🏠 Housing & Husbandry · 6 min
Heat, water and daily care
Why this matters
The routine parts of husbandry are where animals are quietly lost: a heat source that cooks, a water dish that drowns, a dish placed under a perch.
By the end of this lesson you will be able to
- Apply external heat safely
- Provide water appropriately by species and age
- Describe the daily observation habit that catches problems early
Heat
Supplemental heat helps an animal maintain normal body temperature and can treat the symptoms of shock. But an external heat source must be monitored, and the animal must always be able to move away from it. Heat one end of the enclosure, never all of it. An animal that cannot escape the heat becomes hyperthermic.
Water
- Water is the most important nutrient. Fresh, clean water must be available at all times, and changed daily, not weekly.
- Dish shape matters: depth and size must suit the species. Weakened, sick or bandaged animals can fall in and drown.
- A baby animal should not be given water dishes until it is big enough to eat by itself.
- Place dishes away from perches and other places they will be contaminated with feces.
- Ducklings should not have large open water left in with them constantly. Swimming time is supervised; unlimited water chills them and soaks down before they are waterproof.
- Different species drink differently: jays scoop and tip, while pigeons and doves suck water up.
Daily observation
Attention to an animal's appearance and behavior is a core part of care, not an extra. Weigh small animals every day or two, larger animals less often. In group housing, watch that every animal is actually getting access to food and water. Keeping accurate records of all of this is both good practice and a license condition.
Knowing when to say no
If your facility is full and taking another animal would compromise your standard of care, the right answer is to refer the caller to another rehabilitator. Capacity is part of the standard of care.
This lesson is part of the NY Wildlife Rehabilitator Exam course. Open it in the course to answer the retrieval checks that go with it, track what you have read, and quiz the whole unit. Lessons, quizzes and the glossary are free.