Raccoon?

[Riven]

Tomorrow I'm getting a baby orphan raccoon.

Tips?!

 

[CJR]

Uh, well, I do know that raccoons smell like petroleum. My uncle had a baby raccoon for awhile when I was real young, that's all I remember.

Oh, and also, they have very sharp claws. Good luck!

 

[cindyv3737]

Keep it away from my pond. The last Raccoon I saw was eating fish out of my pond. Other than that I think they are crazy cute. Big hugs from me and good luck.

 

[eroomlorac]

I have raised three orphaned raccoons. They were a whole lot of fun. Do NOT hold them on their backs for feeding as if they were a baby. One of mine aspirated and had to be treated for pneumonia. I didn't know better but I do now. All of mine became a little wild in the fall and they were then permitted to live outside. They hung around for a while but eventually, they returned to the wild. Just remember they are very tough and very strong. They can wreck your house and they can do some serious damage to your pets if they are not watched. I never kept mine in a cage, though. Just in a laundry basket as a small baby then loose in the basement as a teenager. I believe it would be hard to keep them caged. Maybe if you started them in a cage from the beginning. The thing is, they get LARGE and I can't imagine a cage big enough. We thoroughly enjoyed ours for the several months we had each of them. They are truly great fun. They are very animated. We would turn the house on in the back yard and just watch them play in the flow of the water. We also set up a small wading pool in the back yard and put some feeder goldfish in it so they can learn to hunt for their food.

 

[Jenn]

how incredibly fun that will be!!! We get raccoons on our deck that are going after the food I put out for the strays. We've had up to 6 at a time and they are true pigs! I've gotten up close to them, within an arm's reach. I think they are wonderful animals and I'm envious that you get to care for one. Have you done any searching online to see if there is care info out there? Can't wait to see pics!

 

[caiti]

I found baby raccoons once and an animal control officer told me to feed them dry cat food. They loved it, but I don't know how successful it is at meeting thier nutritional needs.

The major things YOU should be concerned about is rabies. Racoons bite fast, and you'll want to get the shots as soon as they do. Rabies is transmitted through the animal's saliva, so if they lick a scratch go get the shots as well. Generally, doctors say once the saliva fully dries (say if they lick you on unbroken skin and you can't wash it or something) the virus is not contagious. Make sure none of your other animals are exposed at all. Rabies is practically always fatal and there is a 1-2 week period from exposure where you need to get the shots or the vaccine will be much less/not effective.

Baby raccoons are cute and make adorable noises when they're curious and playing. But rabies is not adorable. hehe.

 

[Riven]

Our animals all have their vaccines for rabies, and so do I.

We have a very large kennel, it's the largest dog kennel made, and is about 4' deep, and about 4' tall, and about 3' wide I think. I'm not sure what will happen with it, we may care for it for a while then rehome or release it. I always worry about releasing them because they learn to trust humans, and not all humans can be trusted. And with our chickens I don't know if having a loose 'coon outside would be a good idea either!

I do worry about it destroying my house. With two kids and three dogs... I don't need anymore help with that! We'll see what happens and go from there. It needed somewhere to go. I am aware that you are required to have a wild life permit in Nebraska for them as well.

ETA: These ones need to be bottle feed yet.

 

[Stackie]

I remember my dad raising 2 when I was 12 or so. He kept them in a big dog kennel with a roof outside with lots of tree branches and even made them a replication of a hollowed out tree to sleep in, along with an old dog house. They were cute and fun as babies, always "feeling" you with their little paws and making cute noises.

If I remember correctly, he had to give them distemper shots and I believe the other was obviously a rabies vac. He got them from my uncle who has raised a lot of baby coons and he said basically that once they get to a certain age, they get unruly and don't want to stay around anymore. Eventually they will want to be released and it is hard to keep them captive once they reach that point.

 

[Riven]

Well my grandpa has 640 acres where we can release. No one coon hunts there, so he/she should be safe there. Maybe a summer pet then. Which is probalby best. Should be getting him/her today, I'll post pictures when I get some!

 

[Riven]

Well... I guess the baby coon isn't coming today. Heather was taking them home to feed them for a while, so who knows.

 

[Jenn]

You sound disappointed...I would be too. I tried to take a pic of a large raccoon on our deck last night but he walked off just as I got the camera into position...

 

[Riven]

Well. She doesn't "work", but she's gone almost every day, almost all day. So I don't understand when she thinks she's going to feed them. And it's not like I never hand feed anything... like the baby chin I have right now... or the one I hand feed last month... or the one before that....

I guess it's one of those whatever things.

 

[Jenn]

how young is the raccoon, and how often do they need to be fed? It sounds like the raccoon would be better off with you if you are around to feed it several times a day...

 

[Riven]

She said that one of them still has it's eyes closed, there are three total. She told the neighbor that they "screech" so I probably wouldn't want them right now. But she has a 6 month old and a 3 yr old, so that just doesn't make sense to me. If I had a baby trying to sleep I wouldn't want a noisy raccoon around, let alone three of them.

I would imagine they would need to be feed about every 2 -4 hours or so, but I'm not sure. I was supposed to get instructions from the gal that she was getting them from that couldn't keep them.

 

[eroomlorac]

I hope you get one as they are sooo fun. But, yes, definitely a summer pet. And even though they may trust humans, they still have that wild instinct in them as you will see when it gets older......near fall time.

The kennel you describe sounds perfect for when it's older.

 

[Riven]

We are excited, hopefully we'll get one. : /

 

[Jenn]

if one makes it home to you, I expect pictures!!!

 

[Nervousings]

my uncle (who contracted agent orange in vietnam) lives up in the mountains of central california, in a town called Three Rivers. its FULL of wildlife like bears, coons, coyotes, and the like. Well, we call my uncle the bear whisperer because he actually has relationships with the bear families that live near his trailer. -that was totally off topic but it leads in to what im trying to say..
every day he has "coon time" and like clockwork about 20 racoons-small to large, come up from under his house to eat. most of them are rescued but its actually turned into a colony, a couple have 3 legs, one is completely bald. he feeds them a mix of wet and dry cat food and it keeps them nice and fat, and out of everyones garbage. they do make relatively loud screeches, but its nothing you couldnt deal with. i also know that he feeds the babies cat formula.
alot of people consider him a "weirdo" but what he does is SO interesting. he has albums upon albums of his bear adventures, and truly cares about every animal.
i didnt mean to tell such a long story... best of luck with your coon baby!!!

 

[chinchillalover0927]

i heard that they get very aggressive the older they get

 

[BooBoo*TheKiddo*]

That's neat Riven.

I might be getting one as well. My grandpa and his brother found some babies (4) and they are trying to find someone to take them. If they don't find homes for them all before they come back into the county (they live in northern Ky, I live near the Tennessee border on the Ky side) then they are going to bring me one to raise til its old enough to be released.

What do you feed them as babies? Like milk wise? How old are they when they can start eating cat food?