blt@cbsck.UUCP (Brian Tymchak) (01/15/85)
I'm considering a young raccoon for a pet (probably for the sheer
novelty, I guess), but I would like to first aquaint myself with
any special care that may be necessary. If anyone out in net.pet land
has any info on the subject, or, better yet, any real-time experience
in such a venture, please post here on the net since it seems to me
this is a rather interesting subject.
Thanks for any effort in advance.
Brian Tymchak
AT&T NS, Columbusmmm@orca.UUCP (Michelle M. Manning) (01/19/85)
In article <293@cbsck.UUCP> blt@cbsck.UUCP (Brian Tymchak) writes: > I'm considering a young raccoon for a pet (probably for the sheer >novelty, I guess), but I would like to first aquaint myself with >any special care that may be necessary. If anyone out in net.pet land >has any info on the subject, or, better yet, any real-time experience >in such a venture, please post here on the net since it seems to me >this is a rather interesting subject. YOU'LL BE SORRY!! (Just my opinion.) When I was about 17, my mother decided (probably for the same reasons as you) that a racoon would be a NEAT pet. She proceeded to get the necessary permit, and buy "Rocky". When Rocky was little, he was so cute. He washed his food in the kitchen sink, covered his eyes with his paws, and all the sweet things that racoons on TV do. He became inseparable from my mother. But as he got older, it became a lot harder to keep him out of things. And so we built him a cage outside. (This is the recommended way to keep racoons, by the way.) The cage was 15 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet. We figured that this would do the trick. We put everything in it that a well brought-up racoon should have. But Rocky got loose all the time. His claws were long and sharp and so were his teeth. He was well behaved, but playful. The neighbor's cats didn't agree with his ideas of playing. We started to get complaints from the neighbors, etc. Finally, we had to give him up. Mom gave him to some people who lived out in the country. They kept Rocky like you would keep an outdoor cat, and that seemed to work for them. The point is, if you really enjoy wild animals, why would you want to put them in a cage? There are so many varieties of domesticated pets available, why ruin what belongs free? Of course, I suppose the domesticated varieties had to have come from somewhere, but somehow the idea of putting something like a racoon into an environment for which he is temperamentally unsuited is not really sound judgement. Anyway, that is my experience with them. If you do decide to go ahead (perhaps YOU live in the country!), I wish you all the luck in the world. They are so darling most of the time, and it will certainly be educational. One last warning, they are not good with small children (claws and teeth, remember?). They just don't know their own strength. GOOD LUCK. Michelle M. Manning (mmm@orca.UUCP)
daf@ccice6.UUCP (David Fader) (01/23/85)
> In article <293@cbsck.UUCP> blt@cbsck.UUCP (Brian Tymchak) writes: > > > I'm considering a young raccoon for a pet (probably for the sheer > >novelty, I guess), but I would like to first aquaint myself with > >any special care that may be necessary. If anyone out in net.pet land > >has any info on the subject, or, better yet, any real-time experience > >in such a venture, please post here on the net since it seems to me > >this is a rather interesting subject. > > YOU'LL BE SORRY!! (Just my opinion.) > > When I was about 17, my mother decided (probably for the same reasons > as you) that a racoon would be a NEAT pet. She proceeded to get the > necessary permit, and buy "Rocky". When Rocky was little, he was so > cute. He washed his food in the kitchen sink, covered his eyes with > his paws, and all the sweet things that racoons on TV do. He became > inseparable from my mother. > > But as he got older, it became a lot harder to keep him out of things. > And so we built him a cage outside. (This is the recommended way to > keep racoons, by the way.) The cage was 15 feet by 10 feet by 10 feet. > We figured that this would do the trick. We put everything in it that > a well brought-up racoon should have. > > But Rocky got loose all the time. His claws were long and sharp and so > were his teeth. He was well behaved, but playful. The neighbor's cats > didn't agree with his ideas of playing. We started to get complaints > from the neighbors, etc. Finally, we had to give him up. Mom gave him > to some people who lived out in the country. They kept Rocky like you > would keep an outdoor cat, and that seemed to work for them. > > The point is, if you really enjoy wild animals, why would you want to > put them in a cage? There are so many varieties of domesticated pets > available, why ruin what belongs free? Of course, I suppose the > domesticated varieties had to have come from somewhere, but somehow > the idea of putting something like a racoon into an environment for > which he is temperamentally unsuited is not really sound judgement. > > Anyway, that is my experience with them. If you do decide to go > ahead (perhaps YOU live in the country!), I wish you all the luck > in the world. They are so darling most of the time, and it will > certainly be educational. One last warning, they are not good with > small children (claws and teeth, remember?). They just don't know > their own strength. GOOD LUCK. > Wild animal babies will revert to being wild as they age. At this point they are too wild to be kept easily but too domesticated to survive normally in the wild. I recommend leaving these animals alone. Cats and dogs have been bred for hundreds of years to be domestic. -- The Last Surviving Bronto seismo!rochester!ccice5!ccice6!daf