Raccoons are adorable little animals with their grey to brown coats and black-masked eyes. They are native to North America, but have been introduced into Europe for almost a hundred years, particularly in the area of Austria and Germany. Their preferred habitat is deciduous woods and forests. However, some individuals think that they are good pets as well.
An adult raccoon is the size of a middle-sized dog - about knee-height and weighing up to around 35 pounds. Their front paws are about the size of a child's hands and they have five fingers on each hand or paw, which enables them to open doors and lift lids et cetera. This makes them pretty adept thieves and reinforces the impression of a masked highway robber.
Raccoons will consume almost anything - they are omnivores. They not just eat fruit, nuts and berries, but they will also take small birds, eggs, rodents, amphibians and fish. They are also fairly partial to cooked food and will go through a dustbin or garbage heap looking for the left-overs of human meals. They also steal pets' food that has been left out in the garden.
Domesticated raccoons usually wash their food before eating it, whereas this strange habit is hardly ever witnessed in the wild. Raccoons can carry very serious illnesses one of which, rabies, is perilous to humans, but they also carry roundworms which can be passed on to humans with little effect on our health. Most raccoons die of predation or canine distemper. They can infect domestic dogs with the deadly canine parvovirus.
If you see a wild raccoon in your backyard, you ought to report it to the authorities so that it can be checked for disease as around 38% of rabies cases in America come from raccoon bites. Raccoons do tend to bite quite liberally.
If you find an orphan raccoon while wandering in the woods, it is very tempting to take it home, but there is a fairly high risk of it having rabies. If you want a raccoon for a pet, it is better to buy one from a breeder.
They are notoriously difficult to train. In most states it is illegal to keep a raccoon as a pet, but where it is permitted, the owner usually has to obtain an exotic pets license.
You should have them innoculated against rabies and distemper and treated for roundworm before you take one into your home. If you purchase from a dealer, this ought to all ready have been taken care of for you.
Raccoons are difficult pets because they are in essence nocturnal creatures. They can be trained to sleep at night but it is not natural for them. Their diet can be a problem as well. Because they eat 'anything', they require a very varied diet including live animals like frogs and mice from time to time. Pet raccoons frequently become overweight due to excessive feeding and a lack of exercise.
Pet raccoons should not be re-released into the wild if you find them too difficult to take care of, because they will not know how to look after themselves. A pet raccoon is for life, which can last for twenty years.
An adult raccoon is the size of a middle-sized dog - about knee-height and weighing up to around 35 pounds. Their front paws are about the size of a child's hands and they have five fingers on each hand or paw, which enables them to open doors and lift lids et cetera. This makes them pretty adept thieves and reinforces the impression of a masked highway robber.
Raccoons will consume almost anything - they are omnivores. They not just eat fruit, nuts and berries, but they will also take small birds, eggs, rodents, amphibians and fish. They are also fairly partial to cooked food and will go through a dustbin or garbage heap looking for the left-overs of human meals. They also steal pets' food that has been left out in the garden.
Domesticated raccoons usually wash their food before eating it, whereas this strange habit is hardly ever witnessed in the wild. Raccoons can carry very serious illnesses one of which, rabies, is perilous to humans, but they also carry roundworms which can be passed on to humans with little effect on our health. Most raccoons die of predation or canine distemper. They can infect domestic dogs with the deadly canine parvovirus.
If you see a wild raccoon in your backyard, you ought to report it to the authorities so that it can be checked for disease as around 38% of rabies cases in America come from raccoon bites. Raccoons do tend to bite quite liberally.
If you find an orphan raccoon while wandering in the woods, it is very tempting to take it home, but there is a fairly high risk of it having rabies. If you want a raccoon for a pet, it is better to buy one from a breeder.
They are notoriously difficult to train. In most states it is illegal to keep a raccoon as a pet, but where it is permitted, the owner usually has to obtain an exotic pets license.
You should have them innoculated against rabies and distemper and treated for roundworm before you take one into your home. If you purchase from a dealer, this ought to all ready have been taken care of for you.
Raccoons are difficult pets because they are in essence nocturnal creatures. They can be trained to sleep at night but it is not natural for them. Their diet can be a problem as well. Because they eat 'anything', they require a very varied diet including live animals like frogs and mice from time to time. Pet raccoons frequently become overweight due to excessive feeding and a lack of exercise.
Pet raccoons should not be re-released into the wild if you find them too difficult to take care of, because they will not know how to look after themselves. A pet raccoon is for life, which can last for twenty years.
About the Author:
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, but is now concerned with distemper in raccoons. If you want to know more, please go to our site at Distemper Vaccines
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