As a follow up to my 'Don't get a pet raccoon' post the other day, I wanted to add these two links:
http://tskaexotics.co.uk/attachments/File/Carnivores/Racoon_Attack.htm
A short article by Rory Matier (who we procured Meeka from) relating to his getting attacked by a Raccoon
http://www.isleauhaut.net/maskd/twentyreasons.htm
From the website of Maskd_Bandit (very good raccoon information) - an explanation of why not to have a Raccoon
If you are thinking about getting a pet raccoon, I would strongly recommend reading these articles first.
Make an informed decision...
Sunday 15 June 2008
Saturday 14 June 2008
Friday 13 June 2008
Raccoon Wallpaper
Just thought I'd share this one with you - I made myself a new desktop background with a raccoon picture on it.
I found an interesting picture of a raccoon in the right pose on google images and converted it into a stencil type brush, I'm thinking of purloining it as a logo - or at least waiting til Meeks is a bit bigger and getting a good photo I can use instead....
Sean
Meeka in the Garden
I finally uploaded the video of Meeka in the garden.
The nice music is by Royksopp.
Thursday 12 June 2008
Raccoon owners 101...
A lot of people have seen Meeka out with us, She likes to be out and about in the car and comes into the school yard when we pick up our daughter from school.
When people see her, and finally figure out what she is, we always hear the same thing...
"Awww, I want one - she's so cute."
We agree, she is absolutely irresistible - But if you are considering having a baby Raccoon, there are a few things you need to know....
1) They bite. -
Not cute little puppy nips, but big savage bites - She is only playing, but it hurts when she decides you need a new ear piercing.
2) They are demanding.
Raccoons in the wild are fed by their mothers for a very long period - up to four months. Usually pets are fully weaned when you take them on (eg a 7 week old pup), but with Meeka it is a case of bottle feeding her every 3-4 hours. She is not a pet you can leave whilst you go out to work, she needs attention and affection 24-7.
3) They are curious to the point of mischief.
Meeka is in to everything... She is only 8 weeks old at the moment and now she has found her feet we have to constantly watch her - we can't take our eyes off her for a moment.
4) They have specific needs.
Try taking a raccoon to your local vet - after all the ooohs and aaahs from the receptionist, the Vet will just look blankly when you ask if she'll need any innoculations, luckily we have now been put in touch with a zoological veterinarian - although this will mean a lot of travelling if we ever have any problems.
5) They grow up.
Baby raccoons do not stay babies for ever. Meeka will eventually grow larger than an average housecat, Combine this with the curiousity, the biting and the 1 inch claws this will lead to some interesting times ahead...
Having a raccoon is for the brave or the stupid - I think we fall somewhere in between the two categories.
Bringing up a raccoon is like bringing up a child - you need to provide a nurturing environment with positive attention - luckily we are in a position to do this, But having an exotic pet is a big commitment, both for us, and for Meeka - if you can't give up half your time to caring for them, then you will end up with a wild animal in your house... It was only last year that raccoons were taken of the DWA list, and you could have them as pets without a licence.
I'll post some more on the subject in the coming months.
Sean
When people see her, and finally figure out what she is, we always hear the same thing...
"Awww, I want one - she's so cute."
We agree, she is absolutely irresistible - But if you are considering having a baby Raccoon, there are a few things you need to know....
1) They bite. -
Not cute little puppy nips, but big savage bites - She is only playing, but it hurts when she decides you need a new ear piercing.
2) They are demanding.
Raccoons in the wild are fed by their mothers for a very long period - up to four months. Usually pets are fully weaned when you take them on (eg a 7 week old pup), but with Meeka it is a case of bottle feeding her every 3-4 hours. She is not a pet you can leave whilst you go out to work, she needs attention and affection 24-7.
3) They are curious to the point of mischief.
Meeka is in to everything... She is only 8 weeks old at the moment and now she has found her feet we have to constantly watch her - we can't take our eyes off her for a moment.
4) They have specific needs.
Try taking a raccoon to your local vet - after all the ooohs and aaahs from the receptionist, the Vet will just look blankly when you ask if she'll need any innoculations, luckily we have now been put in touch with a zoological veterinarian - although this will mean a lot of travelling if we ever have any problems.
5) They grow up.
Baby raccoons do not stay babies for ever. Meeka will eventually grow larger than an average housecat, Combine this with the curiousity, the biting and the 1 inch claws this will lead to some interesting times ahead...
Having a raccoon is for the brave or the stupid - I think we fall somewhere in between the two categories.
Bringing up a raccoon is like bringing up a child - you need to provide a nurturing environment with positive attention - luckily we are in a position to do this, But having an exotic pet is a big commitment, both for us, and for Meeka - if you can't give up half your time to caring for them, then you will end up with a wild animal in your house... It was only last year that raccoons were taken of the DWA list, and you could have them as pets without a licence.
I'll post some more on the subject in the coming months.
Sean
Monday 9 June 2008
Hi again, Sorry about the lack of updates - we've had no internet access for the last few days...
We have been redecorating the lounge, and moved our modem; for some reason it stopped connecting - I spent two days plugging and unplugging and nothing was working...
...Until I realised that where we had moved it to was right next to our wireless AV sender for the digital TV - which I finally remembered operates on the 2.4ghz spectrum (same as our wi-fi). I unplugged it and within seconds we were back online (silly me...)
Anyway, I'll have a few more updates in the next day or so - I've just took a short vid of Meeka pottering around in the garden, I'll make some tweaks on post it on youtube tomorrow.
In the meantime, here is a picture of Meeka kissing her surrogate mum (Michelle) and one of me cuddling my baby...
Monday 2 June 2008
I've lost my phone charger, so no new photos until I find it....
Meeka is doing fantastic now, shes really growing up - she's still on the bottle, but is starting to experiment with solids, baby rice mostly, but she did steal a McDonalds fry earlier on and start sucking it.
She is starting to have a lot more awareness of the world around her, she walks around the house following Michelle around and sits watching TV.
She currently sleeps in a moses basket inside a large dog cage in our bedroom, she sleeps though the night - although Raccoons are usually nocturnal, she has more of a crepuscular nature (active in the twilight).
Hopefully I'll get some more pictures up soon - it's amazing how much she has grown over the last two weeks.
Sean
Meeka is doing fantastic now, shes really growing up - she's still on the bottle, but is starting to experiment with solids, baby rice mostly, but she did steal a McDonalds fry earlier on and start sucking it.
She is starting to have a lot more awareness of the world around her, she walks around the house following Michelle around and sits watching TV.
She currently sleeps in a moses basket inside a large dog cage in our bedroom, she sleeps though the night - although Raccoons are usually nocturnal, she has more of a crepuscular nature (active in the twilight).
Hopefully I'll get some more pictures up soon - it's amazing how much she has grown over the last two weeks.
Sean
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