pet raccoon?

Rallispec · Apr 23, 2003

i've been doing some research in the area of having a pet raccoon, and so far have found nothing but articles and sites saying how bad of an idea it is to have a pet raccoon. Anyways, anybody here ever had one, or dealt with caring for / rehabilitating one?

i know i'll never actually get a pet raccoon, i still think it would make a neat pet though.

maybe one day when i'm rich and can spare the time and money it takes to care for one.

Ronstang · Apr 23, 2003

My girlfriend had personal experience here. They make bad pets. They turn out to be extremely protective and dangerous. My GF's uncle reached in the car to give her a pat on the head when she was little and the Racoon in the back seat summarily removed his finger. I'm not joking.

MichaelD · Apr 23, 2003

Your idea = very bad idea.

Raccoon = breathing equivalent of high-speed buzzsaw with cute face, wrapped in fur...on a logicbomb timer. Not good.

Methinks you need a "conventional pet." Think "dog", "cat", "pet rock."

DumbGuy · Apr 23, 2003

I ran over a racoon once... i was going around 40 MPH when I hit, that bitch broke a part of my bumper.

TonyG · Apr 23, 2003

I worked in a pet shop were we had several raccoons, that were the owners personal pets. They are neat/playful while they are young, but when they get older forget it, as most all of them will get very tempermental if not downright mean. If you want something similiar to a raccoon, but without the temperment as they get older, look into a coatimundi. I had one for a while, made a very neat pet, very playful/loving, very, very intelligent, but you have to have lots of time to play/mess with them, and have a big enough area for them to roam. One I aquired from the petshop I worked at, and another I aquired from a person who could no longer offer the proper care. I ended up giving them to a rehabber, who has several other coatimundis, and has had them for many years, very knowledgable. She allows them free roam of her house and yard, and lives in the native area, so they are allowed to return to the wild if they wish.

biffbacon · Apr 23, 2003

i say get a llama. the way i see it, you cant go wrong with one

amdskip · Apr 23, 2003

No thanks, very agressive animal that belongs strictly in the wild.

BatmanNate · Apr 23, 2003

Dude I've seen one of those take out a dog about 4 times its size. Baaaaad idea.

Marshallj · Apr 23, 2003

Hey, what about a wolverine as a pet? Or how about a swarm of killer bees?

Rallispec · Apr 23, 2003

looking up coatimundis as i type this... they sound neat.

back to raccoons though, i'm not doubting that they make a horrible pet, but how much different are they than say.. a ferret, or something along those lines? And do you think its completely impossible to train them, or tame them? Some dogs and cats are really aggressive and really nuts.. but if they are taken care of, and trained, and well maintained, they tend to be well mannered. Is this not the same with raccoons? Too difficult to overide their instinctual programming?

biffbacon · Apr 23, 2003

i have never heard a raccoon owner, or anyone ever say that they make good pets. With aggressive dogs, you can still find loyal owners who will stand up for them, and claim they are great pets, yet with raccoons, i have never ever heard a good story.

Mill · Apr 23, 2003

Originally posted by: BatmanNate
Dude I've seen one of those take out a dog about 4 times its size. Baaaaad idea.

My cat Lewis required a week at the vet after tangling with a Racoon. Now mind you Lewis was not a pet. We took him out of the wild and it took us 5 or 6 years before he would come inside. We had to tame him.

BatmanNate · Apr 23, 2003

Originally posted by: Rallispec
looking up coatimundis as i type this... they sound neat.

back to raccoons though, i'm not doubting that they make a horrible pet, but how much different are they than say.. a ferret, or something along those lines? And do you think its completely impossible to train them, or tame them? Some dogs and cats are really aggressive and really nuts.. but if they are taken care of, and trained, and well maintained, they tend to be well mannered. Is this not the same with raccoons? Too difficult to overide their instinctual programming?

They are very intelligent, very equipped fighters, and very unruly when confined. I read something on this back in school and it's been done but required a lot of energy to do so, usually by a trained animal handler. Good luck. :beer:

TonyG · Apr 23, 2003

Yes, the raccoons will be very tame/playful and trainable while young, but when they get old they will become mean, no way around it. They just do not make good pets, best left in nature or a zoo.
They are nothing like a ferret.

Marshallj · Apr 23, 2003

I saw a show on the discovery channel about domestication, and they told how some fur farmers in Russia domesticated foxes. They said all foxes are nice as youngsters, but once they hit a certain age they turn skittish and aggressive. Every so often they'd get one that never became aggressive, so they'd breed that one instead of slaughtering it for its fur. When it breeded, some of its babies came out aggressive as usual, but a couple would be tame, a much higher percentage of nice ones that would occur in the wild. So they saveed the nice ones and bred them with other nice ones, and the process continued. After a few decades, they'd have a community of mostly tame foxes, which they sold as pets. The nice ones wouldn't do very well in the wild though, because nice animals in the wild end up getting killed quickly. So you wouldn't get the "nice" population expanding in the wild, only when man breeds them.

I'd imagine racoons are the same way.

Xionide · Apr 23, 2003

Comparing a ferret with a racoon is like comparing a bottle rocket with a NUCLEAR BOMB. Bad idea very bad idea.

wnied · Apr 23, 2003

My Aunt who lives out on BainBridge Island has a pet Raccoon. She doesnt keep him in the house, nor does she do anything more than sit his bowl of catfood out with a bowl of water so he can come in from the forest next to her house and grab a bite to eat, drink and stay in a roofed cage with no door, next to her back porch. "Simon" was friendly enough when young, but as he got older, the hormones kicked in and he staked out a claim to most of my Aunt Jeans property. He doesnt bite anyone, or bother any of the neighbors in any way, but its only because he has no limitations set on him. Though a pet, he's still considered wild. Any mistake on peoples part to this usually ends badly for those unfortunate souls who test his patience.

Raccoons Do Not Make Good Pets.

Better own alotta land if you decide against better judgement and take in one of these animals.

~wnied~

Rallispec · Apr 23, 2003

here's a thought-- with dogs, cats, horses, and lots of other animals-- when you get them spayed or nuetered, it will keep their hormones in check and make them much more managable as adults. Think it would make a difference in a raccoon?

TonyG · Apr 23, 2003

Sorry, but once again, it will make very little difference. May help a small amount, but not much, there is just no way around it, raccoons do not make good pets. I have personally dealt with 4 of them, on albino, 2 reds, and a plain on black, common type raccoon. All are now at a rehab center in Lubbock, because they could not longer be handled and cared for properly with the facilities we had available at the shop.

TheCorm · Apr 23, 2003

Originally posted by: Marshallj
Hey, what about a wolverine as a pet? Or how about a swarm of killer bees?

LMAO!

GermyBoy · Apr 23, 2003

That's really cool. Unlike the ads at the left of the forum.

pet raccoon?

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