Do skunks make good pets?

Do skunks make good pets? This question is often asked by people who have a liking towards these creatures and want to keep skunks as pets at home despite of the fact that skunks are infamous for releasing bad odor. Honestly speaking it is more dependent upon the temperament of the animal and skunks are generally regarded as sensitive, but intelligent animals and it will not be wrong to mention one point here that with every individual skunk the temperament will vary. There is a high level of curiosity present inside skunks and if you will leave the cupboards unlock skunks will definitely make efforts for opening them. The can also follow smell and out of curiosity they don’t even hesitate in digging and this is a problem which irritates most of the owners.



Handling baby skunk properly is something, which provides good results because they grow up to become submissive. If you will shower love and affection on the animal then it will defiantly respond in a positive fashion. It is all about providing the baby skunk feeling that it’s a part of your family and it will start trusting on you and will depend on you to a greater extent.

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When you are playing with baby skunks it is better to be gentle than rough otherwise they can turn aggressive with passing age also the cooperation level will be decreased. You can use bare hands for cuddling the animal however, when you are playing with the animal it is better to use stuffed toys or hand puppets because teeth of skunks are sharp with longer fangs and they have the potential of inflicting serious kind of damage. In all cases hitting a skunk is not recommended because in the long run it always produces serious kinds of drawbacks. Skunks will turn vengeful or shy, but you can teach them discipline by using the volume and tone of your voice.

Diet is another important factor which you need to consider and skunks normally require a good variety of foods. Be careful as overfeeding can lead to weight gain and obesity is a major issue present in skunk population. It is best that you should consult an expert for deciding that what kind of diet should be given to your pet because issues related with feeding are a bit controversial. In short, skunks can become good pets, but you will have to put in a lot of efforts.

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