc. We are all full, networking constantly, and we know who is who.

In North Carolina, by law, you only have 24 hours to transfer wildlife to a licensed rehabber. The longer babies sit in boxes being fed random things from the internet, handled constantly, stressed, dehydrated, or kept around pets and children, the worse their chances become.The top causes of death we see are cats and finders. That is the reality.

Rehab season has us elbows deep in feedings, meds, wound care, tubing, cleaning cages, laundry, breathing treatments, being bit and scratched, sleepless nights, and trying to place animals when everyone is overloaded. We cannot have volunteers around wildlife unless they hold the proper permits, so unfortunately there is not much “extra help” coming in either. We do not have hours to spend arguing over why a squirrel should not have cow’s milk, why a bunny should not be kept (Google capture myopathy) because someone got attached overnight, or being cussed at and called names for trying to help. What in the Sam hell?

When you hand wildlife over to a rehabber, consider donating toward their care if you are able. Formula, syringes, heating pads, meds, gas, cages, laundry detergent, supplies, and food all come out of our own pockets. The majority of us are not paid to do this. We are volunteering our homes, time, sleep, money, sanity, and entire lives during baby season trying to save them.

If you truly want to help wildlife, and it is free: HEAT.KEEP SAFE AND QUIET.CONTACT A LICENSED REHABBER.BE PATIENT.LISTEN TO THEIR INSTRUCTIONS.TRANSPORT.

That is all.

05/10/2026

That face is so dang cute 🖤

Want to help?

Cash App: $WinstonWildThings
Venmo:
Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1GTOUF5WM08N7?ref_=wl_share

05/09/2026

The last three weeks 🖤

04/16/2026

Néw chipmunk mama intake. Im assuming she was caught by a dog by the looks of it. Still pretty weak but hanging in there🖤🐿️