skunks?

[luke123]

ive just been doing some research, and have figured they are very inteligent creatures. ide like one. so please could anyone point me in the right direction for a caresheet please how much would i expect to pay for one? i like the choc ones best, but colour isnt important. also, how much would it be to get them descented and neutered? and would it be ok in a cage when nobody is in, and free to roam when everyones in?

thanks all.

[Lucy_]

Hi,

First off it is illigal now to descent... you can have them neutered though, and the price varies on the vet you go to.

Also price varies depending on seller etc, as a rough guide we do classics at £350, Chocs at £450, and Albinos at £550, but this year i have seen skunks up for sale for as much as £1000.

You really really need to do alot of research and thinking before you get a skunk, like you said they are very intelligant animals and need alot of attention. If you dont have much patients, not prepared for your house, carpets, possibly furniture to be trashed, and if your not ready to have everything out of reach and put away then you are in no way ready for a skunk. they will demolish pretty much anything and everthing, if you leave a drink on the floor they will knock it over, if you put a plate down they will be straight on it.

With skunks requiring a fresh diet aswel, this can be costly... especially as babies because really they need feeding little and often... even now, bam is 20weeks and i give her about 5 meals a day with morning and evening being larger and just small handfuls through the day. You have to be ready for you life to be turned around as it is not like just getting a dog or a cat...

these are two sites that give you idease of care and feeding, for the feeding side i would mainly pay attention to the bottom link, as the american diets are very different and not very good for the skunks.

Welcome to Skunk Haven&#8482
The specialist keepers association - TSKA Exotics

I would also reccomend you to read through all the skunk threads on here to help you get some sort of idea as to what they are like, because there are good threads, bad threads etc. Maily the good threads outweigh the bad but it will still help you to roughly get an idea...

Hope this helps

Luce

[luke123]

thanks for the link. i think i should be ok on the furniture part, i have a jack russel thats ripped everything to shreds lol! on the diet side i should be fine, we have most of that in our house daily anyway due to us and my beardies eating it. thanks for the help! my last question though in the thread about the cage? does it sound ok? its for like 5 and a half, 6 hours a day (due to school) would be out all day at weekends etc, and it would get lots of attention, as do all my animals i never knew there were albino ones!:O bet they are gorgous! do you have any pics of where you keep yours? or does anyone as a matter of fact!

[luke123]

also, im allergic to egg, cant eat or cook or go near it, so obv wouldnt be able to feed it to one, so would this make a problem? or would cottage cheese and yogurt be enough?

[Lucy_]

Caging - yes it would be ok as long as it is a big enough enclosure, and aslong as you will be spending alot of time with it when you are home and let it free roam... i take mine pretty much everywhere with me because i dont like to leave her alone, and when we are at home i dont put her in an enclosure she free roams - unless i am popping to the shop or going in the shower.

importantly how old are you?
who do you live with?

you do need to give it egg even if its only every two weeks, if you are allergic then i would suggest that you get someone else to cook it and feed it for you.

[luke123]

im 12 live with mum and dad ill get my mum to give it to the skunk then

[Lucy_]

OK...
im not being funny with you in anyway but unless your parents are willing to take the responsibility of the skunk, then dont get one. I would wait untill you are older. They are a huge responsibility and commitment, and at 12years old i dont personally think you are old enough to take on that commitment...
Aswel skunks bite. and they bite hard! when they are young they go through stages of biting and it is unbeleivable painful! when they are fully grown they will happily bite through your finger, my OH has had it happen to him twice by an adult and he said the pain is worse than slamming a car door shut onto your hand.

I would reccomend that you have a proper chat with your parents about it before you even consider getting one... it is not like having any other kind of pet like a dog/rabbit etc...

[Emmaj]

Thats fantastic advice lucy i dont really think i can add anymore to that other than .................dont forget a skunk can live longer than that of a dog or cat when kept in captivity and fed the correct diet and such


Not to mention your gonna be paying double mabe treble out compared to what you would to feed your beardies veg

my 2 cost me £25-30 a week to feed so they aint cheap to feed

i can vouch for the skunk bites i have been bitten by 4 skunks now 3 babies and 1 adult and they hurt like hell

my vet was bitten by the adult skunk too and she went right down to the bone


I do agree with lucy i think at 12 years old a skunk is a very big responsibilty to take on

owning skunks is like permenantly having toddlers in the house

[Emmaj]

Also another couple of questions to ask you............


what sort of area do you live in ?

Do you get on with your neighbours and are they understanding?

Is your mum house proud an bothered about smells ??


there is a reason for these questions and that i will tell when you answer them

[luke123]

guess the sensible thing to do is not get one...i live in a small village with lots of fields around. dont have neighbors. not really, we dont have many visitors really