Just rescued another raccoon baby today.  It's so sad because the people didnt realize anything was wrong.
So I wanna make you think for a minute.
Here was the story....
"Found this raccoon, siblings didnt make it.  She's soo sweet, we've been sleeping with her, all she wants to do is snuggle.  Eating dog food "mush".  Has some fleas though.  Oh and she's not walking real good on her back legs"
Come to find out they had her for 3 weeks.
Reality when I got her...
About 8 weeks old, lethargic, white gums, anemic, flea infested horribly, neurological problem with back legs, probably dietary deficiency.
Yes she seems very sweet  and loveable, she's sick and weak.
A healthy baby raccoon, is playful, very mischievous, mouthy teething, chatters all the time.  This was not a healthy raccoon.
90% of the time when we get an "amazingly sweet" exotic animal... it's sick.  Appears to be so loveable, and WOW an amazingly sweet "exotic animal".
They aren't meant to be house pets.  Wild instincts, wild nature = wild animal.
Please DONT try to be the hero, find an exotic animal, treat it like a dog, not knowing what it really needs, keep it for weeks, and ASSUME it's all ok.
I took this little sweetheart in a little after noon, bathed it 3x by 1:00, sink filled with thousands of fleas!  Couldnt bathe her any more safely.
Syringe fed her esbilac milk with nutri cal.  Pumped her mouth with nutrical trying to get her sugar levels up, and help the anemia.
3:00 syringe fed again, actually sucked on the syringe "wanting it".  She was so exhausted, fell right to sleep.
5:00 fed again, fleas down to a minimal, but some still hanging in there.
IMAGINE how you feel after a couple bug bites, drives you crazy huh?  Imagine being totally infested with fleas, and them biting you all over your body, face, legs, privates...  and only being a weak baby.
7:00 fed again, she finally tried to lap up the milk nutrical on her own.
And she PEE'D!!!!  yeaa!
8:00 Heard her first raccoon chatter, wow, accomplishment.... she's feeling better.  Oh and she Poop'ed!   Thank God.
Her gums are starting to get a little pink...better.
This is the baby steps of a rescue.... it breaks your heart.
And makes you want to SHAKE the humans, because they think they know what they're doing, and think they're helping... and animals get very sick.