Help! I Found a Chipmunk!
Fast and agile, chipmunks can be a fun backyard critter to watch scurrying across the yard, but sometimes they need our help! Chipmunks love a fully covered home, whether it’s in a log or under a rock. Unlike squirrels, chipmunks like to build complex burrows under ground. They also communicate using sharp, loud chirps, so you can see where they got their name.
Remember: It is illegal to keep and raise wildlife
Myth: Chipmunks will abandon their babies because you touched them
If You Find a Chipmunk That:
Is not fully furred, and its eyes are sealed shut
Appears sick or injured
Is lethargic, disoriented or has difficulty moving/balancing
Is approaching humans
Has been in a dog or cat’s mouth
Has parasites, including fly eggs (look like little grains of rice)
This is an emergency. Receive immediate support here or contact your local wildlife rehabilitator.
If You Find a Chipmunk That:
Looks like a miniature adult and can evade humans
Had its den excavated and the den location is known
This is normal! Chipmunks are independent between six and nine weeks and will explore outside their dens starting at five weeks. For more solutions to common problems with chipmunks in human spaces, visit this page.
How To Save Baby and Juvenile Chipmunks
Chipmunks are born pink and furless with their eyes closed. During infancy, they should remain in their dens with their mother and are rarely seen outside of their homes.
After about two weeks, they begin to grow fur and show off their characteristic striped pattern, and their eyes open after four weeks. It’s not until their fifth to seventh week that chipmunk kits will begin to emerge from their dens to forage for food.
Mother chipmunks typically have two litters of kits each year. The first litter is born in early spring (usually April) and their second is born mid-summer.
How To Renest Chipmunk Kits
If you find a chipmunk kit walking around with closed eyes and no mother or adult chipmunk nearby, renesting may be necessary. Kits are rarely found outside the den unless they are of age, which is about eight weeks, and their eyes and ears are open.
Wear thick gardening gloves. Chipmunks are rodents and have strong teeth and powerful bites.
Check the kits carefully for injuries. Purple or red spots under the skin are a common sign of bruising. If the kits appear injured, contact a wildlife rehabilitator immediately.
Do not give the kits any food, water or formula — we want them to be hungry and call for mom!
Gather the kits and place them in a box that they cannot crawl out of. Make sure the box is also accessible for the adult chipmunk to reach in and collect the kits.
Keep the kits warm. This is a priority! Fill a bottle with hot water and wrap it in a towel. Place the wrapped water bottle securely in the box next to the kits. You may need to reheat the water bottle throughout the reunion process. You can also use heating pads, rice-filled socks or hand warmers. Note: If the kits can be returned directly to the original nest, no heat source is required.
Place the kits in a safe location as close as possible to where they were found.
Leave the area and watch from a distance. Mom will not come back if she senses danger (humans, pets, etc.).
Allow time from when they were found. Allow several daylight hours for mom to return and retrieve her kits.
Contact a wildlife rehabilitator if the mom does not retrieve her kits by the next morning. Keep the kits warm and secure, but do not offer them any food, water, or formula.
How To Save Adult Chipmunks
Chipmunks are independent at about nine weeks and should look and act like adults. Healthy chipmunks should be fast and agile, and should try to avoid humans. Adult chipmunks are also often mistaken as babies due to their small size, but as long as they retain their high energy and fear of humans, there’s no need to intervene! For more solutions to common problems with chipmunks in human spaces, visit this page.
Do you still have questions after reading the information above? Contact us or a local wildlife rehabilitator!
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Resources
Answering the Call of the Wild by Erin Luther. Toronto Wildlife Centre