If you害羞草研究所檝e ever seen a turtle or a bunny in the wild and thought, 害羞草研究所楾his must be a lost pet. I shall rescue it,害羞草研究所� Amber Quiring thanks you for being a kind and caring person.

But please, don害羞草研究所檛 do it.

The owner Chilliwack害羞草研究所檚 Reptile Room said they害羞草研究所檝e had far too many people bringing them animals that should be left right where they are.

害羞草研究所淭he most common ones, by far, are the red-eared sliders (turtles),害羞草研究所� Amber Quiring said. 害羞草研究所淏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 it害羞草研究所檚 someone害羞草研究所檚 pet.害羞草研究所�

Alligator lizards are another one Quiring sees often.

害羞草研究所淭hey are found everywhere, up Chilliwack Mountain and down by the Fraser and Vedder rivers,害羞草研究所� she said. 害羞草研究所淧eople who think they害羞草研究所檙e helping catch these lizards, they bring them inside and they come here asking me what they need to feed them.

害羞草研究所淭hey see an Alligator lizard in the fall and they wonder why it害羞草研究所檚 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 it害羞草研究所檚 chilling, getting ready to hibernate.害羞草研究所�

The third one is bunnies. Wild rabbits are all over Chilliwack.

害羞草研究所淧eople see a bunch of little baby bunnies running all over their yard, and they scoop them up thinking they害羞草研究所檙e saving them,害羞草研究所� Quiring said. 害羞草研究所淏ut what害羞草研究所檚 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.害羞草研究所�

Once a baby bunny is removed from its home, its odds of survival drop considerably. Even if it害羞草研究所檚 taken back to where it came from, it won害羞草研究所檛 be welcome.

害羞草研究所淚f we touch them, the majority of the time their mom won害羞草研究所檛 want to care for them anymore because she smells the threat on them,害羞草研究所� Quiring said. 害羞草研究所淪he害羞草研究所檒l ignore them and they害羞草研究所檒l either thrive or die.害羞草研究所�

Bringing a wild animal into a home with existing pets can also be a bad idea, particularly with lizards.

害羞草研究所淚n their natural habitat, they have natural immunity to things like E. coli and whatever else they害羞草研究所檇 be picking up from rocks and streams,害羞草研究所� Quiring said. 害羞草研究所淵ou bring this animal into your home and you害羞草研究所檙e touching it and you bring in your bearded dragon to see if they can be friends. Well now you害羞草研究所檝e just introduced E. coli or something else into your bearded dragon害羞草研究所檚 immune system and it doesn害羞草研究所檛 have immunity to bad bacteria and stuff like that.

害羞草研究所淚t might take you too long to notice to something is wrong and that animal may die.害羞草研究所�

All of that said, Quiring has a very simple rule of thumb for deciding whether to 害羞草研究所榮ave害羞草研究所� an animal.

害羞草研究所淎nimals you find in the wild should be left in the wild unless they are very clearly someone害羞草研究所檚 pet.害羞草研究所�

eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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