yeah... racoons are smart little bastards. We used to have 4 cats. We kept their food bowl in our barn, and the bags of cat food on a shelf. The racoons soon figured out where the cat food was and ripped open the bags to eat it. We then bought a device that you could fill with catfood, and then pull a handle to dispense some. Needless to say, the racoons soon figured out how to pull the handle to dispense catfood. Finally, we put a bungie coord onto the handle so they couldnt open it.
The racoons got really pissed, and the next day, every one of our outdoor flower pots was flipped upside down and garbage cans all knocked over.
After that, we started luring them into live (because the stupid cats would go into them somtimes) traps with catfood at night, and shooting them.
cKGunslinger
Lifer
- Nov 29, 1999
- 16,408
- 57
- 91
They seemed "exotic" at the time. Pets you can actually hold and play with without fear of losing a digit? Neat!
sygyzy
Lifer
- Oct 21, 2000
- 14,001
- 4
- 76
It's amazing how many people here speak from experience. What? 10 years ago, nobody knew it was a bad idea to have racoons as pets? I don't need to shoot myself in the foot to realize it's a bad idea. Isn't it common sense? I did learn, however, *how* bad of an idea it is from the testimonies here.
cKGunslinger - What a fun childhood! Tell me, how was the armadillo?
cKGunslinger - What a fun childhood! Tell me, how was the armadillo?
GeekDrew
Diamond Member
- Jun 7, 2000
- 9,099
- 19
- 81
I can't think of any farmer out here that does not shoot a racoon if he sees it (and has a gun nearby). I don't know why on EARTH you would want a baby racoon as a pet.
I've got several stories about killing racoons, but I'll avoid posting them here.
I've got several stories about killing racoons, but I'll avoid posting them here.
cKGunslinger
Lifer
- Nov 29, 1999
- 16,408
- 57
- 91
Boring, actually. Almost like having a box turtle as a pet. It kept digging it's way out of it pen, so I tried to put it in a wire pen above ground and it tried to dig it's way out of there and bloodied up its feet pretty bad.
We doctored it and let him go shortly after. The possum was much cooler. He was actually pretty tame and you could hang him upside down by his tail from tree limbs, etc. He was like a really fat, slow-moving ferret.
Still, nothing beats waking up at 5am to take a whiz when you are 6 years old, hearing a hissing sound while you pee, and looking over to see a 3ft alligator in 2" of water in the bathtub, giving you the eye.
Good times.
cKGunslinger
Lifer
- Nov 29, 1999
- 16,408
- 57
- 91
Skunks will still smell pretty bad after you get them de-funked. They'll always have the musky smell about them. I had one when I was little (named him 'Harley.') He was relatively tame, but would still bite and claw (not intending to hurt.)
My dad was a logger. A few times he or his cutting partner cut down trees that turned out to be home to animals and accidently killed the mother in the process. He would bring the babies home and we'd raise them (we contacted fish & game or whatever department it was that gave you instructions and permission to raise wild animals at the time) and release them when they were big enough to live on their own. Usually it was squirrels, once a raccoon. We also raised a baby robin. You feed them raw hamburger, it's the closest thing nutritionally to what the mother would feed them (worms, etc) according to the rehab people.
When my dad was a kid, he had all sorts of wildlife pets (same thing, mother killed so he'd take care of it.) He had a baby deer that slept in his bed for awhile, and a skunk (not descented, he'd just sic it on his sisters.)
sygyzy
Lifer
- Oct 21, 2000
- 14,001
- 4
- 76
Originally posted by: cKGunslinger
Boring, actually. Almost like having a box turtle as a pet. It kept digging it's way out of it pen, so I tried to put it in a wire pen above ground and it tried to dig it's way out of there and bloodied up its feet pretty bad.
The possum was much cooler. He was actually pretty tame and you could hang him upside down by his tail from tree limbs, etc. He was like a really fat, slow-moving ferret.
Still, nothing beats waking up at 5am to take a whiz when you are 6 years old, hearing a hissing sound while you pee, and looking over to see a 3ft alligator in 2" of water in the bathtub, giving you the eye.
Man what a cool story. I wish I had a wild childhood like that. I think possums are scary. i see them in my headlights at night and it scares me. They looks EVIL and have sharp teeth. Yuck.
Did the armadillo bite alot? That's pretty sad that it hurt itself trying to escape. Really shows it didn't want to be there.
Did the alligators give you any trouble?
I also had a raccoon as a child. What has been said already is all true. I raised it from a baby to about 10 months old. It was fortunately killed by a coyote one night so I did not have to kill it. It's a wild animal in every sense. Not fare to it or the people it has to be around.
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