The Forestry Forum

Outdoor topics => The Outdoor Board => Topic started by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on August 26, 2013, 05:59:14 PM

Title: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on August 26, 2013, 05:59:14 PM
I went over to my friends house this afternoon. He's a Taxidermist.
My son Paul and I were looking at Ken's chickens, his taxidermy work and went out to look at his hunting dogs.
All of a sudden a Raccoon runs out of the woods towards Paul.....I hollar run Paul!
Usually a Raccoon in the daytime means Rabies.

Short story long, Ken's laughing because we have never seen this "THANG" before. His neighbor raised this Coon from a baby and from time to time lets him out.
I found out quick....DON'T PICK HIM UP! He'll bite the fool out of you. Other than that......Really friendly.  :)

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1767.JPG) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1765.JPG) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1766.JPG)
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: pappy19 on August 26, 2013, 08:02:57 PM
A pet coon and a pet skunk (de-sented) can be alot of fun, but in the end, they become a real problem. I had friends that had both and if I had a choice, it would be the unsented skunk. A buddy of mine also had a pet porky-pine and he was a real hoot. Just don't rub him the wrong way!!!!!

Pap
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: SPIKER on August 26, 2013, 09:09:32 PM
When I was 14~15 yrs old I had 2 of them for pets.   Caught the baby coon were no bigger than maybe a farm rat.   the Dogs had them treed on a stump maybe 5' high.   I almost sent them to the dog food but they stood up holding onto each other on their hind legs when I approached they reached out to me...  :o   I picked em up by the scruff of the neck and they didnt seem to mind much.   Raised the two up with the cats & dogs and they were quite the characters.   They were kept in a small kennel at night (un locked) they came & went & played with the other pets.   They were litter box trained by the CAT & ate cat food & dog food & what ever they wanted lol.   The Male left on his own at about 2.5 years and the Female stayed till her 3rd summer when she left too.   

Mark
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: grweldon on August 28, 2013, 08:08:31 AM
My family has a long history of having coons as pets at least as far back as my great-grandfather.  My late uncle had them and his son has them.  They seem to get ornery right around a year or so and get unsuitable as pets.  The previous poster who said they stayed around 2-3 years was atypical from what I've observed, but they ARE extremely entertaining!
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: drobertson on August 28, 2013, 12:28:32 PM
they are fun critters when tame, they like the fat food for sure, and can bite from time to time, still fun,  david
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: beenthere on August 28, 2013, 02:28:09 PM
Same experience as grweldon. About a year, and then the biting starts which I suspect is natural for a wild animal.
But the biggest concern I'd have would be the problem with the brain parasite that survives in the scat. Can be a nightmare if ingested, which apparently can happen quite easily when the scat dries and it becomes airborne.
Sources:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/08/by_deborah_franklin_sure_theyr.html

http://claims-management.theclm.org/home/article/The-411-on-Raccoon-Scat-Insurance-Claims-Coverage

Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: clww on August 28, 2013, 07:18:00 PM
We had a coon experience last Friday. We were removing a large, hollow oak tree that had entry holes near the ground, and a couple more 40 feet above the ground. Judging by the looks of things, it was easy to tell something was probably going to come out of this tree sometime during the removal. After cutting out all but one limb over a two hour period, a good sized coon decided it was time to vacate. Our climber was on the opposite side of the tree when the animal exited his hole, heading straight up the tree. After a 15 second stand-off, I persuaded the critter to come down the tree with one of the lower ropes previously rigged.
Quite exciting for a couple of minutes. I thought one of the guys was going to wet his pants and run home once the coon started coming down the tree. :D
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Autocar on August 29, 2013, 08:05:05 AM
If it lives in Ohio and has four legs we probably had one for a pet lost track on how many racoons and opposums weve had over the years  :D.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: sandhills on August 29, 2013, 11:59:30 AM
clww, I'd of liked to seen that  :).  My dad climbed into the old 4010 JD early one morning (still dark) and sat down on a coon that had decided to sleep on the seat, needless to say he was surprised.  That coon hung around for awhile and had obviously been some ones pet, you could feed it by hand and he liked to watch us through the house windows at night.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: pigman on August 29, 2013, 01:04:56 PM
I would be surprised too if someone sat on me. :o
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: POSTON WIDEHEAD on August 29, 2013, 05:05:09 PM
Quote from: pigman on August 29, 2013, 01:04:56 PM
I would be surprised too if someone sat on me. :o

:D :D :D
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: ND rancher on August 31, 2013, 12:21:38 AM
I had a pet red squirrel as a teenager, he spent a year in the house with me. He was raised by a mother cat and thought he was a cat most of the time.He did get wild at a year old so he went out in the wild.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Paul_H on August 31, 2013, 03:46:13 PM
I had a Douglas Squirrel that I nursed back to health when I was 17.He was on the side of the road with a broken front paw and a damaged nose and raspy breathing. He made it alright and we'd sit in a chair in my room and watch tv with him getting more and more active as he healed up.
I could reach in the cage and pull him out no problem but he would stick out his feet and sprawl when I tried to put him back and would nip at my thumb in protest.  ;D
Eventually he was set free back near where I found him.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: ND rancher on September 01, 2013, 12:38:48 AM
The one I had never was in a cage.Had free range of the house.Always had to eat on a window sill where he could look outside. He slept under the bed covers at my feet while the cat slept on top of the covers!
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Left Coast Chris on September 01, 2013, 12:48:50 AM
The last wild animal we had as a pet was a Jack Rabbit.  Things went pretty well for about a month when it started practicing running full speed.  He ended up breaking a leg on the carpet in the house then squealing loudly just like my coyote call.  You can imagine the scene in the house with my wife in a panic while I was at work.  :o :o
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Ianab on September 01, 2013, 01:49:57 AM
Here in NZ we have feral Australian Bushtail Possums. In Aussie they are a protected native species. Here they are public enemy #1, and to be terminated with with extreme prejudice at every opportunity. Even with that, there are still millions of them, and occasionally you shoot one with a small "Joey" in the pouch, and bring it home as a pet.

They do get quite tame, but you have to remember they have serious claws. No cat will take one on, and most dogs are scared of them.

Here is a pic taken a few years back with Lara and an old and very tame female at a local wildlife park. They have beautiful fur, which is why they where bought here in the first place. But with no natural enemies, and lots of tasty forest they soon got out of hand.
(https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10460/DSC01117.JPG)
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: SPIKER on September 01, 2013, 10:08:56 PM
Quote from: Autocar on August 29, 2013, 08:05:05 AM
If it lives in Ohio and has four legs we probably had one for a pet lost track on how many racoons and opposums weve had over the years  :D.


Ya bout sums it up for us too!   

We had pets of about any and every type from here.   Raised a lot of them and caught most of them.   Our fish tanks looked more like BAIT tanks than something ya might see outside of Bass Pro shops...   We used to sneak into the local Equity and kill Rats and Catch pigeons by climbing into the rafters and elevators at dusk and grab then when they were sleeping.   :)   Pretty easy to tame them stick em in a good cage and give them food & water every day after a week or so that becomes their HOME and they get used to people easy, good squab dinner :D.   Same with Rabbits too pen them for a bit that becomes HOME.   One of the best ones was a Ground Hog, it was maybe 6 weeks old and it started following us as we walked by and we kept "Coaxing it" till we got it home.  it raised up to over 20 lbs and we had a dog collar & leash to walk it around.   We left it out front on one of the screw in Dog Chains in some shady grass...    Went frog gigging & came back someone STOLE him!   His chain leash and all was GONE :(   Had pet squirrel that we rescued from the cat when it was about the size of a chipmunk...   Cat was NOT happy but little guy did OK healed up and lived in the tree.   He ate peanut butter crackers and sat on the rail to get petting.  CAT still hated him a lot lol...

Mark
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: thecfarm on September 02, 2013, 11:16:53 AM
My neighbor had a wood chuck for a pet at another home of his. Someone saw it and shot it.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: bucknwfl on September 23, 2017, 11:21:05 PM
Quote from: POSTONLT40HD on August 26, 2013, 05:59:14 PM
I went over to my friends house this afternoon. He's a Taxidermist.
My son Paul and I were looking at Ken's chickens, his taxidermy work and went out to look at his hunting dogs.
All of a sudden a Raccoon runs out of the woods towards Paul.....I hollar run Paul!
Usually a Raccoon in the daytime means Rabies.

Short story long, Ken's laughing because we have never seen this "THANG" before. His neighbor raised this Coon from a baby and from time to time lets him out.
I found out quick....DON'T PICK HIM UP! He'll bite the fool out of you. Other than that......Really friendly.  :)

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1767.JPG) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1765.JPG) 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/24625/IMG_1766.JPG)




It is not surprising most racoons dont get along with goats. They both will wat just about anything. He was not biting just tasting. Lol.  Goat must have been tough


Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Stuart Caruk on September 24, 2017, 02:32:55 AM
Baaa... don't keep racoons as pets... A buddy felled a tree and inadvertently killed the mama, leaving 2 babies that didn't even have their eyes open. He brought one to me and the options were let it die (it's wild after all) or raise it to let it go...

I chose to bottle feed the critter and Bandit became a good buddy. He would come and go, but loved to ride on my shoulder when I went motorcycle riding or driving the Odyssey down to the creek.

He loved our hot tub. It had a gazeebo over it and he'd scurry up the post, climb out to the center, and drop into the tub. Casually swim to the side, exit and do it again. Totally freaked out our friends when they came over. He had a bad habit of untying ladies swim tops as well...

Bandit loved green grapes and ritz crackers, but we fed him mostly things he could source in the woods. Eventually he left with a mate, but cam back to show us his brood. Cute little sucker, but boy when he wanted to be a turd, he could make one heck of a mess. I'd raise another in a heartbeat if I had to.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: WV Sawmiller on September 24, 2017, 09:12:12 AM
   We have had many wild pets - several coons, squirrels, flying squirrels, gray squirrels and cottontails my neighbors dog would find in the nest and they'd bring to my wife to raise and even a fawn we raised to adulthood and a red-bellied woodpecker.

   The last coon my son had he caught 3 big enough to eat solid food but could not break the skin. He kept one and gave 2 away. He got permit from DNR and our daughter's friend at the vet school helped get him neutered and his shots. My wife made him a harness which was handy to pick him up as he got to be a rolly polly and hard to hold. He went everywhere with my son. He was a great chick magnet and the girls always wanted to come pet him. He would play chase and hassle like a dog. He'd run when chased then come chase you if you ran the other direction. He was usually friendly but would always bite if he had food. He'd grab the cats half empty cat food can, run behind the TV and snarl till he finished eating. I'd take him to the creek and try to teach him to find his own crawfish under rocks which I'd slap out on the bank and he'd pounce on it. He loved the chubs and crawfish from my minnow traps. Sean would take him fishing and he'd fish in the minnow bucket. They'd toss him a small crappie and he'd run under the bow and eat it. Chester had the run of the house at college with Sean and his roomie. Came home one day and broken eggs in front of the fridge but no Chester - until they opened the fridge and found him asleep on the bottom shelf. Had to rework a lock system. He'd ride on Sean's shoulder with his paws around Sean's forehead as he looked ahead to see where they were going. Next to the deer who was free to run with the wild deer Chester was probably the neatest pet we had.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Kbeitz on September 25, 2017, 08:51:39 AM
Quote from: Stuart Caruk on September 24, 2017, 02:32:55 AM
Baaa...

He loved our hot tub. It had a gazeebo over it and he'd scurry up the post, climb out to the center, and drop into the tub. Casually swim to the side, exit and do it again. Totally freaked out our friends when they came over. He had a bad habit of untying ladies swim tops as well...


Sounds like you trained him well...
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: Kbeitz on September 25, 2017, 08:53:20 AM
 

 (https://forestryforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/39553/Groundhog.JPG?easyrotate_cache=1506343972)

He hung around my shop...
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: coxy on September 25, 2017, 03:31:23 PM
did it drink any of that silver bullet that on the table  :D
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: ESFted on September 26, 2017, 01:32:25 PM
Had a raccoon come into the yard last week while I was mowing.  I yelled and clapped my hands and it left, but was not moving right.  The next day it was back and this time I hosed it down until it slowly went back over the fence.  Not aggressive, but acting strangely.  I called animal control and they came within a few minutes and sure enough the coon was back waiting for them, eating the seed husks from under the bird feeders.  The guys said it was an old wives tale that coons were strictly nocturnal and they would feed whenever food was available.  They said this one was exhibiting signs of distemper--mucus around the eyes and impaired mobility, so they hauled it away.  I was surprised to hear that distemper was common in raccoons, so it's not always rabies when they are acting strangely.  Don't want to take a chance though.
Title: Re: Pet Raccoon?
Post by: ToddsPoint on September 27, 2017, 05:14:53 AM
Distemper came through here about 10 yrs. ago and wiped out most of the coons.  They are still kind of scarce to this day.  Gary