Sooo, we got a pet Raccoon yesterday.

I know two people who had raccoons. They are so cute and cuddly.

The girl I knew who had one had it in her dad's car and took it to an outside party. It tore the whole interior of the car up.

The guy and his wife down the road found a baby raccoon and kept it for about a year. He used to walk to the mailbox with the raccoon. Then they decided it needed to go after it ripped apart their sofa and recliner.

Have fun OP.

originally posted by: greydaze
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..

You would be too if someone grabbed you and stuck you in a cage.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

When I first read your title I thought that you had intentionally gone out and picked up a raccoon for a pet, which made me kind of jealous, because I have wanted one since I was a kid. In my adult years I have researched getting one, and have read about how they really aren't meant to be pets at all.

After reading your OP, I see that you understand that as well, and it's admirable that you're going to try to do the right thing with that cute little critter and that you recognize that they aren't meant to pets, because they *are* still wild animals and are very curious and very destructive. And although I haven't read through the whole thread yet, I see some advice and links being shared to assist you. I would say you might want to do something sooner rather than later while he is still younger and before he has a chance to become *completely* comfortable in temporary domestic situation.

But boy, he sure is cute.

Word.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

My son's girlfriend's mother nurses birds back to health and releases them back into the wild. She took in a raccoon one day and almost lost her life! I can't exactly recall the story, but her daughter told me this one carried rabies or some kind of disease. The mother ended up contracting the disease and had to be hospitalized for a couple of months. The daughter said she almost died! I guess raccoons are notorious for carrying rabies and other diseases.

In your case, considering the cute little bandit was raised as a baby, it may not be carrying any kind of diseases. You may want to have it checked out by a vet, just to be safe! They do get aggressive as they get older. Hope the little guy finds a home.

That ear pic is priceless

originally posted by: SgtHamsandwich
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.

Kudos!

Adoarable!!!!!!! You are doing the right thing in caring for this beautiful baby until he can go to a rehabilitator. Kudos! And...thanks for making me smile!

You are a good person. That's a really lucky little fellow. You're doing right by him in difficult circumstances.
They are the cutest things! A couple of weeks ago I was startled by an unfamiliar noise issuing from my kitchen. Sounded animal but not feline---a cross between a growl and a chatter. When I glanced toward the kitchen I saw our big male cat looking intently toward the back door. Thinking that something might be outside the screen door peering in, I stepped into the kitchen. Just as the growling chatter began again, I spotted a sawdust-covered baby coon---inside! Not peering in but apparently attempting to get out.
He was a tiny little fellow but he was FIERCE! I was laughing so hard at that tiny little critter with his back up, even rearing up on his back legs as if to say, "Come on, I'm gonna kick your butt!" The 15-pound male cat just looked at him and then up at me as if to say, "Plucky little thing isn't he?"
Upon reflection we realized that he must have been trapped in the basement (combination of woodworking shop and garage, thus his being covered in sawdust) when the garage door was closed well after dark on a previous night. We encouraged him out the back door, gave him a bowl of water and a can of cat food. He ate and drank under the watchful eye of the mancat then wandered away and apparently found his mama.
I hope you can find a suitable solution to this cuddly problem. Blessing on you.

a reply to: intrptr

No, I understand.

When we were kids, we knocked down a barnswallow nest by accident when we were playing in the barn. It had barely hatched babies in it. There was no way to put the nest back up, and there was no way to take care of the naked hatchlings.

The only things we could do were leave the babies to wait for something to get them or put them out of their misery. We chose to do the second although we all felt absolutely sick about. I still do, but we couldn't leave them there for nature to take its course either. They weren't going to survive.

a reply to: ketsuko

You have a heart, too. Its so sad to do that kind of thing, and its the right thing. Animals starve slowly in the wild all the time, we don't have a problem with it be cause we don't see it. Mothers lose their life to predators or accidents and the babies slowly starve in the nest or burrow, or the fawn lays there wondering where ma is.

They are 'fortunate' to have a predator come along and dispatch them quickly, by comparison.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

You need to call your state Game and Fish dept. In most states its a citation for having a wild animal as a pet as well as potential danger to other animals or kids or people. They do get aggressive and can tear a dog apart. Or a kid.

reply to: SgtHamsandwich


thesquirrelboard.com...

You might find some resources at that link.

Why am I up at 4 a.m.? Freaking raccoons. Four of them partying on my deck. They're like honey badger -they don't care. There is just no scaring them off. Ugh!

Having this little critter in our home this week has been an amazing and enlightening journey. I have grown very attached and protective of this raccoon and he has grown to trust me. They are such smart little life forms. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything, but I would definitely do things differently if presented with a similar situation in the future.

Below are some things I have learned this week.

1. DO NOT TAKE IN AN ORPHANED RACCOON. You may think you are helping the guy, but your doing more harm than good. If you come across what you believe is an orphaned baby critter and you want to help, call your local wild life association and or a licensed rehabilitator first and have them take the animal. This gives the animal a MUCH greater chance of making it in the wild afterwards than hand rearing him.

2. Apparently it is illegal in Ohio to have a raccoon as a "pet" without proper licenses.

3. No one will take a human raised raccoon for rehabilitation. The main reason for this is apparently in Ohio, they have to be released back into the wild in the same county they were found in and no one wants to deal with this.

4. Raccoon's are my spirit animal. One part cute, one part, fluffy, one part raging A-hole.

5. Raccoon's are very smart. I have enjoyed watching him learn things on an almost human-esk level of problem solving. It's amazing actually and has definitely increased my respect for raccoons in the wild. Some animals are a lot smarted than humans give them credit.

The wife and I have exhausted all means of getting this lil guy into a rehabilitation and or educational program so are forced to go with plan Z. We have some family friends that have property backed up to a good bit of wooded area with a creek and a quarry not far from that. They are going to take Bandit and set his cage out back of their house with blankets for warmth and will provide food for a bit while avoiding any contact with him. The hope is that he will eventually ween himself off of human support for food and will meander about his business back into the wild all while keeping a watchful eye on him in case things don't work out and we will figure out where to go from there. It's the best we can do at this time.

I sure will miss this critter and have enjoyed my time with him in our life, but it's not an ideal situation for either of us.

Thank's to everyone who replied.

a reply to: SgtHamsandwich

I feel for you. And your points are spot on, no matter how hard hearted some may feel.

After years and years of do-gooder efforts, I came to all the same conclusions. Most recently I found a baby squirrel in my yard and against ALL of my better judgement and hard-earned insight, I took him in because he was just so little and was quite abandoned.

I was on line and on the phone for many hours looking for info and help while also running back and forth to tend to the little thing. It didn't end well. It rarely does. There is just a very, very tight window that you have to help an animal before it either becomes too at risk physically or too domesticated to return back into the wild.

You are a kind soul to have tried though.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Yeah, it's been a tough week being constantly turned away from anyone helping this lil guy.

We have rescued and re-homed many abandoned/stray kittens and dogs and we jumped, both feet forward, in to help with him with NO education on dealing with wild animals. We didn't bat an eye and just said we will figure it out along the way. Unfortunately we realized that was the worst possible way. You live and learn.

We refuse to abandon him, but our plan is all we have on the table at the moment. We will keep an eye on him in hopes that he thrives on his own.

No advice but I'm a dog rescuer I wanted to give you a high five. It's hard enough finding people to rehabilitate a dog, let alone a non-domesticated animal. I know hardly anything about raccoon (except those little stinkers like to have fun in my trash barrel) but like someone else mentioned, the little guy being tame would be a huge disadvantage if released back into the wild. A rescue is probably your best bet. I would definitely ask plenty of questions before you choose one though.
Thank you for helping out our furry friends!

Awh.

What a sweet little raccoon. I'm glad you've been strong through this whole situation and have brought this to many, many people's attention to find the right habitat/environment to put him in while going about this in the best way possible at this point.

Living in Oregon, there's plenty of birds that take to chimneys in the Winter, or if abandoned by their mother at a young age can be found lying almost frozen on the roads or sidewalks. We had a whole nest in of these little birds in our chimney. All of them being young birds. Barely old enough to eat by themselves.
We had at the time three cats living in our household who were frantically waiting and mewling for us to open the door to our fireplace (we had an old fashioned/built fireplace). As the cats were pretty much bouncing off every wall In the house, we had no idea what their issue was.. But when we opened the fireplace the complication revealed itself. About four or five little birdies went jumping about through out the house being chased by our cats.

After getting rid of the first tedious issue, the cats.. I then continued to open the front door with the hope that they would be tempted to fly away. They did not, they were shivering and too anxious/in shock to do anything. They stayed that way for a very very long time. A day or more. Not having the knowledge of how old they were and no phone to contact anyone I picked all four of them up one by one. Three of them flew away.
Long story short. The fourth bird I became very attached to and they were all old enough to fly and eat by themselves it seemed. I nursed this baby bird for a few days until it finally decided it was ready to go.

So thank you for doing the best possible thing to your knowledge. Everything makes a difference and it was an experience worth having. Ah, raccoons.