It is impossible to determine whether a bat has rabies just by looking at it. Bats can be grounded for a variety of reasons, including injury or infection with rabies.

These signs or behaviors may indicate that a bat has rabies:

• Flying in the daytime
• The presence of dirt in the bat’s mouth or teeth
• Abnormal sounds made by the bat
• Isolation of a colonial bat from its colony
• Cloudy eyes
• Dehydration
• Mucous in the nostrils
• Breathing difficulties
• Spastic paralysis (muscle spasms and rigidity)