Wildlife center of Va

[Donna]

Bobcat Patient

PATIENT:  Bobcat, #10-2123

 LOCATION OF RESCUE:  Prince George County, Virginia

 CAUSE OF ADMISSION:  Found by the side of the road

ADMISSION DATE:  October 15, 2010

PROGNOSIS:  Likely releasable

BobcatOn Friday, October 15, the Wildlife Center admitted a rather feisty young patient — a juvenile Bobcat.  The bobcat was found in early September by the side of the road in Prince George County.  Her rescuers picked her up and took her to Joyce Bulls, a permitted rehabilitator in Sussex County.  Joyce became concerned about the bobcat’s ability to hear, so she arranged to transfer the cat to the Wildlife Center.

Upon admission, the veterinary team sedated the very alert and aggressive bobcat so they could perform a complete physical exam.  The young bobcat — a female — is smaller than expected for one seen at this time of year; however, this could be a young cat from a second litter, or could just be naturally small in size.   Weighing in at a little more than seven pounds, the bobcat is in good body condition, though several types of parasites were found when a fecal examination was performed.  The veterinarians started the bobcat on medications to kill off the parasites and also treated for fleas.  The bobcat was also found to be slightly anemic, which could be due to the parasites or her diet.

Currently the young bobcat is being housed in an outdoor isolation pen until her parasites are gone.  Follow- up bloodwork and a fecal analysis will be performed on October 22.  So far, the bobcat doesn’t seem to have trouble hearing, though further assessment will be needed.
October 19 update

When veterinary extern students checked on the bobcat on Tuesday, October 19th, they noted that the feline was mildly disoriented.  After observation, the students noted that the bobcat exhibited slight head tremors and seemed most uncoordinated when trying to localize a sound or person.  The bobcat can turn around quickly though and can make calculated movements.  This disorientation could be related to the anemia, an infectious disease, or a number of other things.  Additional monitoring is needed, and the veterinary team may decide to anesthetize her earlier than the end of the week for a more thorough check-up.
October 25 update

The mild disorientation of the bobcat that was noted last week has been improving; the bobcat is now maneuvering around her cage while focusing her attention on the humans who are present.  This lack of coordination is puzzling – it could simply be stress, or perhaps something more serious.   Dr. Miranda Sadar did some extensive journal research and identified another possibility – a protozoan parasite  that can cause some serious problems for felines – including bobcats and domestic house cats.    While this parasite is difficult to pinpoint, to be on the safe side, special medications were ordered last week to treat this particular parasite.

On Monday, October 25, the veterinary team anesthetized the bobcat so that they could perform a thorough physical exam as well as deliver the new medication through an injection.  Dr. Kelly Flaminio led the team through this examination and found the bobcat to be in even better body condition than when she first arrived.  The cat has  been eating well and gained more than a half a pound since admission.  No fleas were found, though some internal parasites were found when another fecal examination was performed.

Dr. Kelly and the veterinary extern students paid special attention to the bobcat’s teeth during this physical exam so that they could more accurately guesstimate her age,bobcat teethwhich they think is about six months.  While examining her teeth, however, they identified another issue – the bobcat’s lower jaw is asymmetric and her canines and incisors are growing in incorrectly.  Radiographs of her jaw were taken and a spot was seen that could indicate an old fracture, perhaps one that occurred when she was originally rescued from the roadside.

While the bobcat’s teeth and jaw do not seem to be causing her any problems now, additional consultation is needed before making decisions about her future.

After her physical exam and treatment, the bobcat was moved to the Center’s bear pen, to allow her more room to move around.

[MAK]

        Awww,she looks scared!

[jeanne]

With all of these things going on, it probably is a good thing she was rescued!

[Donna]

PATIENT:  Bald Eagle, #10-2153

LOCATION OF RESCUE:   Caroline County

CAUSE OF INJURY:   Struck by vehicle — perhaps twice?

ADMISSION DATE:  October 29

PROGNOSIS:  Guarded

On October 28, a truck driver in Caroline County hit a juvenile Bald Eagle after the bird walked out onto the road.  The driver contacted Carolina County Animal Control,Eagle who took the eagle to Hanover Green Veterinary Clinic in Mechanicsville.  Wildlife rehabilitator Barbara Slatcher picked up the eagle and took it to fellow rehabilitator Debbie Pupa for stabilization and overnight care.   

Debbi  found that the eagle had an open fracture of its right humerus – the bone had penetrated the eagle’s skin, greatly increasing the risk of infection.  Debbie cleaned the wound, treated the bird for maggots, and wrapped the bird’s wing for stabilization.

On the morning of October 29, Bill Pupa [Debbie's husband] drove the eagle to the Wildlife Center’s clinic in Waynesboro. The eagle was assigned patient number #10-2153 and is the 19th Bald Eagle admitted for treatment thus far in 2010.

Eagle examDr. Kelly Flaminio examined the Bald Eagle and found that the bird is in poor condition.  Because of the extensive maggot infestation, Dr. Kelly believes that the eagle was likely injured earlier in the week — perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday.   The eagle’s wing has two large puncture wounds in its wing from the broken bone – one in the front, and a fresher wound in the back.  Perhaps the eagle had been struck by a vehicle earlier in the week [wound #1] and then suffered a second wound when it was struck by the truck on October 28.

Dr. Kelly anesthetized the bird, flushed and cleaned its wounds, and stabilized the fracture.  The eagle has received pain medications, antibiotics, and fluids and is being housed in the Center’s critical-care chamber.

If the bird is stable, on Saturday [October 30] Dr. Miranda Sadar and Dr. Kelly will further assess the eagle’s condition, including its eyes, and will determine if it is possible to operate on the bird to pin the fractured humerus.

[MAK]

   This Eagle maybe has 9 lives!   

[falconsforever129]

This poor eagle!  I hope this little one makes it 

[Donna]

October 31 update

On Saturday, October 30 Dr. Miranda Sadar and Dr. Kelly operated on the bird to pin the fracture.  On October 31 the eagle was standing; Dr. Miranda rated the eagle’s condition as â€�better than expected.â€�  The bird will be offered food and perhaps tube-fed.  

Questions still remain about the viability of the bird’s humerus.   Additional details on the surgery and the latest prognosis will be posted on November 1.



On November 1 the eagle was anesthetized again.  The wound on the ventral [front] side of the wing was cleaned and sutured.  Another round of radiographs were taken, revealing good post-surgery alignment of the pinned fracture.  However, questions still remain about the viability of the bird’s humerus.  The eagle’s eyes were also examined; there were no apparent problems.

[Donna]

Franken-turtle

PATIENT:  Eastern Box Turtle, #10-2098

LOCATION:  Churchville, Virginia

CAUSE OF ADMISSION:   Likely hit by car

ADMISSION DATE:  October 8

PROGNOSIS:  Candidate for release in spring 2011

One Wildlife Center patient already has his Halloween costume picked out:  this year, he’ll be dressed up as Franken-turtle.

On October 8, this Eastern Box Turtle was admitted to the Wildlife Center after a Center volunteer found him in the middle of the road.  Based on the number of shell fractures present, Wildlife Center staff are assuming that the turtle was hit by a car.  With fractures extending over  the entire left side of the turtle’s body, it seemed impossible that such a small animal could withstand that much trauma.  Fortunately, it was just his shell that suffered the trauma; the injuries did not extend into his body cavity.

Franken-turtleWith fractures in at least five different places on the carapace (upper shell), plastron (lower shell), and bridge (part that connects the upper and lower shells), the veterinary staff knew that it would be a challenging repair.   After cleaning the wounds, metal bars and zip ties were strategically epoxied to the shell to stabilize the fractures.  With so many materials holding this turtle together, he has taken on a rather Frankenstein-like appearance.

While there was some initial concern over the health of the shell at the bridge fracture, everything now seems to be on the mend.  With so many different fractures, a few bars have loosened and have had to be re-applied.  Last week, for instance, a fractured portion of the plastron shifted, which caused some constriction of the Box Turtle’s left hind limb.   The turtle can still pull his leg in and out of his shell, so the staff veterinarians aren’t overly concerned at this point.  Daily checks ensure that bars are remaining stable.

Shell fractures of this nature typically take about two months to heal.  Because this Eastern Box Turtle won’t be fully healed until December — when these reptiles are hibernating — the turtle will remain at the Center until next April.



October 28 update Dulles airport Eagle

On October 27, Dr. Kelly re-examined the eagle.  The bird was anesthetized for another round of radiographs — no fractures were found.  A more thorough examination of the eyes, however, found retinal tears in both eyes — serious injuries — and hemorrhaging in the right eye. 

After the examination, the eagle seemed quite lethargic.  By the morning of October 28, however, the bird had recovered and was bright and alert.  The eagle will be offered food over the next couple of days.
November 1 update

On November 1 Center veterinarians re-examined the eagle’s eyes.  The hemorrhaging in the right eye showed signs of improvement.  There are small retinal tears in both the right and left eyes.  While these tears are small, the bad news is that they seem to be in parts of the retina that are critical to the eagle’s vision.

The eagle’s eyes will be re-examined in about two weeks — during the week of November 15.

November 2 update Bobcat

After Drs. Dave McRuer, Miranda Sadar, and Kelly Flaminio reviewed the bobcat’s radiographs from last week, they decided that further consultation was needed before making any decisions about the bobcat’s fate.  Unfortunately, with the misalignment of the lower jaw, she will not be able to be released; the bobcat’s lower incisors would inevitably puncture the roof of her mouth.   However, the trio of doctors will be taking the bobcat to the Animal Hospital of Waynesboro on Thursday morning to take dental radiographs.      These x-rays should be able to tell us if any corrective procedure can be performed to realign the jaw.   

In the meantime, the bobcat seems to be enjoying living in the bear pen; with more space in quieter location, she appears to be less stressed.  She continues to eat well.

http://www.wildlifecenter.org/wp/great-horned-owl-rescue/ Great Horned Owl Rescue, trapped in chimney for 2 weeks.

[MAK]

   Thanks for the updates Donna. 

[anneintoronto]

Look at that poor turtle!  All those things holding his shell tight and well aligned!  Amazing!  Years ago, Kevin and I came across a large snapping turtle, who had been hit by a car.  We got him loaded into the car -- I'm telling you, there was nothing wrong with his neck and jaws!...and took him to a reptile vet (no, he wasn't a reptile, he looked after them!) we knew in Toronto. It was just at the advent of SuperGlue. And that's what the vet did -- superglued his shell together and used clamps to hold for a while.  And in the long run, Kevin and I got to release him back where we found him, the next late Spring!  We were amazed and more than a little thankful to this great vet, who was willing to try a new treatment!

Anne in Toronto

[Donna]

Look at that poor turtle!  All those things holding his shell tight and well aligned!  Amazing!  Years ago, Kevin and I came across a large snapping turtle, who had been hit by a car.  We got him loaded into the car -- I'm telling you, there was nothing wrong with his neck and jaws!...and took him to a reptile vet (no, he wasn't a reptile, he looked after them!) we knew in Toronto. It was just at the advent of SuperGlue. And that's what the vet did -- superglued his shell together and used clamps to hold for a while.  And in the long run, Kevin and I got to release him back where we found him, the next late Spring!  We were amazed and more than a little thankful to this great vet, who was willing to try a new treatment!

Anne in Toronto

Amazing what a little crazy glue can do. Great story and rescue Anne!

[Donna]

October 1 update: Owl trapped in Chimney for 2 weeks

On October 1 Dr. Miranda sutured up the wounds on the owl’s wings.  According to Dr. Kelly, the owl is doing well, eating well, and has a great attitude.  The vet team found no injuries to the owl’s eyes.  The owl was moved to one of the Center’s outdoor recovery and rehabilitation enclosures on October 5 — a less stressful setting for the owl.  The veterinary and rehabilitation staff will be watching to see if the owl regains weight lost during its time in the chimney.
October 14 update

The owl continues to do well, however, his carpal wounds are proving to be difficult to treat.  Because these injuries are on the parts of the owl’s wings that stretch and move, the sutures that Dr. Miranda originally used to keep the wounds closed have popped open.  The veterinary team has changed their wound management process recently to encourage more tissue to grow over the injured area.  Great-horned Owl #10-2051 continues to put on weight, though staff expect him to gain more with his extra dinner portions.
October 20 update

On Monday, October 18th, the veterinary team decided to stop daily wound treatments and instead are providing treatments every other day.  The wound on the right carpus continues to heal more quickly than the left.  Because the Great-horned Owl won’t be handled quite as often, the staff moved the bird to a larger flight pen so that it can begin to build muscle mass.  When released into the pen, the owl made a couple of flights down the length of the pen and was able to sustain altitude to land on the perches.
November 2 update

On November 1st, the WCV veterinary team checked on Great-horned Owl #10-2051’s carpal wounds during outdoor rounds.  The wounds on both wings are healing well, and while the vets will continue to monitor the wounds and apply A&D ointment, they will now do this procedure every three days.  While the owl has been flying back and forth in his flight pen on his own, he will begin his official exercise program today.  This means that the rehabilitation staff will be making this bird fly back and forth several times while monitoring his progress.  Over the next couple of weeks, the goal will be to have the owl fly more and more “lapsâ€� in the flight pen while increasing his endurance.
November 9 update

The owl continues to make great progress and has now passed “mouse schoolâ€� — demonstrating that it is able to hunt successfully.  Center veterinarians have now cleared this Great Horned Owl for release.  Outreach Director Amanda Nicholson is now working to pin down a release site close to the place where this owl was originally rescued.  A November 2010 release is likely — possibly as early as the week of November 15.

[MAK]

 

[falconsforever129]

That is such good news about the owl....

[Annette]

Good news about this Owl.