This time of year I get a lot of calls on baby raccoons. I couldn’t agree more with the callers who tell me, “They’re so cute!”
I got a cute one last week which likely got separated from Mom when she was moving her babies.
I started the little raccoon on formula right after I picked her up. She will quickly move to solid food. Through the years I have learned several tricks to encourage feeding such as giving them blueberry yogurt. Baby raccoons absolutely love it! I had one that appeared to be teething so I spread some blueberry yogurt on a pretzel. Not only did the blueberry yogurt help, but the crunchiness of the pretzel gave his teeth relief.
I have also found that two together will stimulate each other’s eating. They tend to be more content with at least one other one, too.
Be careful. They have sharp teeth and long, razor-like claws, which they need in order to eat. They also imprint very easily. If you pick them up and befriend them, within minutes they will want to stay with you forever. Remember this caution: Keeping a baby raccoon for any amount of time causes you and it trouble. Its imprinting will make it seek you out. Familiarity with a person is not good.
Raccoons are wildlife. They need to reside in the wild, not with people.
Thanks for caring about the critters.
Patti
PS If Dad loves wildlife, send a donation to the critters in his honor for Father’s Day. Click here to donate: https://square.link/u/4VrslQtP?src-sms