I found a wee baby by our driveway years ago, she had fly eggs all over her, and from the tip of her nose to the end of her tail, she was still smaller than the length of my hand, and too weak to try to run. I picked her up, got the fly eggs off of her, and put her in an old bunny cage that we had. I went to a pet store and got a couple of tiny milk bottles, and some canned pre-made puppy formula. Filled up the bottle halfway, warmed it up a little, put a terry dish towel in my lap, laid Miss Piggy down, and it was amazing to watch her chow down! Lol you could just watch her tummy get filled up! She usually made a mess around her face, so I would wipe her face, tummy, and back end to help stimulate elimination. Did you know they have little hands? They these little fingers with claws, and what looks like a vestigial thumb. She was so little that she cried for mommy, so I picked her back up wrapped her in another terry dish towel, and held her against my chest til she fell asleep and then put her in her cage. This went on thru the summer, moving on to more natural foods after weaning her off formula. We finally took her to a Xmas 🌲farm, found a groundhog hole, let her out, and she never even looked back…little ingrate lol..just kidding! It was very rewarding though to be able to release her and know she would be ok 😁
That was interesting. You're an excellent advocate for groundhogs. We love the ones who live under our shed in North Carolina. The chucklings are absolutely adorable. I'm going to look for rehabilitators in my area.
My housemate and I just released a groundhog back into nature after sheltering it for 3 weeks while it healed from being hit by a car. We called around and could not find a vet that would treat wild animals, nor any shelter that would take this critter, so we put him in the bathroom and let him rest. We fed him, leafy lettuce, spinach, broccoli, nuts, and carrots. Of course, fresh water was always provided. Our plan was to release it once it was able to move around without limping, so we made sure not to make it that comfortable with out presence and we did not try to pet or handle him, we kept in mind, while cute, it was still a wild animal. About the only deliberate contact was when we would need to use the bathroom ourselves, at that time we would announce we were coming in, so the critter would not panic, and I would ask it to please don't bite me. Time passed, it got better and we let him go in our backyard, where another groundhog lives and if it chose, we have a wooded area in back of our lot, so there is suitable habitat for wherever it wants to live.
@@Lt_Tragg On some level it must have understood something since while it would come up to me and push it's nose into my pants leg, it did not bite nor did it show any aggression. Granted it was a groundhog, which is usually a docile animal, but this one had been hit by a car and was, no doubt, in some level of pain which would make it behave differently. I believe talking to it kept it calm and helped it rest and heal. Actually, most the people I know will talk to animals usually it is a way of letting the animals know you are there so they do not get frightened.
@@lindavolp2534 interesting. I’d hate to get attached to them for fear of enabling bad behavior pattern. Respect to you for patience in seeking positive outcome.
@@Lt_TraggI just had a speak of the devil moment about this groundhog. I have been watching the mama groundhog that lives under my home and she was nibbling grass in the back and I noticed another groundhog and this one had 3 black feet and one the normal rusty brown color of the hogs. I do believe our rescue came to visit and have a visit with the other animals in the area. It was good to see that it survived and looked strong.
Wow, we have one under our couch right now. I think our cat brought it in. I am so glad you made this video. I love them but our neighbor doesn't. They undermine her patio. But as you said, they don't do a lot of damage and they are cute AH. :) He is still alive and looks ok. Trying to figure out what to do to help him.
Groundhogs can tunnel very deep. They have a sence of space, because groundhogs done this for eons. The fuzzy babies are very sleepy. They even have a special tunnel for their waste. I would give them left over veggies, and bread. At frist it was not easy , then l figured out groundhogs are harmless. And if you don't feed them; they will eat everything like your hostas, baby's breath, petunias, or daylillys. The fuzziness are fun to watch, and don't do much harm. Stay safe?
The feeling on the west coast is that mid western people are kindly people. I'm not so sure anymore. We have rattle snakes here, we don't shoot to kill them.
We just found one in our yard it sounded like a kitten crying my kids thought there were kittens in the yard we are letting it be for a little bit to see if mom is around
@@CCPDOHIO1977 I don’t think mom came back I’ve seen baby hanging out by my garage and I think it may be digging up through my chicken coop, not bothering my hens but eating their food
And just seen a large groundhog go underneath our new deck it is 5:45 p.m. it was out near the deer feed my husband feeds deers 🦌 apple flavored corn up on the bank now today it's a rather large one and I don't know what to do I am in Lancaster PA and I don't know who to call or what to do or what it will do I'm trying to Google and that's how I found you and I thank you very much for the information but I need more help if you will finally let me know what to do here in Lancaster PA my husband doesn't want to trap him and I have no clue I'm a city girl that is now living my best life in the country we both retired and are enjoying our forever home in the country and I don't know what to do. Thank you kindly
Last year i had a gopher show up. It would come by the bird feeder and eat. I named it Oreo. This year it came back and brought 6 babies with her. She let them out in the yard for 1 day and i have not seem them (babies) since. Mama is still here daily to eat. Any suggestions where the babies went?
The groundhog that lives in the crawlspace under out cottage, turned out to be a female. She must have had her babies sometime in April because the other day, I saw 4 little ones exploring the area infront of the cottage. I mentioned this to my roommate and he now thinks we should put up some sort of fencing to keep them from wandering into the road and guide them towards the backyard where they can eat and explore in safety.
@@CCPDOHIO1977 Yes they are cute and when I see them wandering around, I try to go out so they get used to seeing that I am not a danger to them. But on the other hand, I worry by doing so might make them too comfortable when other humans are around. So far, they have not done any damage and the momma just goes to the back to share the food be put out for the birds, squirrels and the one deer that visits at times. I hope eventually the babies will follow momma to the back and learn that they can eat there. This past weekend, we had the door to the cottage opened and we watched momma walk up and look in at us, then she went to the back to eat. After some time, she came back and again stood looking at us, as if to tell us they could use more food out back. My roommate told me last night, when he came home, the momma came out and screamed at him. I guess she was warning him away from her burrow and her babies. Eventually we will figure out a way to lead the babies to the back without drawing attention to the fact that they are here.
I had a ground hog under my deck in the back and it was sinking it in the middle. I shot her with the .22 one day. Two weeks later I come home and I’ve got 3 little babies wondering around in my yard. Don’t know what to do with them.
@@markhaunert5029 Read some of replies and see. In my case, they damaged the foundation of the house. When they left, skunks moved in. So then I had a two fold problem. Anyways, I've no problem with either now. Moving fwd, I've laid garden fencing cloth into the soil surrounding the foundation to prevent them from digging should any return. Been problem free the last 2 yrs. I think was getting rid of the generation that were accustomed to our property did the trick. We'll see long-term.
@@Lt_Tragg oh ok I gotcha. I was just curious. We have them on property but I'm assuming the dogs keep them at bay from the house. Thanks for responding ✌️
Those disgusting creatures are very creepy and gross to look at even the babies.. I just released my two full grown Rottweilers in my yard, problem solved.
@@CCPDOHIO1977 I'm sure they have some good in them "for some" but I wish I could share a video of the property damage that costed me heavily, now I tried to be alittle more compassionate and it was my wife's idea to release the dogs because I tried every possible way to rid of them. I understand what you're doing and I appreciate that but groundhogs aren't for everyone, I don't want to hurt them but theirs gotta be an easier way for them to move on.
