03/15/2026
If only more people listened to this
We know you’re tired of hearing it, but it bears repeating: don’t try to raise wild animals yourself unless you’re a permitted, trained rehabilitator with the time, space, and access to veterinary care necessary to do it properly. One of many reasons for this: exploding wi***es.
Yes, unfortunately, you read that right. It’s a common problem seen in wild animals, especially baby squirrels, that people try to raise themselves.
Most members of the general public don’t have the time to feed and comfort baby animals as frequently as their mothers would. And, when baby squirrels get lonely or hungry, they start rooting around for whatever vaguely nipple-like item they can find, even when that nipple-like item is a we**ie— either their own or a sibling’s.
Of course— outside of weird fever nightmares, disturbing Dadaist art, and someone’s freaky niche fiction— ge****ls don’t make milk, so the baby squirrel won’t be satisfied by the suckling. They’ll continue, oblivious to the fact that they’re hurting themselves.
This suckling will, in many cases, lead to complete rupture of the unfortunate baby animal’s urethra, which is every bit as horrifying as it sounds. A baby animal with a fully ruptured we**ie will not only be in horrible pain, but will develop life-threatening infections if not treated promptly, and be at high risk for long-term complications even if promptly treated. We’ve had baby animals make it into care with complete urethral ruptures that were bleeding profusely and were full of maggots. 😱
Now that we’ve given you some mental images that will haunt your nightmares, please help make sure this doesn’t happen to any more baby animals. If you’ve found a baby animal and you’re certain it’s orphaned, please bring the baby to a qualified rehabilitator who can ensure that it gets proper care. No animal should have to suffer these kinds of injuries because someone wanted to turn them into a DIY project in their spare time.