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If you have decided to adopt a raccoon as a pet, it is very important that you know everything that is related to its care, especially its food.
The raccoon is an omnivorous mammal, meaning that it eats both meat and fruit and vegetables. It is important that you know how to calculate the doses of each meal, whether it is a puppy or an adult, this because the raccoon tends to develop obesity in some cases.
Keep reading this Animal Expert article to learn all about raccoon feeding, also known as Hand-peeled.
Care of a disoriented raccoon cub
Found a baby raccoon?
If you found a young or baby raccoon it could have happened for several reasons:
- The hand is gone and will not come back
- your lair has been destroyed
- The burrow is too hot and they left
- The hand is moving all the offspring to another place
- Predators appear
- to your pet appeared with a baby raccoon
In any of these situations, it is convenient to wait for the mother's return for some time, keeping at a safe distance. If you do not show up and see that the chick has its eyes open, we recommend that you immediately call the responsible forestry agents in your area of residence.
On the other hand, if the raccoon cub has its eyes closed, it is likely to be dehydrated and hungry, in this situation it should look for some food to ensure its survival until rescue services arrive.
Raccoons depend on their mother for 3 or 5 months while their growth and learning stage lasts. The 12 weeks of age stand out although they remain with their mother until they complete one year of life. They usually open their eyes at 8 weeks of age.
How should I care for a disoriented raccoon cub?
Take a soft cloth to collect the baby. It's important that you use gloves to handle it (at 4 weeks of age you already have teeth) and don't be scared, you'll certainly grunt and shake with fear.
Wrap the chick in a cloth to give it some warmth. Try to keep the temperature at 36°C.
Confirm that you have no injuries of any kind by looking all over your body. If you find any wounds, wash them with soap and warm water. apply everything with a cloth, just as your mother would.
Look for external parasites such as fleas and ticks and remove them as soon as possible. If you find a lot of insects it could mean that the abandonment or loss of your mother is real.
Go as soon as possible to the veterinarian to check that you are in good health.
Feeding a baby raccoon
Below we offer information about the amount and care of feeding a raccoon offspring according to its age. Remember that you must use a baby bottle:
- raccoon newborn, of a week. He will weigh between 60 and 140 grams and his eyes are still closed. You can use the lkitten kit, available at any pet store. You need to receive between 3 to 7 centiliters of food (5% of your weight) 7 or 8 times a day (every 3 hours) including at night. The milk should be warm, being a little higher than your body temperature. At the end of the meal, you should pass a damp handkerchief across his genitals so that he can urinate, just as his mother would.
- With two weeks the little raccoon should weigh between 190 and 225 grams. He still has his eyes closed and he still has no hair on his belly although he has hair all over his body. At this time you should increase the dose to 9.5 to 11.3 centiliters of milk, equally every 3 hours, although you can reduce your daily meals to 6 times a day.
- With three week of life the raccoon will weigh between 320 to 400 grams, It will start to open its eyes progressively and the fur will eventually develop. Increase the dose between 16 to 20 centiliters.
- During the fourth and fifth week continue increasing the dose depending on your weight. Always taking into account the ratio of 5% of your body weight.
- At six weeks it should already be between 750 and 820 grams in weight. Start to reduce milk intakes by feeding between 52 and 55 centiliters of milk four times a day and stop feeding at night.
- Between seven and eight weeks space your meals even more.
- From eight weeks onwards you can start offering solid food that you will accept little by little. You can buy food for puppy dogs or cats. In the beginning it will cost but little by little he will get used to it. At this stage it is very important not to increase the milk dose.
- Between the 10 and 16 weeks the raccoon must already weigh two kilograms. The raccoon at this stage must already be used to eating solid food and for this reason must remove milk from its diet. Buy high quality dog food that will make up 2/3 of your diet, the remaining 1/3 should be fresh fruits and vegetables. At this stage let him eat in abundance as it is a period of growth. Divide your meals into two servings a day. You should have fresh, clean, portable water every day, plus you can make a small pool for you to cool off.
- At the time of weaning, the raccoon can stay in a large cage that has a small wooden nest, for example. Clean the cage regularly and protect it from the cold.
- THE from 16 weeks the raccoon is now fully independent. If you're thinking about freeing him, now is the time, leave the cage open (no food inside) and he'll start investigating. It may come back a few times before leaving home permanently.
Feeding an adult raccoon
Raccoons will eat anything, as they are omnivorous animals. Below we give you a list of foods you can give:
- Chicken
- Peru
- cat food
- Wet food for cats
- Eggs
- fish in general
- Carrot
- Bell pepper
- Banana
- Crustaceans
- watermelon
- Corn Massaroca
- Rice
- Apple
as you can see there are different types of food that can give to an adult raccoon. It is important that you vary the type of food to avoid getting bored. Try to find out what your favorite foods are. Remember never to give red meat and check your weight from 16 weeks to make sure you maintain a stable weight (they are prone to put on weight).
The elderly raccoon will continue to eat the variety of foods we described above, however, we should decrease the amount as it decreases physical activity.
