How to care for a raccoon at home

If you are tired of a quiet and measured life, a raccoon-striper will help to brighten up the routine. Little fluffy fidget is distinguished by a cute face and wayward character, which not everyone can handle. It is important to note that keeping a raccoon at home is a rather troublesome task. Unlike a cat or dog, pets of this kind literally stick their nose everywhere. Regarding nutrition and living space, difficulties should not arise. The main thing is to decide whether you can tame a shy little animal.

Features of the content of the raccoon at home

Experienced zoologists unanimously reiterate that the maintenance of wild animals at home is a number of difficulties. This is especially true for those who plan to have a pet in an apartment or small house.

However, breeders do not attribute raccoons to wild creatures, since this species of animals is quite domesticated. To the question "Is it possible to keep a streak at home?" feel free to answer - yes. Nevertheless, it is important to adhere to the basic rules for care and maintenance, which we will talk about now.

1. Unlike cats, dogs, and even ferrets, raccoons require 5-7 times more attention. You must constantly play with them, you will have to monitor the animals for at least 18 hours a day.
2. It is important to understand that domestication of raccoons is a long and exhausting process. Even if you get a small animal, it’s not a fact that he will completely get used to the owners. Until the moment when the newly made guest begins to trust you, a lot of time will pass. Animals bite painfully, so the habituation process will take place not without holes in the fingers of the owners.
3. Raccoons belong to nocturnal pets, they will not change the usual routine at the whim of the owner. Unlike ferrets, which adapt to humans, stripes are more temperamental. This suggests that as soon as you fall asleep, the raccoon will begin to lead an active lifestyle. He will jump, jump, climb into hard-to-reach places. In this case, the actions are usually accompanied by “guzzling”, similar to a bird drill. It is at night that the raccoon makes supplies for the "rainy" day, so it is especially important to remove food and other things in hard-to-reach places.
4. For the reason that was indicated earlier (raccoons bite painfully), it is not recommended to keep pets in the apartment or house where young children live. The baby can scare the animal, as a result of which the latter will begin to show aggression. As a result, you get a crying child and a frightened raccoon.
5. As for the skkodnichestvo of the stripes, they prefer to scratch the wallpaper, spoil the upholstery of furniture, linoleum, curtains, etc. For this reason, raccoons are brought up in a house or apartment, which is not particularly valuable in terms of repair. You can also allocate a separate room with bare walls to the animal by installing its cage and house in the room.

Important!
Breeders do not recommend raising a raccoon to people who have not encountered keeping animals before. The pet requires careful control from the outside, it is necessary to be present in his life, the animal needs to be trained. However, if before that you kept a dog, a ferret or a cat, you can decide on a similar adventure. At first, the behavior of the strip may be shocked, but over time you will get used to it.

Home Improvement for Raccoon

It is important to remember forever that raccoons require a lot of space, despite its relatively small size. For a streak, more space needs to be allocated than for a dog of the Shepherd or Dalmatian breed.If the latter have enough soft couch in the corner of the room, then raccoons need labyrinths, a house, space for games, a kind of mink. Before starting a raccoon, arrange a home for him.

1. Cell. Even if you are counting on free maintenance, which involves finding a raccoon in all rooms of the apartment, buy a pet cage. The aviary will become especially useful in those moments when the owners leave the apartment or cannot sleep peacefully due to the fact that the strip is wandering from corner to corner.
2. House. If desired, you can equip the cell cavity with a kind of house, the main thing is that it is not made of foam, fabric and foam. Give preference to plastic beds that are designed for cats and small dogs. It is desirable that the house was covered in the shape of a mink. Raccoons love the dark, so they often hide during sleep. Place food bowls and water near the house.
3. A basin for rinsing. The main aspect that distinguishes a raccoon from other animals is that he likes to rinse. Take care of a basin with clean running water, which will be located next to the house. You can put a small piece of cloth in the container. Do not deprive the animal of its natural needs, rinsing raccoons in the blood.
4. Tray. Equip the far corner of the cage with a tray. Encourage your pet to relieve itself in a designated place, and not wherever it wants. Such a move will help to avoid “mines” when you let your pet run around the apartment.
5. Toys Raccoons are very playful and cheerful creatures. For a full existence, they need to have a large number of toys. Give preference to products made of fabric, but without filler from synthetic winterizer. If a raccoon swallows it, there is a risk of an obstruction of the intestine and, as a result, a fatal outcome. Pet shops sell rattle toys for parrots and cats. Do not buy painted rubber and silicone products. Since raccoons are very smart and curious creatures, get a cube consisting of several sections for the animal.

What to feed a raccoon

Raccoons are omnivorous animals, they can not be fed, as they please. Food strips up to 6 months of age should be three times, then - 2 times a day.

1. In the black list of products are salty, peppered, flour and too sweet dishes. You can not give raccoons sweets and other goodies, once a week you can pamper your pet with a spoon of honey. Gastrointestinal upset begins in stripes if they accidentally eat canned fish and sausage. Of course, these products have a place to be on the hosts table, but you have to hide them well so that the animal does not find a loophole.
2. For full life raccoon needs good nutrition. The basis of the diet is cereals and legumes, give the pet oatmeal, millet and buckwheat. The menu should be designed in such a way that the animal eats lean meat (turkey, chicken, veal, beef, pork pulp) daily. You can skip the meat through a blender and then mix it with porridge (minced meat). This dish is very loved by raccoons.
3. Do not forget to include fish and sea cocktails in the diet, most importantly, pre-conduct heat treatment (cooking, stewing). Fish can be mixed with granola, nuts, fresh and stewed vegetables, fruits. Several times a week feed a strip of legumes, indulge in a small slice of whole grain bread, quail eggs, hard cheese.
4. It is allowed to feed the raccoon with a special food designed for pets of this kind. If desired, you can purchase premium food intended for dogs of large breeds. However, experienced veterinarians do not recommend this. It is better to focus on natural feeding, provided that you will give the animal a course of multivitamins 2 times a year.

Important!
In the raccoon period, the raccoon has a decrease in appetite, apathy, and aggressiveness.The animal can lose in weight from 0.8 to 1.5 kg., Do not be scared. The same thing is observed in the transition from spring to summer and from autumn to winter. When the pet’s body adapts to climatic conditions, the raccoon will begin to eat and gain weight back.

How to train a raccoon

Use your best practices to train your animal in order. The first thing to do is to make the raccoon respond to the nickname. Further important teams are “home!” and "no!". Consider the main aspects in order, highlight the main thing.

1. Nickname. Create a sonorous short name without the content of sounds “H”, “W”, “C”. Call his nickname as often as possible, while petting gently pet your pet and refer to him accordingly. Raccoons remember the name after a month, in some cases earlier.
2. "It is impossible!". Some zoologists argue that raccoons do not succumb to such a team. However, experienced owners claim the opposite, it sounds quite real. Decide for yourself, you will say "No!" or "You can’t!". Repeat the command in a menacing voice in those moments when the raccoon is doing something forbidden. Do not hit the pet with your hand; drive it away with a cloth or newspaper.
3. "Home!". This team will be a great salvation if you decide to go out with a raccoon. Also "Home!" refers to those moments when you urgently need to drive the pet into the cage, and he resists. To carry out the procedure correctly, take the carrier, place a treat in it, repeat “home” until the pet goes inside. After the animal begins to obey, repeat the previous manipulations, but without treats.

It is quite difficult to care for a raccoon at home, because the animal belongs to obstinate pets. Do not start a strip in an apartment with small children. Allocate a separate place for the raccoon, set the cage, tray, bowls with water and food. Teach the animal to respond to the name, train your favorite team "Do not!" and "Home!".

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