So, my dad's hillbilly cousins adopted a few baby raccoons over the years when he was a kid. The universal experience was that when the raccoon was a juvenile, it was cute and cuddly though very energetic. My grandma liked to tell the story about one baby raccoon running circles around her and grandpa's bed--not by running on the floor, but by running across the mattress, then clinging with its claws to the bedframe under the mattress, then over the bed again, then upside down under it again, over and over and over. So they were fun, but chaotic. But when they grew up they got MEAN. They weren't safe to be around, so they always ended up releasing them. I suppose you could try doing a long term breeding program like that guy did with foxes, but I'm here to tell you that just trying to get a baby raccoon and raising it by hand is not going to get you a loyal pet. Those little fuckers are wild animals, no matter how cute they are.
I'd still be scared of the worms, honestly. I know other domesticated animals carry parasites, but that one is particularly scary to me. (Also maybe I've chased the little shits out of too many campsites. If I tried to snuggle one--even a domesticated one!--I think I'd be scared the whole time that they'd eat my face.)
Baylisascaris procyonis is really widespread in wild raccoon populations. It's not dangerous in most situations where you're not around their feces, but if you're unlucky enough to have a raccoon get into your attic through the soffit, for example, you've got a major problem on your hands. The worms aren't easy to treat, and they can cause serious neurological and vision problems. Anyway, I'm torn on racoons, because they're mostly cute, but they're also diseased and mean! I'd need a lot of reassurance before I'd get one as a pet.
So, my dad's hillbilly cousins adopted a few baby raccoons over the years when he was a kid. The universal experience was that when the raccoon was a juvenile, it was cute and cuddly though very energetic. My grandma liked to tell the story about one baby raccoon running circles around her and grandpa's bed--not by running on the floor, but by running across the mattress, then clinging with its claws to the bedframe under the mattress, then over the bed again, then upside down under it again, over and over and over. So they were fun, but chaotic. But when they grew up they got MEAN. They weren't safe to be around, so they always ended up releasing them. I suppose you could try doing a long term breeding program like that guy did with foxes, but I'm here to tell you that just trying to get a baby raccoon and raising it by hand is not going to get you a loyal pet. Those little fuckers are wild animals, no matter how cute they are.
Also: Baylisascaris procyonis
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I'd still be scared of the worms, honestly. I know other domesticated animals carry parasites, but that one is particularly scary to me. (Also maybe I've chased the little shits out of too many campsites. If I tried to snuggle one--even a domesticated one!--I think I'd be scared the whole time that they'd eat my face.)
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Baylisascaris procyonis is really widespread in wild raccoon populations. It's not dangerous in most situations where you're not around their feces, but if you're unlucky enough to have a raccoon get into your attic through the soffit, for example, you've got a major problem on your hands. The worms aren't easy to treat, and they can cause serious neurological and vision problems. Anyway, I'm torn on racoons, because they're mostly cute, but they're also diseased and mean! I'd need a lot of reassurance before I'd get one as a pet.