Anyone who finds a dormouse baby should warm it up quickly

Created: 11/22/2022, 4:00 p.m

By: Ines Alms

Found an orphaned dormouse baby?

Then hurry is required.

Above all, the animal needs enough warmth and other first aid measures.

Finding a baby dormouse during the day is usually a bad sign as the animals are usually active and shy at night.

So if you have made sure that the mother is not nearby, you should act quickly - for first aid every minute counts, otherwise the animal will quickly become hypothermic.

The further rearing should be left to professionals.

Dormouse baby found: first aid from warmth to food 

For orphaned dormouse babies, every minute counts.

The animals need a lot of heat.

© blickwinkel/Imago

The grey-brown dormouse (Glis glis) belong to the Bilche family, like the garden dormouse or the dormouse.

They look similar to squirrels in physique, but are significantly smaller than them and have large, black eyes and rounded ears.

Edible dormouse also live in trees, unless they are in hibernation.

If you find a baby in distress, you proceed as with squirrels.

Before you can feed the still naked or slightly hairy animal, it needs warmth, explains

.

So as soon as you have transported it home - preferably in a closed box or container with enough air supply - you should provide it with a hot water bottle that is not too hot and wrap a towel around it to cuddle.

A cherry pit pillow is also suitable, but red light is not, as it deprives the animal of too much liquid.

Toilet paper also offers a nest atmosphere.

You can find even more exciting garden topics in the regular newsletter of our partner 24garten.de.

Next care steps of the dormouse

Once you've taken good care of the little animal's initial heat supply, it's the professionals' turn: Contact zoos, wildlife stations or wildlife rescue stations as soon as possible.

Veterinarians, animal shelters and nature conservation associations are also good contact points.

If you don't get a response right away, the next steps are as follows:

• Using a pipette, a cotton swab or a plastic syringe without a needle, you dribble slightly sweetened liquid such as glucose water or fennel tea with a little honey into the animal's mouth so that it does not choke, advises the

  Wildlife Orphan Protection Association.

• After several hours, the animal can also be given baby rearing milk for cats (no cow's milk, no condensed milk).

• After drinking, it is important to stimulate the flow of urine: To do this, take a cosmetic tissue moistened with warm water and gently rub it over the anus and genitals until the animal has urinated.

• Then massage the animal's abdomen for defecation by taking it in the left hand in a supine position and stroking a finger from the middle to the genitals for at least 3 minutes.

• Depending on the age and condition of the dormouse, this whole process is repeated every two to six hours, including at night.

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If the animals are a bit older,

recommends a gentle transition from milk to solid food in the form of baby fruit puree (fruit with whole grain, apple with baby biscuits, pears with rusks, etc.).

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About three weeks old dormouse with fur and already open eyes can also be given solid food: For example,

recommends sunflower seeds, mixed nuts, apples, pears or grapes.