General Information:
Scientifically referred to as Procyon Loctor: The North American Raccoon is probably the most well-known and commonly thought of species of that comes to mind when thinking about raccoons. Their infamous bandit-mask and ringed-tails makes them instantly recognisable to most individuals, however, in captivity their appearance can change dramatically depending on the colour variations.
They're ubiquitous throughout North America, but can also be found in Canada and South America.
Often considered as pests - or at least a nuisance - the North American Raccoon is a nocturnal omnivore and can be found living in various different habitats. In the wild, their lifespan is only 2-3 years, whereas in captivity raccoons can live up to 20 years!
Due to their intelligence, huge personalities, and adorable looks, North American Raccoons are somewhat commonly kept in the exotic pet trade, but they do have very complex needs and are most certainly not for the everyday person.
In the UK, as of the 3rd of August 2016, the North American Raccoon has been listed as an Invasive Alien Species (IAS). This means you're unable to buy and sell the North American Raccoon, or keep them without a license from Natural England. If you've kept a North American Raccoon from before the 3rd of August 2016, you're able to keep them without a license throughout their natural lives. If you were unable to keep your raccoon, you'd have to ensure you animal was rehomed to a rescue with the licensing to rescue North American Raccoons.
Useful Links:
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Housing a raccoon is arguably one of the more challenging parts to their care. Raccoons are infamous escape artists and providing a secure enclosure is certainly no easy task.
Most people recommend keeping raccoons outside due to their intelligent and destructive nature making them quite unsuitable for living as an indoor house-pet. There are a few vital aspects to the enclosures that must be met:
All enclosures and keepers must have a vet inspection. This will consist of the following:
As you can see, a lot of preparation is rightly needed when housing North American Raccoons.
Our housing standards for raccoons will ensure they're able to live as natural a life as possible in captivity. This means that they're able to exhibit natural behaviors, and are able to demonstrate little to no signs of stress whilst kept as a pet.
With regards to housing a raccoon, you're ideally going to be wanting an enclosure that is no less than no smaller than 40ft in length, 30ft in width, and 8ft in height. As mentioned, you're going to need your enclosure to split into segments for the safety of the raccoons with adequate heating and sheltered areas.
Raccoons are dexterous, curious, mischievous and intelligent, so enrichment is vital. Raccoons love water sources, digging, foraging, climbing, and causing a bit of trouble. Ensuring your raccoons has dens to sleep in, sheltered areas, trees and areas to climb, and a water source that they can freely access will enable a raccoon to exhibit many of their natural behaviours. As they're good eaters, you can also provide food puzzles and other items to keep them as entertained as possible.
Scientifically referred to as Procyon Loctor: The North American Raccoon is probably the most well-known and commonly thought of species of that comes to mind when thinking about raccoons. Their infamous bandit-mask and ringed-tails makes them instantly recognisable to most individuals, however, in captivity their appearance can change dramatically depending on the colour variations.
They're ubiquitous throughout North America, but can also be found in Canada and South America.
Often considered as pests - or at least a nuisance - the North American Raccoon is a nocturnal omnivore and can be found living in various different habitats. In the wild, their lifespan is only 2-3 years, whereas in captivity raccoons can live up to 20 years!
Due to their intelligence, huge personalities, and adorable looks, North American Raccoons are somewhat commonly kept in the exotic pet trade, but they do have very complex needs and are most certainly not for the everyday person.
In the UK, as of the 3rd of August 2016, the North American Raccoon has been listed as an Invasive Alien Species (IAS). This means you're unable to buy and sell the North American Raccoon, or keep them without a license from Natural England. If you've kept a North American Raccoon from before the 3rd of August 2016, you're able to keep them without a license throughout their natural lives. If you were unable to keep your raccoon, you'd have to ensure you animal was rehomed to a rescue with the licensing to rescue North American Raccoons.
Useful Links:
- www.gov.uk/government/publications/invasive-alien-species-licence-to-move-and-keep-them-in-captivity-ias-a01
- ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/invasivealien/index_en.htm#:~:text=Invasive%20Alien%20Species%20(IAS)%20are,consequences%20for%20their%20new%20environment.
Care:
Housing/Enrichment:
Housing a raccoon is arguably one of the more challenging parts to their care. Raccoons are infamous escape artists and providing a secure enclosure is certainly no easy task.
Most people recommend keeping raccoons outside due to their intelligent and destructive nature making them quite unsuitable for living as an indoor house-pet. There are a few vital aspects to the enclosures that must be met:
- The enclosure must be entirely secure (often built from strong metal structures) to prevent escapes
- The enclosure must be able to be shut into segments to ensure the animal inside can be safely and properly cleaned without the use of trapping
- The enclosure must have heating on a thermostat and all electrical items must be PAT tested annually. All electrical cables and fittings must be covered securely so the animal inside cannot access them
All enclosures and keepers must have a vet inspection. This will consist of the following:
- How the enclosure was constructed, and the type of enclosure the animal is housed in (including measurements) to ensure the animal is able to be housed comfortably?
- What are the controls in place to ensure escapes are not possible?
- Is there adequate furnishings and enrichment?
- Is the temperature able to be controlled?
- Is ventilation adequate?
- Can the enclosure be drained?
- Is cleanliness maintained?
- Are there precautions in place to prevent spread of disease?
- Do the animals have access to bedding, food, and water?
- Is the food storage hygienic?
- Are there precautions in place in the event of a fire or other emergencies?
- Are storage and waste disposal associated with keeping the animal satisfactory?
As you can see, a lot of preparation is rightly needed when housing North American Raccoons.
Our housing standards for raccoons will ensure they're able to live as natural a life as possible in captivity. This means that they're able to exhibit natural behaviors, and are able to demonstrate little to no signs of stress whilst kept as a pet.
With regards to housing a raccoon, you're ideally going to be wanting an enclosure that is no less than no smaller than 40ft in length, 30ft in width, and 8ft in height. As mentioned, you're going to need your enclosure to split into segments for the safety of the raccoons with adequate heating and sheltered areas.
Raccoons are dexterous, curious, mischievous and intelligent, so enrichment is vital. Raccoons love water sources, digging, foraging, climbing, and causing a bit of trouble. Ensuring your raccoons has dens to sleep in, sheltered areas, trees and areas to climb, and a water source that they can freely access will enable a raccoon to exhibit many of their natural behaviours. As they're good eaters, you can also provide food puzzles and other items to keep them as entertained as possible.
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Credit: https://pxhere.com/en/photo/795781
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Credit: https://thedailynews.cc/articles/do-what-makes-your-soul-shine/
Diet:
As raccoons are opportunistic omnivorous, they requite both plant and animal material to live a healthy lifestyle. As raccoons are found across an array of habitats, their diets can vary depending on where they're living. Raccoons commonly eat fruits, nuts, fish, arthropods and other invertebrates, rodents, frogs, eggs, and occasionally birds - although some do have a sneaky treat here and there depending on what is in someone's rubbish bin.
When in captivity, it's very important we offer North American Raccoons a diet rich and diverse in protein as well as offering a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, and without overfeeding simple carbohydrates.
Fun fact: Raccoons are known for their tendancy to "wash their food" in water prior to eating. However, this behaviour is actually assisting raccoons with their extremely sensitive sense of touch. Read more: forfoxsakewildlife.com/2020/10/13/raccoons-dont-wash-their-food-heres-what-theyre-really-doing/
Useful Links:
Socialising:
Originally thought to be solitary, there is now evidence to suggest that some raccoons live in groups and operate in such groups for the majority of the year. Therefore, raccoons can benefit from socialising with other raccoons. Take great care when introducing new raccoons to each other.
With humans, raccoons are rarely dangerous, but can act defensively when mishandled. It's often typical for new raccoons to act quite negatively you at first - after all, they're still wild animals.
You should be very careful when deciding to approach an unfamiliar raccoon with little knowledge about their behaviour. Be mindful that they're far more intelligent and complex than cats and dogs. It's very easy to misread signals and potentially become injured as a result of improper handling and repeated provoking.
With that being said, you can see pet raccoons form strong bonds to their handlers and can begin to associate you as something positive. They may even let you pet them!
Please feel free to ask more questions.
As raccoons are opportunistic omnivorous, they requite both plant and animal material to live a healthy lifestyle. As raccoons are found across an array of habitats, their diets can vary depending on where they're living. Raccoons commonly eat fruits, nuts, fish, arthropods and other invertebrates, rodents, frogs, eggs, and occasionally birds - although some do have a sneaky treat here and there depending on what is in someone's rubbish bin.
When in captivity, it's very important we offer North American Raccoons a diet rich and diverse in protein as well as offering a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, eggs, and without overfeeding simple carbohydrates.
Fun fact: Raccoons are known for their tendancy to "wash their food" in water prior to eating. However, this behaviour is actually assisting raccoons with their extremely sensitive sense of touch. Read more: forfoxsakewildlife.com/2020/10/13/raccoons-dont-wash-their-food-heres-what-theyre-really-doing/
Useful Links:
Socialising:
Originally thought to be solitary, there is now evidence to suggest that some raccoons live in groups and operate in such groups for the majority of the year. Therefore, raccoons can benefit from socialising with other raccoons. Take great care when introducing new raccoons to each other.
With humans, raccoons are rarely dangerous, but can act defensively when mishandled. It's often typical for new raccoons to act quite negatively you at first - after all, they're still wild animals.
You should be very careful when deciding to approach an unfamiliar raccoon with little knowledge about their behaviour. Be mindful that they're far more intelligent and complex than cats and dogs. It's very easy to misread signals and potentially become injured as a result of improper handling and repeated provoking.
With that being said, you can see pet raccoons form strong bonds to their handlers and can begin to associate you as something positive. They may even let you pet them!
Please feel free to ask more questions.