Raccoon Story

15 years ago

Marilyn's pictures makes me think back, to the 60's when I had a pet raccoon !

Back then, they actually sold them in local pet stores, and my girlfriend bought one for me. His name was Ronnie and boy was he a handful !

First off, I was young and dumb, didn't know a thing about them..but I did learn soon. They don't make real good house pets, lol !

He was just a baby and was tame for awhile, but got to be too much for me to handle. Eventually I had to find a lady, in Big Bear that did raccoon rescue & release and she took him.

But I can remember we would give him grapes and he would roll them along the side of his water bowl, making sure they were clean, and then we would give him a little marshmallow and he would do the same, but it would get sticky !

It was fun, but I wasn't educated enough back than....

And when I see Marilyn's pictures, I think of him !

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (14)

marilyn_c
15 years ago
People think raccoons wash their food, but in reality, they are very tactile and just like to roll it around in their hands. They do like to dabble in water, so if some is nearby, they will dunk stuff in it, but actually to wash it, they don't. I watch the wild coons eat, and they will pick up a piece of dog food, roll it around in their hands, put it down, pick up another piece...just like it, roll it around, and then eat that one.
User
15 years ago
We have had several as pets. They can be very comical.
Related Discussions
I hate to rub it in....
Q
Comments (42)
I can see where my post could be considered critical of Semper. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I was just trying to say that we sometimes need a vacation from our vacation because we stuff so much into such a little time. It would take me a month to do what Semper did in a week and then I would be annoyed if I hadn't been able to locate some local expert to discuss details. My kids called our visit to Williamsburg the trip to H*** because first,Mom tracked down the farmhand who took care of the livestock, then the man who was burning in the design on the leather wall paper at the Governor's home, then the farrier and blacksmith, then the potter who showed us the original clay deposit and the glass blowers who showed us the sand that was used and some other guy who told us about the settlers traveling two days to find the right kind of salt deposits so they could preserve their food. They were grateful I missed the sheriff so they didn't get chained up in the jail and I couldn't find an archeologist so we couldn't get down in the hole they were excavating where the original church was built. I turned what was a three hour tour into what threatened to become a way of life and none of that stuff was in the brochures anyway. Not everyone takes tours the way I do but I come by it honestly. My Mom talked her way past the Swiss guards in the Vatican to get into the Pope's changing room so she could sit and rest for a while. Sandy
...See More
Raccoon Story.....are your pets Rabies Vx current?
Q
Comments (12)
Hmmmmmmm. Sarah. Good reminder for everyone! Thanks. Here the issue with a wild animal exposure would be in the hands of the health department. The animal is euthanized and the brain examined immediately! Forget the MD. Pre bite exposure injections are NOT something to be taken lightly either. There are potential *serious* health risks to consider as a result of the vaccines! They may be just as serious as the disease. Many years ago I remember that someone caught a baby raccoon in their yard and wanted the animal to become a pet for his THREE YEAR OLD DAUGHTER! OMG! They carry a species of roundworm that is potentially fatal to humans not to mention the potential for disease transmission!!! Any way, the daughter wanted to play with her new pet and got her finger bitten. (Well duh!) The two month old raccoon was brought in, killed and the head removed to send off for the health dept. to examine. During the interim the little girl started her post bite injections. The raccoon was negative for Rabies. Both the raccoon and child suffered because the parent was stoopid! I myself have been exposed to Rabies three times but cannot have the post exposure injections any more nor the pre-exposure vaccine. I have severe reactions and need to just be ultra careful when I handle the wild ones. If not, stick a fork in me because I am done either way! The animal vaccines are more to protect the public health rather than the pet but it works well for all.
...See More
Raccoon question
Q
Comments (17)
"Havahart traps will catch them, and you don't even need bait. Just leave the trap open, right next to the fence... they patrol the perimeter, and will walk right in." Well speak of the devil... I reset the trap yesterday after catching the ground hog I mentioned in my previous post, in case there was more than one. This morning, there was a racoon in the trap. The trap had been placed open & unbaited against one of my garden fences. (I tried to post a photo, but Houzz wouldn't let me for some reason.) It was probably just looking for mice, so I'll let it go as soon as it calms down enough to do so safely. Maybe we over-think how to bait traps to catch an animal, when all that is necessary is to place the trap in the right place... sitting right next to the garden fence, the metal is not out of place, and the open trap must look like a way in. Ckag, I hear you about the deer... they are my most persistent pest. Anything not fenced off is eaten, and there is not a square foot of space that they have not investigated. Because I have apple trees, deer have trained their young for generations that my yard is the place to eat. :-( I'm putting up electric fencing around those trees this year, to see if I can encourage them to go elsewhere.
...See More
Raccoons or Opossums & Ponds
Q
Comments (5)
Thanks for your input. Absolutely cannot obstruct the view of a pond as it will deter from the beauty and enjoyment it affords. Our intensive studies have proven the the front paws of both Raccoons and Opossums are very sensitive. Both use their "front paws" as feelers and they've got great dexterity. In both cases with these and other "critters" they use their "paws" as a feeler and they lead the way, kind of akin to the way a human works with their hands and also our noses. However, their strength with their "paws" is also an extreme weakness which we have capitalized on. Below is a photo of our product. It's a high impact resin and each section is about 10 to 12 inches long and roughly 2" wide. They "click snap together" kind of like legos. They pointed edges on the sections are extremely effective. If you were to put the slightest pressure on just a couple of these "points" you'd soon learn that it is extremely uncomfortable. It's like a human attempting to walk across a bed of nails, fairly uncomfortable. Raccoons, Opossums and other animals have been purposely baited an an attempt to get them to attempt to engage the strips and navigate across them to get to the food we set out for them. In one case, a bag of marshmallows on top of a plastic trash can turned upside down. We assembled the strips on the perimeter of the trash can, the Raccoons could not get to the marshmallows no matter how they tried. They were filmed with a game camera. The strips are roughly an inch in height. We've installed these on roofs of homes, on the perimeter of gardens in home and every other imaginable area for the past year. In every case, we purposely baited the animal and in every case, they were not able to get to the food, They basically gave up trying. Same premise with these critters in attics, once the females removed their young and began to teach them how to return to the entry point in the soffit, they could not get back in as getting past the strip proved impossible. This is pretty much how I got the idea for ponds. They are unobtrusive and can be set to form around the edge of a pond on the outer perimeter and personally I would also install a series on the edges of any shallow ledges in the pond. Based on what we have seen over the past year plus, the first time a "critter" attempts to navigate over it and gets pricked by the sharp points on the strips, they may try one or two more times and give up. Touching these is quite unpleasant for a human and the sense of touch on these critters is akin to a dogs sense of smell. Make a long story short, documented videos have proven time and time again these things just work. Pretty much how I came up with thought these may be a good tool for owners of ponds who don't want to use chicken wire around their ponds and other contraptions in hopes of keeping the critters at bay and away from ponds and homes while also keeping them alive. Disclaimer: NO 'critters" were harmed or mamed in testing nor worse for wear. They did however "leave hungry" and went else where for their food.
...See More
User
15 years ago
I had a pet raccoon, Rascal for two years. My husband found him after a logging operation. I loved that little guy and so did my kids.
glenda_al
15 years ago
This is a mommy and her baby in tree taken by my neighbor who has a condo above me.

{{!gwi}}
susanjf_gw
15 years ago
i'm a victim of home invasion, lol!! not so cute when mom comes in bringing her triplets with her!!! or the missing christmas goodies that were on the porch cooling. or the day i went to the bread store and left a couple of loaves on the kitchen table...gone!

my cats are really good about staying away from them thank goodness...wild ones while cute in the movies, can carry rabies in our county...
lavon46
Original Author
15 years ago
LOL...love that picture glenda.
We dont see any here in the desert....
marilyn_c
15 years ago
Fortunately, rabies in raccoons is practically non existant in my area. I would say non existant...but I suppose there is always a chance, but no rabid raccoons have been found here in years. Now, skunks...yes, and sometimes bats. Possums do not carry rabies.
glenda_al
15 years ago
I live in a condo in a wooded community. We cannot have bird feeders, as the raccoons are a nuisance, and the feeders attract them. And we will get fined if we do have feeders.
lavon46
Original Author
15 years ago
Glenda thats a shame, I love seeing the birds on my feeders. But....I have heard that raccoons can be really destructive, especially if they get inside the house !
Its probably a good thing we dont have them here, because IF we did, I would feed them.
ruthieg__tx
15 years ago
They are cute to look at but they are the meanest little creatures I have ever known. The damage that they do to homestead fowl is unbelievable.....They kill just for the sport ....take a bite and go kill another.....I found a duck sitting on a bunch of eggs so I put her in a pen and tried to secure the nest and they killed her and ruined most of the eggs...Vicious.........and just for the sport of it..They will climb every tree within miles and rob the eggs....can you tell that I despise them.
User
15 years ago
Obviously you never had one as a pet. Mine was as gentle as a dog and followed us everywhere and rode in my car to my DD's school where he was 'show and tell' for the day. He rode on my shoulders and never nipped or bit anyone.
jaybird
15 years ago
We had one as a pet when I was growing up...I don't have any idea how old he was, but he lived another 5 or 6 years with us. We had a production woodworking business and he lived in the shop. Wherever my Dad was working, BJ was right there with him. When we loaded furniture for a delivery, he would sit in the topmost chair on the trailer until Daddy ordered him down. We always called him the "lookout". He buddied up to friends and customers alike and never made any attempt to be rough or mean. He rode lots of miles in my bicycle basket :^)
Marcia Thornley
15 years ago
I love them. They are so cute as long as they're not living in my chimney or attic! They're smart and hard to get rid of and they smell!
moonie_57 (8 NC)
15 years ago
About 25 years ago, we also had a raccoon. My husband was logging then and one of the downed trees killed the mom. The baby was young enough that we had to bottle feed him. Although his eyes were open, he was just barely able to crawl around on his own. By law, we had to report having possession to wild life authorities. They said he was only about a week old, and they came every few weeks to check on him. It wasn't long before we could no longer handle him. Having small children and a baby raccoon in the house is not a wise idea! LOL. After school hours, when the house would get busy, I would try to put the raccoon in the bathroom. He would lift the heat vent, run through the duct work and come up in whatever room we were in. It was so funny. I can't remember how old he was, maybe 3 months, when the game warden came for him and it was very difficult to let him go. Just can remember that I feared that he was not ready to be released. Always wondered what method they used and if he was successful.

Sweet memories!

Raccoon Story

Comments (14)

marilyn_c

User

Related Discussions

User

glenda_al

susanjf_gw

lavon46
Original Author

marilyn_c

glenda_al

lavon46
Original Author

ruthieg__tx

User

jaybird

Marcia Thornley

moonie_57 (8 NC)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Raccoon Story

Comments (14)

Related Discussions

lavon46Original Author

lavon46Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

lavon46
Original Author

lavon46
Original Author