Yep....you do find an occasional individual....same with rabbits, squirrels, flying squirrels and opossums....that for some reason tame out and can make an excellent pet. But it's the extreme exception and certainly not the rule. As I mentioned, one of my volunteers just had one kill itself trying to escape. I have had two wild rabbits...one cottontail and one marsh rabbit....that really seemed to enjoy being domesticated. The cottontail, DJ, learned to ring a cat toy bell at feeding time. And the marsh rabbit was an adult when she came in and seemed to sense I was trying to help her. I have a non-releasable squirrel that loves to be petted. Again, extreme exceptions. And then you have a moral issue of having a wild animal in captivity. In NC, the law states we have to euthanize any animal that does not meet the criteria for release. I have a problem with that one since it's usually not the animal's fault that it became sick or injured. My non-releasables live a very comfortable and safe life. Since they have never known anything else....it makes it easier. I just couldn't bring myself to euthanize one of my squirrels due to a dental problem that I can manage....or one of my opossums that is cross-eyed far in excess of what is usually found. They are not truly pets (but they really are) as they are being used in our educational programs with zoology and vet students.
Metabolic problems are issues usually caused by nutritional problems. In some cases it can be genetic, but primarily are caused by inappropriate nutrition. I see a lot of wildlife with Metabolic Bone Disease. The name is misleading. This condition does lead to brittle bones but can also lead to brain damage, seizures, organ failure and death. Many that raise wildlife without proper training will often feed some type of either Goat's Milk or Kitten Milk Replacer. These milks do not contain sufficient nutrition for these quickly developing animals. Combine that with the fact that most baby animals are kept inside....with no exposure to direct sunlight. Unfiltered sunlight is essential to building Vitamin D which helps with the absorbing of calcium and other nutrients. That is one of the reasons that the idea of removing calcium from a domestic rabbit doesn't really "hold water". While on the outside, the animal may appear to be healthy, internally it's not. I see lots of squirrels with fractured backs due to MBD. Many birds that are hand raised also suffer metabolic issues. Many birds require a very high protein diet....and primarily animal protein.....in large amounts. I have been doing wildlife so long that I can immediately tell if an animal has been improperly fed. Unfortunately there is still a lot of old and outdated info available on the internet that still use things like powdered milk, Karo Syrup, rice cereal, etc....and they all are inappropriate. We know by clinically correct information what these animals need and have specialized forumulas that can closely match what that species should be receiving in the wild. The professional formulas we use give us the proper amounts of the proper components....and we can raise, wean and release strong animals. We just released some huge cottontails just last night. A couple of weeks ago I released a squirrel that came to me late last summer and had severe MBD. A college student "rescued" this squirrel. She was kept totally inside and was fed Goat's Milk originally and then fed a variety of seeds and peanuts....veryunhealthy. She had no fur, no nails, no whiskers and was in severe pain. It took all winter and spring to get her to a releasable point. She had huge muscles and looked like she was on steroids when released.
We rarely see MBD in domesticated animals since they are fed fortified feeds. Vitamin D is something that is added to nearly every prepared food for all animals. If you don't have Vitamin D and phosphorus in the proper levels along with proper nutrition, MBD will be the end result. MBD is a huge concern for me when I am told someone has been feeding wildlife based on "I looked it up on the internet".
Here is a link to a squirrel site that shows the effects of improper nutrition on squirrels....and the results of an improper diet are similar in other species. I must warn everyone....some of the images on this site can be very disturbing and are graphic....but it shows just what happens when untrained people try to raise wild animals.
http://www.squirrel-rehab.org/pictures/improperdiet.html
Don't mean to rant too much here but we just took in 5 rabbits that are terribly emaciated and probably won't make it....from using evaporated milk. And I just took two squirrels that have been fed Goat's Milk and Kitten Milk since early February. I was told they would not eat solid food...but they should have already been released. Their MBD is so severe that they have no teeth. I just hate to see an animal suffer from improper care when there are trained people that will take proper care of them.
Randy
