Finding a tiny chipmunk alone on the ground can instantly trigger the urge to scoop it up and help. Before you do anything, take a breath — your next few decisions could mean the difference between reuniting this little animal with its mother and accidentally separating them for good.
This guide walks you through exactly what to look for, how to stay safe, what steps to take, and who to call — so you can respond calmly and correctly when every minute counts.
Is the Baby Chipmunk Actually Orphaned or Just Alone?
Many people believe that any baby animal they find outside is orphaned. This is not the case, and an attempt at rescuing these animals often strips them away from their mother. Before assuming the worst, take a moment to observe from a distance.
Chipmunks are independent between six and nine weeks and will explore outside their dens starting at five weeks. If the chipmunk you found looks alert, moves quickly, and is trying to avoid you, it may simply be a young-but-healthy kit doing exactly what it’s supposed to do.
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.
What about truly young kits? 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.
It is unusual to find a baby chipmunk, particularly if its eyes are still closed, as the mother does not let them out of the burrow until they are old enough. If you find a baby with closed eyes, it is probably orphaned and needs rescuing.
If the chipmunk’s eyes are open and it appears lively, give it time. Before picking up a young chipmunk who appears to be orphaned, stand at a distance for at least a half hour and look for the baby’s mother. She might reappear momentarily. Even if the mother does not reappear, you should leave the baby alone if they appear lively, active, and not in any distress.
Pro Tip: Keep pets and other people away from the area while you wait and watch. A nervous mother chipmunk will not retrieve her kit if she senses a threat nearby.
You can also try returning the kit to its burrow entrance. Chipmunk holes are approximately two inches in diameter. Locate the hole and place the baby at the entrance for mom to retrieve. If the baby doesn’t disappear in two to three hours, contact a wildlife rehabilitator.
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.
For more context on the kinds of wild animals that share our neighborhoods, it helps to understand how wildlife naturally behaves in suburban and forested areas.
Signs a Baby Chipmunk Needs Immediate Help
Some situations don’t require a waiting period. If you observe any of the following, the chipmunk needs help right away — don’t wait to see if mom returns.
If you find a baby chipmunk that appears to be injured, showing signs of bleeding, shivering, or has been attacked by a cat or a dog, call a wildlife rehabilitator immediately.
Here are the key warning signs to look for:
- Eyes are closed and the kit is outside the burrow — this is not normal and almost always means something is wrong
- Visible bleeding, wounds, or broken limbs
- Shivering or feeling cold and still to the touch
- Purple or red spots under the skin — a common sign of bruising
- Covered with fleas, ants, ticks, or flies — including what looks like small clusters of rice anywhere on the baby, which can indicate flystrike
- The baby was brought to you by a cat or dog
- Running toward you and appearing oddly friendly — if the baby approaches you insistently, it may have been separated from the mother and is potentially starving
- Crying or wandering continuously without any sign of the mother
- Unable to stand or move without falling over
Pay special attention if a pet has been involved. Cats have mouths full of bacteria that will kill a chipmunk in a short time. All wild animals caught by a cat need to be brought in for medication and rehabilitation, even if you can’t see wounds. Similarly, if a dog brings you an animal, bring it in immediately. Dogs have powerful jaws that can create crushing injuries.
Important Note: Even if a chipmunk caught by a pet looks completely unharmed on the outside, internal injuries and bacterial infections may not be visible. Always contact a rehabilitator in these cases.
Chipmunks are classified as omnivore animals, meaning their nutritional needs are complex and species-specific — another reason why professional care matters so much for injured or orphaned kits.
What to Do Before You Touch a Baby Chipmunk
If you’ve confirmed the chipmunk needs help, resist the urge to immediately handle it with bare hands. Protecting yourself — and the animal — starts before you make contact.
It is important to know that wild animals can carry zoonotic diseases that can be harmful to you. Taking a few simple precautions protects both you and the chipmunk.
Before touching the chipmunk, do the following:
- Put on gloves. Wear thick gardening gloves — chipmunks are rodents and have strong teeth and powerful bites.
- Keep the area calm. It can be exciting to find a baby chipmunk, but please do everything you can to keep things calm and quiet. Chipmunks are prey animals that are easily frightened, and that is a level of stress that your rescue does not need.
- Remove pets and children from the immediate area. Keep the animal in a location that is warm, dark, and quiet and do everything in your power to keep kids and pets away. Your 7-year-old nephew does not need to see the animal — opening the box lets out heat and scares the chipmunk. Same goes for the family cat or dog.
- Do not feed or give water. Do not feed it or give it anything to drink. The wrong foods can quickly cause enteritis (diarrhea) and death.
- Wash your hands after any contact. Wash your hands well with soap and plenty of water after coming in contact with baby animals, and avoid contact with the animal’s body fluids and secretions.
Common Mistake: Many people instinctively offer cow’s milk or water to a baby animal. No wild animal can tolerate cow’s milk. In many cases, giving it can cause fatal digestive problems.
Also keep in mind: it is a myth that chipmunks will abandon their babies because you touched them — this is not true. So if you’ve already picked the kit up, don’t panic. You haven’t ruined its chances of being reunited with mom.
If you’re curious about other baby animals and what they’re called, our guide to baby animal names covers a wide range of species.
How to Safely Contain a Baby Chipmunk
Once you’ve decided the chipmunk needs temporary shelter while you arrange care, the goal is simple: keep it warm, dark, secure, and stress-free. You don’t need special equipment — just a few items you likely already have at home.
What you’ll need:
- A small cardboard box (like a shoebox)
- A soft cloth, fleece, or non-terrycloth towel
- A heat source (heating pad, hot water bottle, or rice-filled sock)
- A lid with small air holes
Step-by-step containment:
- Put the chipmunk in a shoebox or other small container with several small air holes in the lid and a small non-terrycloth towel, fleece cloth, or t-shirt in the bottom. Tape the lid to keep it secure.
- Add a heat source. A newborn chipmunk, especially one whose eyes are still closed, is unable to generate enough body heat to keep itself warm and will die of hypothermia if left unattended. The natural body temperature of a chipmunk is about 95–100°F.
- If you have a heating pad, set it to low and place the box half on/half off the pad, so the animal can move away from the heat if needed.
- Alternative heat source: Fill a sock or knee-high pantyhose with uncooked dry rice. Microwave the rice-filled sock for 30 to 60 seconds. This heat source will last about 20 to 30 minutes.
- Place the box somewhere quiet and dark. Keep it in a dark and quiet place to prevent the baby chipmunk from getting stressed.
- Do not offer food or water during this time. Do not give the kits any food, water, or formula — we want them to be hungry and call for mom.
Key Insight: If you just found an orphaned chipmunk, the three most critical items you need to address first are warmth, dehydration, and stress. Any of these issues can easily cause a newborn to die. Your containment setup directly addresses all three.
If you’re waiting for mom to return and need the kit to be accessible, gather the kits and place them in a box that they cannot crawl out of, but make sure the box is also accessible for the adult chipmunk to reach in and collect the kits.
Wild animals in your area, like chipmunks, often share habitat with many other species. If you’re curious about the wildlife native to your region, take a look at what wild animals live in Chicago or explore other regional wildlife guides.
Who to Call When You Find a Baby Chipmunk
The single most important call you can make is to a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. These are trained professionals who know how to meet the specific dietary, developmental, and behavioral needs of wild animals — needs that are nearly impossible to replicate at home.
If the animal does need help, often time is of the essence in making that call. Many of the animals whom wildlife rehabilitators rescue are suffering from shock, exposure, dehydration, and/or malnourishment, and a delay of even a few hours can decrease their chance of survival.
Your best options for finding help:
- Animal Help Now — You can check for the nearest wildlife rehabilitators by going to the AnimalHelpNow website. It covers resources for wildlife emergencies throughout the United States.
- The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA) — The NWRA provides many resources for people who find wild animals in distress, and includes a map under its Resources tab that has compiled licensed wildlife rehabilitators by state.
- Your state wildlife agency — Your state wildlife department — often called the Game and Fish Department, the Department of Natural Resources, or the Department of Wildlife Resources — can help with injured or sick wildlife situations.
- Local humane society or animal control — If you’re unsure of wildlife rehab in your area, contact your state’s Department of Natural Resources or local humane society.
- A local veterinarian — If a permitted wildlife rehabilitator is not able to assist, licensed veterinarians are able to intake, stabilize for transport, and/or compassionately euthanize wildlife in need if they choose to do so.
Pro Tip: It’s ideal to find a wildlife rehabilitator near you before you actually need them — then you will feel a lot more comfortable calling them in the middle of the night if necessary. Save a local number now, just in case.
When you call, be ready to describe the chipmunk’s approximate size, whether its eyes are open or closed, any visible injuries, and how long you’ve had it. Get instructions about how to safely capture and transport the animal, since rehabilitators are usually unable to pick up injured wildlife.
It’s also worth knowing that it is illegal in many places to keep wild animals as pets. Handing the animal over to a professional isn’t just the kindest choice — in most states, it’s the legally required one. It is illegal to keep and raise any type of wildlife unless you are a legally licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
If you’re interested in what animals are appropriate to interact with in a supervised setting, you might enjoy reading about what animals are in petting zoos — a very different situation from wildlife care.
What Not to Do With a Baby Chipmunk
Good intentions can cause real harm when it comes to baby wildlife. Knowing what to avoid is just as important as knowing what to do.
Do not feed it anything. Baby chipmunks have specific dietary needs, and feeding the right food is crucial to their survival. Even well-meaning food choices — bread, fruit, water from a dropper — can cause serious harm. Never forcibly inject liquid into the animal’s mouth, as the liquids can easily enter the lungs and cause pneumonia.
Do not give it cow’s milk or dairy. As noted earlier, dairy products are fatal to wild mammals and should never be offered under any circumstances.
Do not try to raise it yourself. One common misconception is that baby chipmunks can be raised as pets. While baby chipmunks may seem cute and cuddly, they are wild animals and should not be kept as pets. Baby chipmunks raised by humans often struggle to survive in the wild once released, as they lack the necessary skills to fend for themselves.
Do not keep it in a loud or bright environment. Stressed newborns will not eat, and anytime you scare them you are harming their recovery and development.
Do not trap and relocate it. Please do not trap and relocate any wildlife. This is a death sentence for them.
Do not delay calling for help. If you have found a wild animal in distress, contact a wildlife rehabilitator immediately. Even just a half hour can make a difference between life and death in some cases.
Common Mistake: Exposing the chipmunk to too many people. Animals taken out of the wild by well-intentioned people are often subjected to more stress and have a decreased chance of survival and ever having a normal life. Limit handling to the absolute minimum necessary.
Do not assume it needs to be “rescued” if it looks healthy. Unless the animal is truly orphaned or injured, there is no need to rescue them — and in fact, your “help” might actually hurt. A chipmunk that is fast, alert, and avoiding contact almost certainly does not need your intervention.
Chipmunks are fascinating animals — omnivores that enjoy a wide variety of foods including nuts, berries, seeds, mushrooms, insects, lizards, baby birds, and bird eggs. Understanding their natural behavior and diet makes it easier to appreciate why professional rehabilitation is so important for kits that truly need help. You can learn more about the diets of animals that eat mealworms and other small creatures as part of the broader food web these animals belong to.
The best outcome for any baby chipmunk is a return to the wild — healthy, independent, and fully equipped to thrive. Your calm, informed response in those first critical minutes gives it the best possible chance of getting there.