Raccoons - Exotic Pets

Raccoons are lovable 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, especially in the area of Austria and Germany. Their preferred habitat is deciduous woods and forests. However, some people think that they are good pets too.



An adult raccoon is the size of a middle-sized dog - around knee-height and weighing up to about 35 pounds. Their front paws are roughly 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 skillful thieves and reinforces the image of a masked highway robber.



Raccoons will eat almost anything - they are omnivores. They not just consume 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 searching for the left-overs of human meals. They also steal pets' food that has been left out in the garden.



Domesticated raccoons normally wash their food before eating it, whereas this strange habit is hardly ever witnessed in the wild. Raccoons can carry very nasty illnesses one of which, rabies, is perilous to humans, but they also carry roundworms which can get passed on to humans with little impact on our health. Most raccoons die of predation or canine distemper. They can infect domestic dogs with the lethal canine parvovirus.



If you see a wild raccoon in your backyard, you ought to report it to the authorities so that it can be tested 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 infamously difficult to train. In most states it is against the law to keep a raccoon as a pet, but where it is permitted, the owner usually has to get an exotic pets permit.



You must have them vaccinated against rabies and distemper and treated for roundworm before you take one into your home. If you purchase from a dealer, this should all ready have been done 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 difficult as well. Because they consume 'anything', they need a very varied diet including live animals like frogs and mice from time to time. Pet raccoons often become obese due to excessive feeding and a lack of exercise.



Pet raccoons ought to 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.



Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of topics, but is now concerned with distemper in raccoons. If you want to know more, please visit our website at Distemper Vaccines