How to look after a raccoon

Has a raccoon arrived at your door and you don`t know how to look after it? Keep reading because we`ll give you some tips. First of all you should keep in mind that a raccoon is not a pet, it`s a wild and omnivorous mammal. It`s a very different animal that you have to know well in order to take the best possible care of them. In the following OneHowTo article we show you in detail how to look after a raccoon.

The raccoon when young is a very docile and playful mammal. But when it reaches adulthood, it can become very aggressive, especially if it finds itself suddenly out of its natural habitat and if you don`t look after it properly. Far from looking cute, raccoons have claws and dazzling teeth that they may feel the need to use.

For starters, a raccoon is not suited to live in an apartment so if you`re going to live together with this mammal it is best to have a good-sized garden with space just for it and a large cage or room.

A raccoon needs to spend a lot of time loose in the area of your garden you prepared for them to live in. To care for a racoon properly you should have a fountain or pond available for them to wash their food in and also a tree for climbing and hiding. Raccoons are fascinated by water, if they live in the wild they tend to wash fruits and crabs in the river before eating them.

It is a omnivorous animal, so you have to feed it vegetables, fruit, turkey, chicken and fish. You should never give them red meat, because they don`t digest it well. Their metabolism allows them to eat very diverse food, but that doesn`t mean that you can feed them any product. Another option is to feed them wet cat food.

Raccoons also need care in terms of hygiene. You`ll have to wash them at least a couple of times a year. You have to use very little water because the baths can damage their skin and lose the properties of the oils that cover it. To bathe them, you can use a mild shampoo or gel and then rinse them well. Another important care tip for your raccoon is to brush them frequently. This mammal sheds its coat once a year and at that time you will have to spend more time brushing them. You can use a wire brush for this task, but do it carefully so as not to hurt them.

You will have to, moreover, train your raccoon from when it is young in order to instil good behavior and food habits. When you train them, you should never punish them aggressively, to scold them you can say a simple "NO" and the mere repetition will make them realize what is or isn`t right. Raccoons are very curious and ready, and will have always want to run, scratch, bite and jump on any surface, so keep that in mind. The first few days that it is in your house, watch its behavior so that it doesn`t hurt itself more than anything else, but it will assume that this is its nature. In fact, it would be best to ask the advice of a professional expert in this mammal to know, understand and shape its behavior a little.

If your racoon is an adult raccoon, it may have a completely uncontrollable character every time you try to suppress its instincts and in this case it is best to return it to its natural habitat. If you adopt a raccoon it is best to try to get a baby one to avoid any surprises in its behaviour and so it can get used to you.

You should also take into account some of the main diseases that can affect raccoons so that you can be cautious. Be very careful with a parasite called "Baylisascaris procyonis" and that is unique to this species, also you have to vaccinate them against rabies.

Another common problem is obesity, since they won`t be living in the wild and this will reduce their physical activity so it is more likely for them to gain weight. You have to monitor their diet and encourage them to exercise and play.

Raccoons are also prone to hip dysplasia. The best way to monitor their health against this disease, is by regularly going to a vet and keeping a close watch on their health.