Sooo, we got a pet Raccoon yesterday.

Meet the newest (temporary) member of our family. Bandit the baby raccoon.









We acquired this cute little critter from one of my wife's school friends. He was found when they were removing a tree from their property. At the time they found three little babies, none of which had their eyes open yet. They put them in a little box and left them by the tree, momma raccoon came and took 2 of the babies, but never returned for the third. Sooo being the kind souls they are, they took the little guy in and bottle fed him till he is now about 2-3 months old.

Due to family circumstances, they are no longer able to care for nor rehabilitate him to return to the wild. My mother-in-law was supposed to take him in and rehabilitate him, but she backed out in the time between us picking him up and taking him to her farm. Now we are stuck between a rock and a hard place as we live in town and are not even supposed to have pets. What are you gonna do though.

Our plan is to find a rescue group that will take him in and eventually return him to his rightful place in the wild. Until then we will get him weened off the bottle and eating solid foods and enjoy our time with this sweet little critter. He is the coolest thing since sliced bread. He plays like a little kitten right now.

The wife and I agreed that although he is cute and cuddly now that he will soon grow into a big 30-40 lbs problem as they tend to get aggressive if not cared for in ways that we are unable to care for him and this is not fair to him. Although, he has been in the care of humans since he opened his eyes and is very comfortable around us, he is still a wild animal and deserves to live in the wild as intended. We just have to go about it the right way so he has a chance to survive as just releasing him back to the woods would be a death sentence as he has known no other life.

Has any of the ATS family had any experience raising raccoon's and or properly rehabilitating a wild animal to return to the wild? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thank's for reading and have a great day.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

The problem is that he has no natural fear of humans so you really can't release him into the wild now, certainly not near civilization.



Also, he has tasted human ear.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Has any of the ATS family had any experience raising raccoon's and or properly rehabilitating a wild animal to return to the wild? Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. 

In many states it is illegal to do what you are doing.

Has the racoon been vaccinated against rabies?

a reply to: butcherguy

Yeah, we checked and it's legal in our state.

Our plan is to take him into the vet within the next few days for a check up and see what vaccinations we can get at his age.

We are waiting on an email from a colleague of a rescue group that we have contacted. If they will take him in then they will give him the full vet treatment.

originally posted by: greencmp
a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

The problem is that he has no natural fear of humans so you really can't release him into the wild now, certainly not near civilization.

Also, he has tasted human ear.

That's exactly the problem we have right now. I would hate to release him and then he approach some other dumb a$$ and they kill him thinking he was trying to attack them or something. He needs proper rehabilitation before released back into a safe environment.

As far as the ear goes, he like the shiny hardware I have in my ears lol.

I remember when I was a lil kid My great uncle had one caged up as a pet? Anyway it was a nasty,angry SOB..

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Keep him. Just looking the photos and video I can tell he loves you. Don't break his heart.

originally posted by: Trueman
a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Keep him. Just looking the photos and video I can tell he loves you. Don't break his heart.

Trust me, I would love too. He is awesome. Unfortunately he won't always be a baby. We live in a second story apartment, in town and it's not fair to keep him caged up like that. His wild tendencies will become more prevalent the older he gets and from what I read, they tend to get aggressive with time when they are cooped up like that. Getting him neutered would help with that, but I don't feel I could ever fully trust him with having a 4 year old daughter at home.

It's sad to see him go, but it's the right thing to do as long as we can find the proper place to rehabilitate him. He needs to learn to fish and be self sufficient and be a normal raccoon.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Now I understand you. Seems like you are the one that will be left with a broken heart, not him.

You are a good man

There was a family across the street from us that raised one. Named him Rats. By the time he got full grown, he had to live in a large coop in the backyard and only the man of the family could handle him because he was too aggressive for any of the others to deal with.

You are spot on in the knowledge assessment.

If you can get him to a specialized group to take him over, sooner is best, but enjoy the time you have with him now.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Best to get him to that rehab soon as possible, before he learns how to use his hands. Those are hands, they can climb and get into anything, curiosity will destroy your belongings. And you're right he'll be driven mad being cooped up.

The sooner the better. Right now in the wild, he's supposed to be following mom around, emulating her behavior as she forages, rustling food from streams, old logs and meadows, etc. Every move she makes is his road to survival in the wild. Without that hands on training, he won't make it. He wasn't supposed to survive, you know. You guys interrupted nature's course. Now he'll be cooped up through the winter and lose the remote chance every kit has.

Make several inquiries to more places, even if it means driving a ways…

Very nice of you to help out this lil guy! You seem to be on the right track, but will share a bit of what I've come across with dealing in exotics.

Check with your vet about paper work needed, even if legal, for caring for one.

I wish could recommend you to someone who could help out in OH. The only ones I know of are in FL,but if that can help somehow let me know. Good luck with checking the wildlife rescues and your local wildlife center as they may be able to help and or refer you. Check out all the exotic pet veterinarians as well.

Until then maybe built an indoor and or to outdoor type sanctuary(and or hutch) for him to meet his needs as he grows. And of course if you have any other pets, please keep them separated and up to date on vaccinations as many diseases can be shared cross species including humans.

Neutering very important. Already mentioned but more on vaccinations; such as distemper-canine but possibly feline may be administered as well, leptospirosis and rabies(most common in racoons) . Advise for these to be done ASAP by your vet, namely an exotics familiar vet, considering your situation.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

Best to get him to that rehab soon as possible, before he learns how to use his hands. Those are hands, they can climb and get into anything, curiosity will destroy your belongings. And you're right he'll be driven mad being cooped up.

The sooner the better. Right now in the wild, he's supposed to be following mom around, emulating her behavior as she forages, rustling food from streams, old logs and meadows, etc. Every move she makes is his road to survival in the wild. Without that hands on training, he won't make it. He wasn't supposed to survive, you know. You guys interrupted nature's course. Now he'll be cooped up through the winter and lose the remote chance every kit has.

Make several inquiries to more places, even if it means driving a ways…

Yeah, the more we read up and learn, the more we realize he needs to be placed in the proper environment. We read last night that late summer babies, which he is, generally are with their mothers throughout winter before going on their own in the spring.

The wife was up till 2 am last night emailing as many places as she could find, and is fully prepared to make sure he is placed where he needs to be regardless of travel.

We are animal lovers and regardless of our feelings or attachments we want to make sure he is provided the best chance of survival as you are correct in that nature's course was interrupted and now that course has landed in our lap so we feel it's our responsibility to do right by him.

I used to work in the exotic animal industry. At the time, we serviced customers throughout the Great Lakes region, so I kind of had to have a loose bearing on what laws were like from state to state. And, from my experience, Ohio was always one of the most lax states.

For most wild/exotic pets in Ohio all you needed was a vet certificate stating the animal was disease free, vaccinated from rabies (and sometimes other diseases), and did not pose a danger. Of course, since what happened in Zanesville a few years ago that may have changed.

However, getting the raccoon into a proper rehab facility sooner is better. The longer it spends with people, the less likely it will be able to live on its own successfully. A great place to start in finding a place to take the raccoon is Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

I can tell you have a heart and mean well.

I'm probably going to regret this.

One morning I was a walking my Dachshund, we came upon a squirrel nest that had been blown down during the night, a baby squirrel was huddled nearby on the ground. My dog spotted it and made every attempt to get at it. We left it there. Towards evening, when it still was there and moms seemingly had abandoned it, I loosed my dog who made quick work of it. It was the only thing to do.

Letting it slowly starve and or freeze wasn't an option, it was too hunkered down under cover for a Hawk or Crow to find. We have those that hunt squirrels in the area. Bringing it home to raise well, that was silly; I can't teach it to be squirrel. Giving it to an animal shelter was certain death. Nobody I knew at the time 'raises' baby squirrels.

Life is a thin thread for wild critters, they live day to day on the precipice, most don't make it past their first year. Its just the way of things. In this case I was its way out of Hell.

Gosh that is unbelievable cute

Problem is you and the previous mum have "imprinted"
More info here:
www.raccoonworld.com...

I think you need to find a registered rehabber in your area that has other raccoons in a litter so they imprint on each other and not a human and then can be released.

originally posted by: cmdrkeenkid
I used to work in the exotic animal industry. At the time, we serviced customers throughout the Great Lakes region, so I kind of had to have a loose bearing on what laws were like from state to state. And, from my experience, Ohio was always one of the most lax states.

For most wild/exotic pets in Ohio all you needed was a vet certificate stating the animal was disease free, vaccinated from rabies (and sometimes other diseases), and did not pose a danger. Of course, since what happened in Zanesville a few years ago that may have changed.

However, getting the raccoon into a proper rehab facility sooner is better. The longer it spends with people, the less likely it will be able to live on its own successfully. A great place to start in finding a place to take the raccoon is Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitators Association.

Thank you for the link. I am not sure who all my wife has contacted as of yet, but I will pass the link on to her.

The goal is to get it to a rehab group first and foremost, but we are fully prepared to have it checked out at the vet in a few days time if we can't find anything by then.

Thanks again.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: SgtHamsandwich
Towards evening, when it still was there and moms seemingly had abandoned it, I loosed my dog who made quick work of it. It was the only thing to do.

That's so sad.

I get what your saying though. I have had to make similar choices in the past. Sometimes you can help, sometimes you can't. Hopefully this is one of the times I can help.

a reply to: zazzafrazz

I know, the more we read and learn, the more we realize the whole situation has been miss handled from the get go, but what can you do now though.

All we can do is the best we can and try to help this little guy.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

I get what your saying though. I have had to make similar choices in the past. Sometimes you can help, sometimes you can't. Hopefully this is one of the times I can help.

Yes, baby animals are sooo lovable.

Back slowly away. Let nature take its course. Thats the lesson you should take from this.

I didn't with the squirrel but hey, it wasn't a cute cuddly raccoon either. If it had been a baby snake or crocodile, you probably wouldn't have approached. But it had fur and stripes, awww…