Domestic raccoon - how long does it live, what should it be fed and how to toilet train?

Native lands and pedigree of the striped raccoon

Despite all the cuteness of this little animal, the striped raccoon is a representative of the order of predatory animals.
In addition, zoologists classify it as a member of the mammalian class, the raccoon family, and the raccoon genus. Everyone is already accustomed to the idea that small raccoons are domestic animals, but this is not at all the case; such delightful predators mainly come to us from North, Central and South America. According to some historical information, this representative of the fauna was brought to Europe only in the 30s of the twentieth century. Due to the unpretentiousness of this animal, it feels great in Germany, France and even in some regions of Russia.

Peculiarities of behavior of the raccoon

Initially, it was believed that the raccoon was a representative of the civever family, a relative of the spotted genet, and after studying this personality a little, scientists gave it its famous name.
The raccoon acquired its so-called “surname” - rinse - in connection with its habit of rinsing food before eating. He walks on the ground on both two and four legs, while stepping on the soles. They are also athletes! Despite the fact that they are very well-fed, they can climb trees with enviable dexterity; moreover, it is at heights that they spend most of their free time.

By nature, stripers are animals that do not overeat with food; their diet is dominated by products of plant origin, such as berries, corn, nuts, but if he sees an insect, worm or snail, they will not bypass him either. And when the sly one discovers an inhabited bird's nest, he will gladly steal a few eggs or even small chicks.

If a raccoon goes spearfishing, then this is a very interesting process. The thing is that the raccoon does not dive in search of any tasty treat, but catches it with its paws. Underwater, he does not have the opportunity to see or smell his prey, so he simply carefully moves with his “little hands,” while exploring not only the water, but also the entire underwater kingdom, including various stones and snags. As soon as he catches something, he quickly grabs his catch, rinses it, and then starts eating. Underwater, his fingers can easily determine whether a product is edible or ready for consumption.

A prerequisite for this mammal to live comfortably in the wild is not so much the presence of its own home, as a latrine. As the latter, they often use small hollows or crevices of trees. Raccoons can live in more or less spacious hollows, crevices of old trees or stones. They can also settle in a hole that someone has already dug, since they do not know how to build their own. They often choose to live in areas near villages, because the raccoon is not very timid and, without much embarrassment, can climb into someone’s garden or garden to get various delicacies.

Their period of activity begins at dusk and continues until early morning; during the daylight hours, they prefer to sleep in their house. Although, depending on living conditions, these cunning people can change their routine. For example, if a raccoon lives on some coast, then its sleep depends on the ebb and flow of the tides, because as the water recedes, a lot of goodies may remain on the shore, which it really loves. With the onset of winter, their activity decreases slightly, but the animals are not used to hibernating.

The main advantages and disadvantages of keeping raccoons

When getting an animal such as a raccoon at home, you should first study the information about its maintenance, as well as fully study all the features of its character. This is necessary to ensure that the raccoon feels as comfortable as possible. All assessments of the need for a raccoon at home must be made after all the pros and cons of this establishment have been clearly compared.

Positive aspects of having raccoons:

The unpretentiousness of raccoons is one of the main advantages of this animal. The animal easily consumes in its diet both fruits, vegetables, and dry food for cats or dogs;
The intelligence and intelligence of raccoons are at a very high level. These animals can specifically copy all the habits of their owner. These character traits can greatly please the owners of raccoons, which will also have a positive effect on the relationship between the owner and the animal;
The sociability of raccoons is of a very high level. The animal loves the company of people very much and happily devotes itself entirely to active games. However, if the owner presents his pet with a baby rattle, then the animal’s delight will simply know no bounds;
Complete absence of foreign odors in the apartment. This advantage of this animal is a consequence of the fact that raccoons are very clean and do not create any odors at all;
Maximum lifespan of animals. Due to the fact that in the wild raccoons are subject to natural selection and must survive in a variety of conditions, at home the life cycle of this animal is extended by about 8-10 years. It is also worth noting that the health of raccoons is quite strong, therefore, their life expectancy will please their owners.

Disadvantages of keeping raccoons:

A raccoon is a nocturnal animal, therefore, you should expect that this pet will require your attention precisely at night;
The animal is nicknamed “gargler” and this is of course not in vain. Raccoons wash everything that comes their way. Consequently, quite valuable things in your home may be damaged in the process of care;
Taming a raccoon completely is practically unattainable. This is due to the fact that this pet is 100% a wild animal. Consequently, it is sometimes simply impossible to predict his behavior at home;
Raccoons can injure their owner, this is due to the fact that they are fighters by nature and during play they can inflict some scratches or simply bite a person;
The animal is quite stubborn and in most cases does exactly what he himself considers necessary;
Aggression comes to the raccoon during puberty;
If there are any other small pets living in your house, then be prepared for the fact that the raccoon will simply eat them. This can also be attributed to the presence of indoor flowers on the windows;
Raccoons are capable of marking throughout the room, therefore, toilet training is completely excluded.

Continuation of the raccoon family

Males reach sexual maturity approximately in the second year of life, while females mature at the age of one. The mating season for these animals begins in January and lasts until mid-March. Pregnancy lasts approximately 1.5 months; after this period, 3–4 babies are born, who live in the parent’s nest for about six months. After this, they move on to adulthood and independent life. Female raccoons become pregnant only once a year.

Characteristics of the appearance of a pretty predator

The striped raccoon is a cute creature that resembles a cross between a dog and a fox in appearance, of medium size, its body length is approximately 50–65 cm, while the tail grows to 23–28 cm. The maximum body weight is approximately 14 –16 kg, their average weight is about 6–9 kg. The male half of raccoons is usually larger than the female half. Nature rewarded this creature not only with a memorable appearance, but also with a slender, rather strong and stocky body.

head
is quite wide with a cute, slightly pointed face. In its upper part there are small upward-standing ears, which have a slightly rounded shape.
muzzle
is that it is a bit reminiscent of the so-called mask - a black nose, around it there is a white area, and the area of the eye sockets and forehead is also painted black. Around his cute little eyes there are wide lines, black in color, which are located at an acute angle and continue to the neck, the marginal edges of these stripes are decorated with a narrow white border.
Their limbs Their paws are often compared to human ones, since there are no partitions between the toes; thanks to this feature, raccoons have very well developed fine motor skills of their paws, they manipulate small parts very well. Each finger ends in a long, sharp claw; it is they that help the animals conquer the tops of trees.
The feet
of these furry predators are also not without their peculiarities - they are very mobile and capable of turning all 180 degrees. With the help of such uniqueness, the animals can perform various tricks in the trees, even to the point that they can travel upside down.
The coat
of this washing enthusiast is quite thick, but in different parts of the body it differs in length; on both sides of the head it is much longer than it forms the “sideburns”. The color is usually represented by gray-brown tones.
The tail
is fluffy, decorated with black or dark brown rings, of which there are from 6 to 10 pieces.

Keeping a raccoon at home

When watching a video on the Internet about how this resident with a striped tail runs around the apartment, do not rush to think that he lives there.
For the safety of the animal itself and your apartment as a whole, it is necessary to arrange for this pet its personal home, for which a fairly spacious cage is ideal and preferably high. Keeping such a nimble and agile animal in cramped conditions is not only an irreparable mistake, but also simply a mockery of a pretty predator. After all, infringement of his personal space can lead not only to your pet’s bad mood, which can serve as an impetus for sudden outbursts of aggression towards you and the rest of your family, but also to a significant deterioration in the animal’s health.

It is good to make the animal’s personal house into several floors, dividing them among themselves with various shelves. On each tier you should place a variety of interesting things, such as toys, hammocks, swings or rings. It is also necessary to arrange a soft sleeping place for your friend.

It is best to place the cage in a bright, spacious room; under no circumstances place the raccoon on the balcony; in the summer the animal will simply die from the heat.

Very important attributes in your original pupil's house are a food container, a drinking bowl and a medium-sized basin filled with water. He will wash his food in it, as well as rinse all available items; it is good to give him several rubber toys that will be thoroughly washed and washed every day.

The fact that your pet has his own personal living space does not mean that he will spend all his time there. He needs a house in order to live there at night and at a time when no one is home. It is not advisable to leave this merry fellow alone in the apartment, because stripers are very smart and also very curious little animals.

They can easily open a window or balcony and will certainly fall out, even if your friend does not kill himself, he will certainly run away in search of new adventures. If all your windows and doors are tightly closed so that no one can open them, the raccoon will find something exciting to do inside the apartment, which you are unlikely to like. It will not be difficult for them to open the taps in the bathroom, and while your tenant will be splashing around in the water with great pleasure and washing everything that comes to hand, and this could all be equipment, books, and documents, your neighbors will already be planning a new repairs that you will pay for. The fact that he can ruin furniture, tear off wallpaper, break dishes and other smaller pranks is probably not worth talking about.

Since these animals are omnivores, they almost never have problems with nutrition. When compiling a menu for a domestic striped raccoon, it is necessary to bring it as close as possible to its usual diet. A raccoon must consume both plant foods and animal foods.

Meat is the main source of protein and this comrade cannot do without it; preference should be given to low-fat varieties such as chicken, rabbit, turkey and lean veal. This lover of food will not refuse either raw or boiled meat, but it is still better to feed him with thermally processed foods. This will prevent the raccoon from becoming infected with helminths or intestinal infections.

An integral part of the daily diet should be fruits - these can be bananas, grapes, peach, pear, apple, kiwi, plum and many others, with the only exception being citrus fruits, although these animals love them very much, they often cause allergic reactions.

Your friend will not refuse vegetables either; some of them should be on his menu every day - carrots, peas, zucchini, asparagus. Sometimes you can pamper him with a piece of watermelon or melon, but often this is not necessary, because this cunning beast can begin to turn up its nose at not so sweet foods.

It is also welcome to include gargle and berries in the list of products - raspberries, currants, especially black currants, cherries and strawberries.

From time to time, feed this pet with seafood; you can also treat it to river fish, but it does not contain so many useful substances.

If there is a cat or dog living in your house, then be careful, this predator with a pretty face will often steal their food.

After some time of living together with a raccoon under the same roof, you will notice what he likes most and what dish he does not like at all.

Raccoon at home

It is not recommended to bring a raccoon into the house for those who are used to leading a calm and quiet lifestyle, but if you still really want to, you will have to make adjustments to your life.
It is advisable to get a raccoon for those people who live in private houses, since apartments are often too cramped, uncomfortable and boring for a raccoon. In addition, it is recommended to provide the animal with its own room where it can be left overnight. At this time, the raccoon feels hungry and begins to look for food in places it shouldn’t go. So many owners are faced with such a problem that by the morning many things are broken and wires are chewed.

The raccoon will be unhappy that there are other animals in the house. They often feel jealous when the owner pays attention not only to him. It's the most harmless thing he can do. Out of feelings of resentment, a raccoon can injure a competitor, because by nature it is an aggressive animal. Guests may also suffer if the animal decides to teach them a lesson in order to show who is boss in the house.

In some cases, the owner is attacked by his pet. Therefore, if you want to get a raccoon, you should also think about the fact that you may have to acquire several scars from bites on your body. Young raccoons are usually very affectionate and friendly to everyone. But as they grow older, aggression awakens in them. Sometimes the owner even has to fight to pet the pet. In this case, you can get the raccoon a partner.

Like many animals, raccoons mark their territory. Owners should prepare for the fact that the pet will choose the most inaccessible places to relieve itself. And to accustom them to the tray, you need to spend a lot of time. But it is noted that the smell from a raccoon is not as specific as, for example, from cats.

For those who have decided to get a raccoon

, you should treat your pet with patience and respect. Rarely will this animal be aware of what it can and cannot do. And shouting in such a situation is useless; rather, instead of diligent behavior, the owner will achieve revenge from the pet. Of course, a raccoon has a complex character, but if you really want to get along with it and make every effort, then the owner will never be able to part with this animal.

Possible difficulties of keeping a raccoon

By their nature, these animals are very cheerful, friendly and peace-loving, it is not at all difficult to find a common language with them, but do not forget that, no matter how you domesticate it, the striped raccoon is a predatory animal native to the wild.
In the process of fun and games, he may bite or scratch you. This can be done not because of the aggressiveness of the animal and without any evil intentions at all, simply by simply playing too much, he does not know how to calculate his strength, so you should be prepared for this and excessive caution will not hurt. These animals do not always get along with other pets. And if a cat or dog lives in your house, then the raccoon can get used to them over time, and perhaps even make friends, but if we are talking about a hamster or a parrot, then your gargle views this living creature not as a neighbor, but rather as a delicacy . No matter how carefully you look after him, he will definitely find the time and opportunity to achieve the task, that’s how he is and you have to come to terms with it.

Usually this mammal relieves itself in the same place. But still, there are some specimens that do not become accustomed to the tray; in addition, during the mating season, the raccoon tends to mark its territory, so in early spring, cleaning will have to be done very often so that unpleasant odors do not take root in your house.

Another not entirely pleasant point is that the raccoon is a nocturnal resident, and if your kitten can wake you up in the middle of the night when it wants to eat, then the raccoon will wake you up for any reason, especially if it has a communication deficit. If you have a sufficient amount of free time, then its regime can be changed; for this, for some time the nocturnal animal needs to be exhausted in every possible way and fed only during the day, then perhaps you will achieve the desired result.

Is it worth getting a raccoon?

Before getting a raccoon, you first need to answer the most important question: “ Do your living conditions allow you to do this?” If you don’t have free space in your apartment that can be equipped for a raccoon, then it’s better to find another pet for yourself. Raccoons cannot live in an apartment or free-range house like a cat or dog. They definitely need a spacious enclosure and a place for safe walks. For these purposes, a separate room is suitable, in which you can place an enclosure and remove all wires, flowerpots, heavy objects and other dangerous things.

The next factor that is worth considering when getting a raccoon is whether you or your family are allergic to animals . If anyone in the family suffers from this disease, owning an animal is strictly contraindicated. Also, you should not purchase a raccoon when there are small children under 7 years old . The animal bites and can seriously harm the child.

We must also remember that a raccoon cannot always be made tame . Mostly domesticated animals become tame. Those taken from a breeder more often remain wild, although they take food from hands. Sometimes it even happens that domesticated raccoons can show aggression towards humans. Such cases are very often associated with changes in character during puberty and rutting.

In addition to changes in character during the rut, raccoons begin to actively mark their territories . Such marks may create a specific smell in the apartment. In addition, raccoons do not always learn to relieve themselves in a litter tray. This also often leads to unpleasant odors in the apartment.

It is also worth considering the fact that raccoons are nocturnal animals, and their peak activity occurs at this time of day. Until the animal adjusts to your schedule, you will need to get up at night to feed and pay attention to the pet, and not lie in the crib and dream.

Raccoons do not always get along with other pets living in the apartment. Especially if these are birds or rodents, which are their food in the wild. A raccoon and a cat or a dog and a raccoon raised together will be more friendly to each other. In any other case, pets always compete with each other for leadership.

Besides all of the above, most zoologists are not proponents of raccoons as pets. The main reason is that animals bite and scratch a lot. It is impossible to wean a raccoon from such a habit. Wild nature makes itself felt. If the raccoon doesn't like something, be prepared for abrasions and deep scratches on your legs and arms.

If, after all of the above, you are not afraid and are still ready to bring such an unusual inhabitant into your home, then you definitely need to know where to buy such a miracle.

Price when buying a raccoon

When buying such an exotic animal, you should be careful not to get an animal taken from the wild by poachers, a sick or half-dead animal, or not a raccoon at all, but a raccoon dog puppy.
Do not hesitate to require sellers to present all documents for your pet. The average price for one individual striped raccoon varies from 10,000 to 60,000 rubles. More details about keeping a raccoon in this video:

Raccoon Your pet. Content. Feeding. Upbringing. ReproductionNatalia Kaledina

Introduction

Here is a detailed guide to keeping a striped raccoon at home. This animal is becoming more and more popular every day. Touching videos on the Internet simply make you fall in love with this animal. And having fallen under his spell, you just want to make such a friend.

Alas, demand creates supply, which, in turn, creates a lot of scammers. For advertising purposes, they write incredibly tempting descriptions of the character of this animal, which are very far from the truth. Many people, who often don’t even understand that the striped raccoon and the Ussuri raccoon are different animals, even not belonging to the same biological family, write entire articles about keeping, feeding and raising a raccoon. Simply because this topic is popular now.

There is very little truthful information, verified by long experience, in such a flow. In scientific circles, this phenomenon is called “white noise.” It is especially sad that many of the tips are not only false, but also dangerous to the life and health of this beautiful animal.

This is what prompted me to write this book. It took more than a year of daily long hours of work for it to appear before readers. It describes the experience of keeping the striped raccoon as a pet for 18 years.

The most valuable thing is that during this time I raised more than 500 animals. These are animals born to me, as well as those that came to me for nursing or education.

Created in 2014, the Raccoon House became the first shelter for striped raccoons - former pets. At the time of writing, I have over 38 raccoons living with me. And they are not kept, as in nurseries, separately from humans. They are just pets. They also constantly receive guests - visitors. Complete strangers.

Great success has been achieved in raising tame and affectionate raccoons - previously wild and aggressive. A proven scheme for feeding young animals and feeding adult animals made it possible to reduce meetings with veterinarians to a minimum. Tested on dozens of animals, schemes for maintaining, restoring health and treating specific diseases now make it possible to ensure a healthy, long life for domestic raccoons. This is the experience I share in this book.

Keeping, feeding, and raising a striped raccoon as a pet is fundamentally different from keeping most pets.

Often, when getting such a pet, people, acting by analogy with keeping cats and dogs, make disastrous mistakes and only when faced with trouble do they look for information. We get calls every day with questions like this. And often these requests, unfortunately, come too late. To reduce such troubles, we are trying to make this book as well-known and accessible as possible.

If you are just thinking about purchasing a striped raccoon, please read this book before purchasing one. If you already have a raccoon, please read this book and buy it in paper form: keep it at hand and look at it periodically to refresh your knowledge.

If you have valuable, thoroughly researched information that is not in this book, please email me

If you still have questions after reading this book, you can contact me for advice by phone. If you provide a photo of the purchase receipt for this book, the consultation is free.

Sincerely, Kaledina Natalya Viktorovna,

Organizer and project manager of the House of Raccoon