Are raccoons friendly (easy pets)?

Question

I was watching TV and heard a lot of noise coming from my 2nd story balcony, so I cut off all the lights and looked out the window and found a raccoon walking around out there! I got some bread and slowly opened the door and threw some out there, which he ate. He didn't seem to be too scared of me and he even walked up to the door and was scratching to get in (like a cat). I thought he was so cute, but I wasn't about to open the door and try to touch him! Are raccoons easy pets or are they dangerous???

Answer 1

Racoons are not friendly, they are extreemly curiouse!

They are wild animals, and do not make good pets!

Racoons and Possums are one of the few who can harbor a dormant form of rabies and pass it to another animal making it active causing death. The only way to screen for rabies is to test the brain through a FAVN, where they remove the brain, there for the animal has to die to be tested. Having a pet racoon is not worth exposing you,your neighbors, your family or your pets to rabies. Plus there is no cure for rabies, and even the vaccination isn't 100% effective.

Do not handle them. Many people are unaware that rabies is most active in the saliva (when the animal bites you the saliva goes in your blood and infects you), that being said, it the animal spits at you and get in your eye or in an open wound you WILL become infected with RABIES! Your best bet is not mess with Racoons.

Also don't feed wild animals, that teaches them to become depended on people, which ultimately leads to starvation (when people aren't around to feed them or fill the trash cans), make them more of a pest (getting into to trash cans and approaching people because they no longer fear people - thus they will have baited traps set for them) and with out fear of people many will take advantage of this and make them eazy targets for bbguns or the bigger ones too (Coon skin hat). By feeding wild animals like racoons, will make them over run that area in which you are feeding them leading to fighting, and more disease spreading.

Racoons are not pets and yes they are dangerouse at many different levels.

Answer 2

They can be domesticated but the already wild/grown ones are harder to convert from their instinctual ways; just like anyone or anything that has been set in their ways for a long time (e.g. addicts). Raccoons can make just as good a pet as a tarantula and even better ones from babies.

Most of you who gave answers are obviously young, naive and ignorant, and I hope you have grown up from 7 years ago because the real world isn't as basic as how you see it or as what you have been told. There are always going to be a few exceptions to the rule, so to generalize everything in your life, trust me, you are going to be holding yourselves back from a lot of realism and truths; keeping your mind closed way shut and being too old to change it and then you die pitifully. Get knowledge from people who have actually befriended these creatures so you won't have a perfunctory point of view like the person that answered the OP.

And OP, you basically picked a killer of wild animals that plays favoritism...of course they're going to tell you raccoons are dangerous, but that's just a general and broad answer which they are trained to learn to prepare themselves to kill certain animals and not feel bad about it.

Answer 3

Well, i had a pet raccoon when I was a lil girl. His name was Lucky. My Dad worked for a demolition company and after demolishing a building and doing clean up found a dead mama and baby. He carried on to look for more and found just one baby. He was the 'lucky' one. He ended up bringing it home for all of us to take care of. We did just that. We fed him with a bottle at first. We trained him very well. After a while he walked on a leash like a dog, he played with us, he would do his rattling chirp when he was happy and/ or wanted some attention. He was an awesome pet. But, one day during a walk with my sister he bit a kid. The kid always tormented Lucky and that day Lucky snapped back, after all the times not doing anything. He was just fed up with the kid. Well, we had to hand him over to animal control because the child's family was worried about him having rabies. In the end he didn't. But an adult that has grown in the wild should be left there. Don't open ur door to him because he will tear ur house apart. They r very smart animals and will go right to ur food cupboards and go on a rampage.lol! No really he will though. Don't feed him or u will intise him to come around. Then u know what the more there is food u will soon have babies. U don't want that to happen. I have a friend who has a tree in her yard which houses over ten racoons. One family!

Answer 4

Never feed or encourage raccoons to come around. Many carry a potentially deadly roundworm parasite. Always be very careful cleaning up raccoon poop. Some carry rabies. They can be quite vicious and cause serious injuries even to larger dogs. They are not cute little pets, they are dangerous wild animals. It's best to leave them alone and don't leave food sources like garbage and pet food outside at night.

Answer 5

Raccoons as Pets
In most states of the United States it is illegal to keep raccoons as pets. Some states allow the practice, but require exotic pet permits. Young orphan wild raccoons may carry rabies. Domesticated raccoons acquired from reputable breeders may make suitable pets; however, raccoons are not domesticated animals. Training raccoons is an intensive and ongoing process, and captive raccoons may retain destructive or aggressive natural behaviors, such as biting. Some douse their food in or defecate into the water dishes of other pets. Although nocturnal, captive raccoons can be trained to sleep at night and to be active during the day.

Captive raccoons can develop obesity and other disorders due to unnatural diet and lack of exercise; furthermore, many veterinarians will not treat raccoons. Raccoons raised in captivity and released do not adapt well to life outside.

Answer 6

I don't know where you live but I am pretty sure you are not allowed to keep a raccoon as a pet.raccoons are like bears they can look really cute but they are wild animals and wouldn't think twice of hurting you. You wouldn't want to keep one anyway they can be really mean and have killed tons of family pets such as cats and dogs, they are vicious when angered and if you plan to catch one I hope you know a really good doctor. that is all I have to say.

Answer 7

RACCOONS ARE VERY CUTE AND VERY DANGEROUS--DO NOT EVEN TRY TO PET IT!! THEY ARE WILD ANIMALS AND CARRY RABIES-HAVE YOU SEEN THEIR TEETH AND CLAWS? IF YOU WANT TO FEED IT-YOU BETTER ALWAYS HAVE FOOD AVAILABLE FOR IT CUZ THEY GET QUITE PISSED IF THEY ARE HUNGRY AND THERE IS NO FOOD WHERE THERE USUALLY IS-THEY CAN CLIMB FENCES AND TAKE THE SCREENS OFF YOUR WINDOWS IF THEY CAN GET UP THERE-THEY WILL ALSO ENTER YOUR HOME IF A DOOR IS LEFT OPEN -THEY ONLY ATTACK IF CORNERED AND IF YOU HAVE A DOG-THEY CAN REALLY MESS UP YOUR DOG-MY FRIENDS DOG HAD TO BE PUT DOWN AFTER IT CONFRONTED A RACCOON IN THEIR BACK YARD-THE RACCOON TORE THE DOGS EYES OUT OF HIS FACE-WHERE I LIVE (WASHINGTON STATE) IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO HAVE A WILD ANIMAL AS A PET. JUST SO YA KNOW

Answer 8

Are Raccoons

Answer 9

When I was a little kid I didn't know anything about them and they came to me and let me pet them and they didn't bite or scratch, in fact from what my aunt told me they cuddled in my lap like my pet cat. But I'm NOT saying it's a good idea, they do carry disease and are considered wild animals. I was just lucky those paticular racoons were not threatened by me and actually liked me. Don't pet them and don't let them in your laps they are NOT pets, but be nice to them and leave a little food out to feed them if you want to watch them. They are cute to look and nice to watch though.

Answer 10

Dr. Jekyl / Mr. Hyde

They can co-exist peacefully, at a personal distance. They can be unpredictable, and are not as cute and cuddly as they look.
If you do not try to pat it or hold it, then they can live in the neighbourhood their whole lives and not ever harm you.
If you do try to approach it, or try to pick it up or hold it, they can be attociously fierce in defense. They don't know or care if your intentions are kind and wonderful, they will perceive it as a threat, and they will fight for their lives. Its their instinct.
Their teath are pointy as needles, and sharp as a knife, and a jaw thats like a vice grip, and they can totally disfigure your face or damage your wrists. Keep your distance and appreciate them from a distance, you'll be ok, and thats how they like it too.