Skunks as Pets Legal States

You should be financially prepared to deal with a skunk. Depending on where you live, some veterinarians charge more to treat a skunk because they consider it an exotic animal. Apart from the normal cost of food, bedding and other necessities, there are veterinary bills. Depending on your skunk, wellness checkups are recommended at least once a year. You may also need to consult another veterinarian to find a medical solution if your veterinarian can`t resolve the issue. You will need to look for an emergency clinic that can treat a skunk emergency during hours when your veterinarian is not open. Many emergency clinics treat wildlife and these usually always have a veterinarian who would be willing to see a skunk in an emergency. Call around and ask or even ask your vet, don`t wait for an emergency to happen and you panic about what to do. We all hope for a long and healthy life for our skunks, but you have to be prepared for almost anything. At the time of writing, pet insurance does not cover skunks. If you have a skunk emergency and you do not know what to do or you cannot reach a veterinarian, do not hesitate to contact us at 727-809-0975. The topic of what skunks should feed is highly controversial, according to the owners of Pet Skunks.

[13] Mary Kaye Ashley`s book, A Comprehensive Guide to Raising a Pet Skunk, recommends a ratio of 50% vegetables, 40% Skunkie Delight, and 10% other whole foods. Skunkie Delight is a homemade blend of cooked cereals (millet, oats, barley or brown rice), raw ground turkey, eggs, vegetable oil and a variety of vitamin and mineral powders. [14] Skunks make a variety of vocalizations to express their emotions, including hissing, chirping, and moaning. But in general, they are calm animals. They are also not prone to aggression if properly socialized, but they will bite if they feel threatened. This can have serious consequences because rabies is transmitted through saliva and there is no vaccine specifically designed for domestic skunks. So if your pet has a skunk biting a person or another animal, authorities can confiscate it to monitor rabies symptoms. Some pet skunks have even been euthanized after biting.

Education about domestic skunks never stops. Responsible skunk owners are always looking for new and better ways to care for their skunks in the best possible way. There is very little research that has been done on pet skunks, so much of the information we have comes from the real-life personal experiences of other pet skunk owners and their veterinarians. For covered litter boxes, it will probably be necessary to cut a larger opening for the skunk. [9] For any litter box, keep in mind that regular cleaning is necessary, as skunks avoid a dirty litter box. U.S. skunk traders who earn more than $500 annually from the skunk trade are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture`s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS), which has established three categories of licensed skunk dealers. [26] A Class A licence permits the breeding of skunks; a Class B licence permits the sale of skunks; and a Class C license allows them to be displayed to the public. Currently, there is no approved rabies vaccine or quarantine period for domestic skunks in the United States. For this reason, if your skunk bites anyone, even you, and this is reported to the authorities, your skunk will be euthanized to test for rabies. Although there is now a saliva test to test for rabies, it is not widely used or perceived as completely reliable, so the most common method of rabies screening is to euthanize the animal and send its brain for testing.

Although there are still misconceptions about how rabies can spread in animals, the truth is that rabies can only be transmitted through a bite from a rabid animal or when the animal eats the flesh of a rabid animal and catches rabies. It is not passed from parents to the child at birth. You have to be very careful who you allow to touch your skunk. Close friends and even family members can and have reported skunk bites, even though they know there is no way the skunk has contracted rabies. Skunks of domestic animals are bred in captivity, so there is no chance that they will be exposed to rabies. Since these animals are used to wandering far in the wild, you may need to “put your home and garden skunk-proof.” Remember, skunks are very curious and mischievous! Be prepared to spend a lot of time each day cleaning up after your pet`s mess and mishaps. If you want to train your skunk at home, do it early. Skunks can climb, especially baby skunks, because they are not as heavy as adult skunks.

Most skunks lose their desire to climb by age 1, but that doesn`t mean they won`t try if there`s something out of reach they really want, especially food. You need to put some things out of reach and maybe even out of sight or smell. Many skunks can climb on couches, chairs, beds, baby gates and are sometimes known to make their way to kitchen tables and even countertops. Right now, it`s illegal to own skunks as pets in most U.S. states, including California. However, pet skunks are legal to possess in nearly 20 other states such as Oregon, New York, New Jersey, and Florida. Let`s take a long breath from the history of the skunk and learn why, despite its ability to produce an absolutely foul smell, it has become a fairly popular exotic animal. We will also talk about how to properly care for them in captivity and, of course, whether it is legal in your area. Also, many states require you to have a special permit or license to own a pet skunk. Other states allow people to keep skunks as pets with very few restrictions, as long as the animals are purchased from reputable and licensed breeders in the state and are not exported or imported.

Skunks from wild-caught animals are also explicitly banned in many areas. In the United States, there is no state-approved rabies vaccine or quarantine period for skunks. In Canada, Imrab 3 was used as a Skunk rabies vaccine in an off-label study and is still not approved for use on skunks. [22] If a skunk nibbles or bites and the owner can provide proof of vaccination, a 2-week quarantine is required, according to Vivianne Chernoff of Skunks as Pets Canada. [ref. skunks can be attacked by roundworms for several weeks before the eggs are released into the feces. It is common for new skunks to have roundworms that may be too early in development to be detected by stool tests. Skunk experts agree that all new skunks should be treated for roundworms and more than one treatment is needed. Diagnostic parasitologist Matt Bolek recommends that “a deworming program should probably begin at 7-8 weeks of age and be dewormed for two weeks for 3-4 treatments.” [18] You should also consider what happens when you move into your home or with a roommate. Can you bring pets to this place, especially a skunk? Will your roommate accept that you have a skunk? Later, there is the consideration of marriage. You really have no way of knowing who you`re going to marry years later.

What happens to your skunk if your partner doesn`t want a skunk or is allergic to skunks? It`s hard to know what the future holds, but for the sake of your skunk, all of these things need to be considered and thought through before adopting or buying a punk. We had more than our fair share of rescues because another significant didn`t want a skunk to have a skunk, or because a person who was once married left the state and couldn`t take their beloved pet with her. It is much more difficult to move around the state or with a skunk than with a dog or cat. The majority of states ban skunks as pets. And most areas where skunks are allowed have provisions, such as the permit requirement or the requirement that the skunk was bred in the state. Make sure you know all your state and local laws before you commit. The biggest difference between a wild skunk and a domesticated skunk is the absence of scent glands in pets. When baby skunks are about three weeks old, they are lowered, removing the gland that produces the pungent odor. This simple procedure is easy to perform, but there is some debate about whether the descent is human, as it renders the skunk defenseless.