The North American Raccoon is a fascinating creature that is becoming more popular as an exotic pet.

In the wild, the raccoon is a nocturnal animal that hunts at night for poultry, mice, birds' eggs, various insects, fish, and frogs. They will vary their diet with nuts and wild fruit. They live in trees often near ponds. They will sleep in a den, usually in a hollow tree, during the winter though raccoons are not true hibernators. They will sleep for long periods of time coming out to eat during brief spells of warm weather. The raccoon family will live and hunt together for about one year. Raccoons are skillful swimmers and are quite good at catching fish, crawdads and frogs.

In captivity many things need to be considered before making the decision to keep a raccoon as a pet. While baby raccoons are sweet and endearing, adult raccoons can bite and become destructive and vicious. Rarely does a raccoon make a good pet. In some instances raccoons have made successful pets but this is often not the case. Once a raccoon becomes an adult and unmanageable people want to let them loose. A raccoon raised in a home, as a pet has no survival skills to be released into the wild. If released he will starve and die. The raccoon will be unafraid of humans and be shot. When raccoons become adults they live solitarily. An adult raccoon will not do well with another raccoon in the house. A raccoon should not be raised in a cage. If he must be caged for short periods of time the cage should be large. If a raccoon is kept as a pet he must have the run of the house. He should have a room of his own. In his own room he can have his own bed. Raccoons are very destructive and have a tendency to dig large holes in a bed to nest. He should have his own stuff then he will be less inclined to destroy your stuff. Your raccoon can retreat into his own room and should feel safe. Provide him with pillows, blankets and sheets. Give him plenty of safe toys. They love balls, stuffed animals and many of the infant and toddler toys on the market. Raccoons are destructive but if they learn from early time on they will learn to leave your stuff alone. Your home must be raccoon proof. All cupboards should have locks. Raccoons are very proficient climbers. All knickknacks should be locked up. There is no such thing as being out of reach of a raccoon. Training a raccoon takes considerable patience. A raccoon can never be hit. He will consider it an attack and well attack back viciously. A raccoon can be taught the word no. He might even listen and mind the word no occasionally. If he chews on something of yours, substitute it for one of his toys. If he uses you as a chew toy stick a soft toy in his mouth and tell him no. It will take time but he can learn the word no. Raccoons can be litter boxed trained. Though once they are trained they will still express anger or displeasure by eliminating on something of yours. Raccoons will also leave marks during mating season. After mating season they well return to using the litter box. A raccoon can get angry and throw a fit. Immediately show his your displeased and give him a time out in his bedroom. Don't let your raccoon climb you like a tree. While this is cute while their young a 50-pound raccoon climbing your body isn't comfortable.

A raccoon should be bathed once or twice a year. Don't bath him any more often than that because of loss of body oils. Through out the year with out shampoo, fill up the bathtub with plain water and let the raccoon play in the water with his toys. A raccoon can be gently brushed with a brush or wire comb. Once a year a raccoon's fur will crack. This cracking occurs in early spring. The dead winter fur will come out in clumps. The fur becomes a tangled mess. Comb this matted fur out very gently. Raccoons are omnivores. Feed them fresh fruits, vegetables, chicken, turkey and fish. Red meat is not good for raccoons. A high protein, low ash, poultry based dog food can be fed. A raccoon needs lots of exercise and space to run around. If the raccoon does not get plenty of exercise he will have serious health problems. Raccoons are notoriously messy diners. They mix their food with their water and end up with a big soupy mess every time. Purchase a raccoon with shiny fur and bright eyes. Usually the quieter babies make the gentler pets.

The size of the raccoon is length from 0.62 to 1 m, including its tail, which is 20 to 40 cm long. Raccoons are brownish-gray on top and a lighter gray fur on the bottom. They have a black facial mask that gives them the appearance of a bandit. The tail has six black rings that completely encircle the tail. The soles of their feet are naked.

The Raccoon is a carnivorous and omnivorous mammal that lives throughout the United States, Southern Canada, and Central and South America. They are of the genus Procyon of the family Procyonidae. The North American Raccoon is classified as Procyon lotor

Owning a raccoon is a way of life. They require a great deal of time and attention. You will have to continually provide him with entertainment. They can be vicious and they do bite. Raccoons are destructive and messy. Serious thought needs to be given before purchasing a raccoon.

A raccoon can and will bite. Make sure you have a liability insurance policy to protect you when he does bite and scratch someone.

Roundworm is a serious problem for raccoons. This parasite is called the Baylisascaris Procyonis or the raccoon round worm. It can be transferred to humans and other pets. This roundworm can cause blindness, central nervous system damage and death! A wormer is available but must be administered regularly. Discuss this with a vet that is familiar with raccoons.

A raccoon needs to be vaccinated for distemper. Distemper can be airborne, so even if your raccoon is always in the house he needs to be vaccinated. Distemper is a very disabling disease and is almost always fatal and never reversible.

Rabies can be a danger. Though rabies is not as widespread as the media lets on it can be a danger. Even if you know your raccoon doesn't have rabies or has been vaccinated against rabies if he bites someone and it is reported he will have to be tested for rabies. There is only one procedure recognized to test for rabies is that the raccoon is killed and the head sent to a lab for testing. No wild animal is exempt. He will die.

In many states it is illegal to own a raccoon. In many other states it is legal as long as you obtain a permit before purchasing a raccoon. Check the local and states laws thoroughly before purchasing a raccoon and obtain the permits you will need. If you have a raccoon in an illegal state or with out a proper permit the raccoon can be seized and destroyed.

Raccoons raised domestically are very susceptible to obesity. One of the most common causes of death in a raccoon is heart failure due to obesity. Obesity can cause other health problems such as fatty liver disease and hip displaysia.

It has been reported that some captive raccoons enjoy chewing and eating the stuffing inside of stuffed toys. It is generally recommended that raccoons be monitored when playing with toys to make sure they do not ingest parts and pieces. Ingestion of foreign materials can cause intestinal problems. If this occurs you should consult your veterinarian.

Lastly, raccoons tend to bond with one person, and this bond should be re-enforced daily. It is also important that the owners assert their dominant position over the raccoon, so that the pecking order is known to the raccoon. Some owners report that when one has a raccoon it is difficult to go on vacation because adults do not usually care to have strangers take care of them.

Raccoons have their young in the spring and usually have four to six young in a litter. The gestation takes 54 to 65 days.