How Life's Going...

Well checking in, and I have to appologize for all these short posts. I plan on having a longer one here in a few days, but as you can imagine, it's been hecktic with having a "baby" around again. Pippin is doing great! I am really excited because he's becoming pretty active. When I first brought him home he could only crawl around on his tummy, but now he's getting around up on all fours. He's a little shakey and looses his balance if he gets to moving too fast.

Sometimes I think I should have named him Pork Chop, because boy, can he eat! Pippin would definatly over-eat every feeding, if I let him. He's doing excellent on the kmr. He's really starting to spend more time awake. I keep him in a pet carrier, since he's so little still, and now he usually screams and sticks his paws out of the bars to let me know that he's up and ready to go.

My daughter is loving him as well. Kylee is 2 and a half, so it has been some work teaching her how to be gental with him, and that she can't freak out when she gets scratched. I feel that it's wonderful for children to be exposed to all sorts of animals, from a very young age. It helps them to grow into adults who respect nature, and to be better adjusted human beings. Some people don't agree with this idea, but hey, everyone is different.

My dog has also adjusted nicely to Pippin. Rylie is a border collie mix, who I fostered, and then adopted from Castaway Critters in Harrisburg, PA. She is about 4 years old now, and is a very laid back, calm dog, who show's no signs of prey drive. She sniffs Pippin when he first comes out of his cage, and then she is no longer interested in the least.

Well that's about all I have for today. Check back in the future, and as time goes on, my posts are sure to get way more interesting! God Bless!

Life With a Coon...

Life is now falling into a normal pace again. It took some slight adjustment to get used to, but everything is as good as gold now. My little "Pippin", his formal name, or "Pip" for short, is thriving quite beautifully. I am thankful for my prior experience though, as I may have been in a pickle without it.
Pippin, was mainly being fed by syringe, because he just wasn't taking to the bottle for mike, but since I had more time on my hands, I focused more on bottle training him. He's doing very well with it, but it does take patients. As most young, baby animals, kits tend to need a bit of coaxing when it comes to feeding. They want to push the bottle away, chew on it, paw at it, suckle rapidly, and then finally after what seems and eternity, they latch and nurse.

If you have a new baby coon, don't get frustrated that your kit clamps up, or seems uninterested in feeding. Think about how they are with their mothers. Their mothers come into the dens, and it takes them a little time for them to lay down, get adjusted, and then for the babies to find the nipple. Then the babies have to stimulate the nipples to get the milk flow started, not to mention they have to usually fight other sibblings over nipples. So as you can see, it's a lot of work to eat, so these are natural instincts, born into them. If you're baby seems to almost fight you at feeding time, that's because that's what nature is telling him/ her to do. Just take it as it comes.

Some tips that have worked for me are...

-Be sure to wake up your little one, a little while before feeding time. This way they have time to get moving around, and getting their appetite going, and aren't waking up to a bottle shoved in their face.

-Stimulate them to go to the bathroom before their feeding. Sometimes they still have some fecal matter or urin left over from a prior feeding, and this will make room.

-Rub their back and neck. This stimulates them to nurse as the mother would, by nuzzling them.

-Warm the milk a little, and be sure there are no clumps stuck in the nipple hole. Sometimes it gets clogged and they aren't getting anything from the bottle. Also try rubbing milk around the outside of the nipple so they can get the taste in their mouth.

-Just don't give up. If you know it's definatly feeding time, continue trying.

Other tips for successful feedings...

-No matter how many people claim it has worked for them, NEVER FEED A RACCOON KIT ON IT'S BACK!!!! This can cause aspiration! Baby coons don't feed lying on their backs when with the mother, and even if they do occasionally get flipped when on their mother, the milk isn't flowing out of her the way it does from a bottle.

-Stop feeding your kit imediatly if milk ever comes from it's nose. Be sure to clear all milk as soon as you see it. This is a sign that your baby is aspirating. This can cause strangulation or pnemonia and death.

-If your little coon is very lathargic, weak, you're having trouble getting it to eat, and it seems to be going down hill, try giving him/her about three drops of karo syrup in the corner of it's mouth. Sometimes when kit's are so little, and finicky about eating, their blood sugar can drop.

-Never feed a cold baby coon. If you come across an orphan, or your pet coon's body temp has droped, be sure to warm him/her first. Also try some pediatlite at first. This will give him/her some boost but not fill them up too much, and cause their body to have to overwork.

Hope you find these tips usefull, or at least interesting. Like I said, don't give up, or assume that your little one isn't hungry. These things just happen some times. Keep at it! Also stay tuned for more Pippin pictures. I hope to have some up very shortly!

He's Finally Here

Well, the big news arrived yesterday! I got the call from Mike, at Keystone Exotics, that my little guy was ready when I was. I got off the phone, and thought for a second, and it was decided. I would go to pick him up that evening. By 3pm, my younger brother, Jesse, my daughter Kylee, and I were Sunbury, PA bound. It took 2hrs and 11mins to get there. Mike already had the babies in a carrier, and waiting for me. When he handed me my little ball of fur, my heart imediatly melted. My little kit was well worth the wait, and all the research. I gave Mike the rest of my money, and he handed me the papers. I now leagally own a 5 week old, male raccoon.

I'm still debating on a name for the little fellow. Names are something very important to me, and I can't settle on something too cliche or common. Afterall a name follows you, your whole life.

My little guy has a very healthy appetite. I did end up putting him on KMR, as Mike informed me the babies weren't doing as well as he had hoped on the formula he was using. There are specific measurements of formula to give a kit at certain ages, but after working with baby animals in the past, I pretty much go by feel. I definatly do not reccomend this to people who are new to caring for baby animals. They can over- eat very easily. Right now I am feeding him at 6:45am, 10:45am, 2:45pm, 6:45, and 10:45. Then he eats nothing through the night. He slept wonderful last night. Just heard him russle around a bit. This morning he was raring to have his breakfast. I am still stimulating him to potty a bit, although he goes some of the time on his own. I just want to be sure he's getting everything out.

To stimulate a kit, you must take a warm moist paper towel, and rub the genitals and anus, as the mother would after feedings. When the babies are very young, this is the only way they can go to the bathroom, as they get older though, things start to work on their own. Sounds gross, but hey, it's part of life.

Well, I better get off here now, but I will probly post again tonight, or tomorrow morning. Right now just snuggle time with my little guy. Can't get him off my lap by the way, he's definatly well on his way to being a mama's boy. I hope to get a video up shortly.

Racoons of Many Colors...

When most people think of a raccoon, they usually picture your average grey coon, with a little black mask and ringed tail, but what most don't realize, is that raccoons surprisingly come in many colors! Yep, it's true!

As in all species there are albinos.  Albino raccoons are pretty common, especially in the breeding world. Lots of people seek these as pets, since they are so "unique" looking.

Raccoons also come in red, or cinnomin. This confuses some people, who believe these to be albino, due to the lighter color, but a true albino has no pigment what so ever. If there is any indication of a mask on a raccoon, then it is not truely an albino coon.

Here's the perfect example of a coon that would be mistaken for an albino, but notice the very light mask across his eyes?

Another neat color that some breeders are going for now, is black raccoons. This gives them a very bear like appearance, which is desirable to some folks.

 

Found this wonderful example on www.bluejaybarrens.blogspot.com.

So obviously there isn't a huge selection of colors to choose from, but if you're considering a raccoon as part of the family, you don't have to just go with a run of the mill coon. Plenty of breeders offer a these very different little ones. Personally I chose a "typical" coon, but down the road I just might consider something a little more bizzare. 

A Veterinarian In Pennsylvania

Locating a vet that is willing to see exotics pets can be very difficult. Not many vets are willing to treat pet raccoons for many reasons. I called lots of places, that told me they would only see a raccoon in an emergency situation, but that they did not see them for common check-ups, or spaying and nuetering. So since I finally tracked down a vet willing to see raccoons, I thought that I would share it with you.

Ani-Care Animal Hospital

2740 S Queen Street

Dallastown, PA 17313-9541

Phone: (866)930-1959

Fax: (717)747-1462

Email: anicareanimalhospital@yahoo.com

I was told by them that they are willing to provide care, as long as I can provide proof that I can legally own my raccoon. So I would just need to provide my permit. They also said that neutering will cost the same as it would for a small dog. Hope you can find this info helpful!

Date Quickly Approching!

As of friday, I spoke to Keystone Exotics again. Mike told me he thought it would be better if he kept the little ones one more week, to be sure that they are thriving, before I come and pick mine up. Although I am very eager to choose my little guy, I am thankful that Mike wants to give me a healthy kit, and that this will give the little ones just a tad bit longer to develop some more personality. This is also giving me extra time to mentally prepair for my coonie. I picked up my litter pan and litter from walmart. Nothing snazzy, just a plain litter tray, that only cost a dollar, and same with the litter. I also got some baby food, high quality kitten food, and a cute little collar. (Oh yeah, seriously, he needs some accessories!) He will be such a cool kit, in his little camo collar.

I also picked up some KMR, although, when I spoke to Mike, he said he will be showing me some formula he has found to work better for his babies. So once I find out more on this, I will share the info with you as well.

Last line of thought, is choosing my kit. Not sure how many males there is to choose from in this litter, but hoping I have at least a few options. I plan to look for the more laid back, and hopefully larger of the kits. Everything I have read, implies that if the baby is hyper and overly playfull, it usually grows into a high energy, mischeivious adult. I hope in taking the more quiet male, that I have a more laid back, calm adult. I suppose we shall see.

Well, check back next sunday. As of now, that will be my pickup date. I will be checking in with Keystone Exotics midweek to confirm. Untill next time, God bless.

Getting Ready for Baby

So, today I realized that it's time to sit down and make up a list of all the things I need to get before picking up my little fur ball. I'm so excited I could burst. It's all I want to talk  about, and I think that's making everyone around me eager for me to have him, so I'll finally shut up about it. Hahaha. Any how here is the list I've prepaired. These are only supplies for the next few weeks, keep in mind. This list isn't including stuff for when he's older.

Baby Coon List:

-KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer)
-Baby bottles (Regular children's size)
-Recieving blankets (Used from thrift stores are great)
-Kitty litter and litter box
-Medium pet crate (Only to be used when baby is small and less active)
-Some small toys
-Microwavable heating pads (For bed time
-Jars of baby food, and baby cereal (For weaning, which is just a few short weeks away)

So check back Friday evening, because that's when I will be calling Keyston Exotics for a pick up date confirmation. I will be sure to check in after the call!