Salvatore Wildlife Rescue

06/01/2026

I was so busy that I just realized that I forgot to mark the anniversary of getting my rehab license on Friday! And I love any reason to celebrate so woops/woohoo

In honor of rehab-iversary, here is a little Before/After of my favorite case outcome so far: Chandler the Southern Flying Squirrel, who came in as a baby in May of last year after having been found in a puddle in the street after a storm. He did his level best to die of the pneumonia and GI parasites he got in that puddle, to the point where he wasn't able to eat more than 0.1ml at a time (when his meal size should have been 10x that!) and I had to carry him around with me so that I could work with him every 15 minutes, all day, for several days in a row. Look how limp and pathetic he was 😭

But we pushed through and he was successfully released with his group of buds in August! And now I have that After tattooed on my bicep (albeit with a strawberry since I didn't think smooth grape would visually translate as well). 💕💕

Happy belated rehab-iversary y'all! 🎉

06/01/2026

To add to the list of animals we don't typically take, today we got a newborn cottontail!

My policy generally is that I don't work with neonate mammals of any species (largely due to their care schedule being incompatible with my own), but I made an exception with this kiddo because he was found last night and in the finder's photo I could see both how significantly dehydrated he was and that he was so brand new that he was still covered with dried bits of birthing fluids; this means his situation was beyond time sensitive and he couldn't afford the time spent for the finder to look around for a rehabber who does work with this age group more regularly.

The statistic I most commonly see is that baby cottontails have a 90% mortality rate when raised by trained human hands (and greater than that when raised by the untrained) in no small part because of the extreme fragility of the newborns. Cottontails have a delicate and very finely tuned fermentation-based GI tract and the babies get their microbiomes through ongoing exposure to mom. Thus, as a broad rule, the less time spent with mom the less functional their digestive systems will likely be- this often becomes apparent during the transition to solids when they start to eat plant matter, but can't properly digest it so they then crash.

This kiddo, who likely spent no time whatsoever with mom and who was found by the neighbor's dog so may or may not have also been in the dog's mouth on top of everything else, has pretty poor odds. But we've started him on a rehydration protocol to handle his extreme fluid deficit and will do absolutely everything we can to give him a chance! 🤞🤞

06/01/2026

🐢 Turtle nesting season is underway in Massachusetts, and many native turtles are on the move in search of nesting sites. During this time of year, turtles frequently cross roads near wetlands, ponds, marshes, rivers, and other aquatic habitats, making them especially vulnerable to vehicle strikes.

If you see a turtle on the road, please remember that your safety comes first. Only stop if it is safe to do so. If you can safely assist, move the turtle in the direction it was already traveling. Never return a turtle to the side it came from, as it is likely trying to reach a nesting site or important habitat and will just try to cross the road again.

If you find an injured turtle, please don't assume that nothing can be done. Wildlife rehabilitators are often able to provide care, and even when a nesting female's injuries are too severe for rehabilitation, her eggs may still be viable and can sometimes be successfully incubated and hatched.

If you accidentally hit a turtle, or find one that has been struck by a vehicle, move it safely out of the roadway if possible, place it in a ventilated container, keep it in a quiet, shaded area, and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator as soon as possible. Do not place injured turtles back into water unless instructed to do so.

Every turtle that safely reaches its destination has the chance to contribute to the future of our native wildlife. Please share this post to help spread awareness and protect Massachusetts turtles during nesting season. 💚🐢

06/01/2026

And she's off!

Thank you so much to Woodland Critters for adding this little one to your flock and to Fresh Start Wildlife Rescue for your turkey guidance while she was in our care.

So grateful for the robust rehab network here in MA which can make cases like this feel as seamless as possible 🥰

06/01/2026

Just a wee baby and the surrogate mom which got her to settle down when it was finally delivered last night.

This kiddo is heading to her new home in a few hours via a volunteer driver (thanks Cindy!) and I'm so happy thinking about how relieved she'll be when she has real buddies to snuggle with again.

You may not know this about me, but wild turkeys are actually my favorite bird! Makes my whole dang day every time I see them doing their thing (there may or may not be excited squealing involved...every time) so being able to give temporary safe harbor to one of these kiddos has been a particular joy.

05/31/2026

Here's a bit of an atypical one for us since we don't usually work with birds: today we admitted a turkey poult!

This kiddo's family bumped into the finder in a bend of hiking trail which caused mom to spook and bolt. The babies frantically tried to keep up and all of them managed to, except this one which got separated. The finder spent an hour trying to reconnect her with mom, then contained her and reached out when that failed.

A temporary brooder has been set up in our terrestrial turtle enclosure, complete with every turkey feather we could find. This little one will only be spending the night before joining a rehab flock of buddies down in East Taunton tomorrow.

(Edit: driver found! || We are still looking for a volunteer driver, if anyone is available for a 9a-4p arrival in Taunton and interested in helping out! Let us know!)

05/31/2026

An update on our neurological flying squirrel with the facial nerve damage!

As a reminder, the running theory from our vet is that muscle contracture in her face (caused by nerve damage from the head trauma which caused her to be admitted) was interfering with her ability to close her right eye all the way. That impartial closure dried out her eye and was causing it to ulcerate and go hazy.

She is eleven days in to a 10-14 day course of eye medication and has shown significant improvement in the eye, with just a small bit of haziness remaining! She is the goodest girl in the whole world, tolerating the ointment like a champ. We'll continue to day 14 since there is a bit of that haze remaining and at that point we step back to see if this was a one and done situation (meaning she still has the potential of recovery, pending improvement of her other symptoms) or if the ulceration recurs which would mean this is a permanent and unrecoverable condition.

Photo 1: today!
Photo 2: day her eye treatment began
(Fur color difference in the two pics is just indoor warm-toned artificial bulbs vs natural lighting)

05/30/2026

05/30/2026

Twinkle (and the baldies) are officially cleared for release... whenever the weather decides to be sensible! 🎉

All four came in as wee babies from either Easthampton or Templeton and have finally met the requisite milestones necessary to head back into the great outdoors. The baldies experienced some self-caused hair loss because all three of them liked to sit in their soft food during the weaning process regardless of what size dish was used (🤦‍♀️), but their fur has grown back in. Twinkle arrived as a solo orphan and, much smaller than the others, just reached release weight!

Exciting, albeit blustery, day!