What is actually in our facility, and where it came from

New rehabbers overspend on the wrong things and underspend on the right ones. Links are ideas, not endorsements. Shop around, and check these vendors against each other before a big order. Once your nonprofit has its tax exemption, use it.

Where we buy

Chris’s Squirrels and More

Formula, Miracle Nipples, syringes, feeding tubes. Also the only source for Wild Mammal Babies: The First 48 Hours and Beyond. Call rather than order online and request Media Mail. The shipping discount is phone-only.

Henry’s Pets

Fox Valley formulas and supplements, squirrel blocks, Henry’s Healthy Vita-mins. Their blocks are good. Making your own is roughly a third of the price.

The Peculiar Purple Possum

The best feeding tubes we have used. The clear tubes are much softer than the red rubber ones and we prefer them for everything.

All Bird Products

Where you can buy the bird formulation of Baytril and amoxicillin over the counter. Use under veterinary direction.

Vet-n-Pet Direct, Australia

Best prices we have found on Wombaroo Rabbit. Prices are in Australian dollars, and shipping is slow because it comes from Australia, so order well ahead of season.

Everywhere else

Amazon, Chewy, Tractor Supply and the Dollar Tree baby section between them cover fleece, storage, bedding and a surprising amount of the rest.

Caging

  • Critter Nation cage. More horizontal bars, better for climbing, our default for most species.

  • Ferret Nation cage. More vertical bars, less good for climbing, still fine for some species.

  • Metal pans for Critter and Ferret Nation cages. Essential for squirrels and other heavy chewers, because the stock pans do not last.

  • Ware small and large chew-proof cages.

  • Cage card holders. Sounds trivial. It is not. At volume, the animal’s chart lives on the cage.

Feeding

  • Syringes. At minimum 1 mL and 5 mL. 3 mL and 10 mL are worth having. Luer-lock where you can.

  • Miracle Nipples. The gold standard. Most species prefer the mini size. Keep a couple of originals for picky babies. The Amazon knock-offs work well enough as backup.

  • Feeding tubes. Clear and soft beats red rubber.

  • Formula powders. Esbilac, Goat’s Milk Esbilac, KMR, Fox Valley Ultraboost, Fox Valley 20/50 and 32/40, Wombaroo, depending on species.

  • Nasal aspirator, for aspiration events, which will happen.

  • Fleece blankets. Dollar Tree baby section. Avoid anything loose-woven that can catch a nail, which means most towels.

  • A kitchen scale that reads to the gram.

Medical basics to keep on hand

Several of these are prescription and all of them belong in a conversation with your veterinarian before you use them. Having them in the cabinet is not the same as knowing when to reach for them.

  • Metacam (Rx), analgesia.

  • Baytril (generally Rx; the bird formulation is available OTC).

  • Bactrim (Rx).

  • Silver sulfadiazine ointment, for burns and wounds.

  • Vetericyn, wound flush.

  • Aquaphor.

  • Capstar, external parasites.

  • Electrolytes. Fox Valley Electro Stat, plain Pedialyte, or homemade.

On dosing

Use the IWRC dosage calculator through your IWRC account, and use your veterinarian. Our metabolic bone disease protocol has full calcium dosing because that is a protocol we can stand behind and one where minutes matter. For everything else, ask rather than guess. Text 901-340-6534 and we will talk a case through with you.

What we would buy first

If you are starting from nothing and cannot buy everything at once: heat source, syringes and Miracle Nipples, one formula appropriate to your species, electrolytes, a scale that reads to the gram, and the Wild Mammal Babies book. A gram scale is the single most useful thing in the building, because almost every decision you make is a weight decision.