Has anyone had a racoon as a pet?

Is it really true that they can turn destructive in the house?Has anyone had a racoon as a pet?
Yes, over the years my family and I have probably rehabilitated a dozen or more young raccoons.





Males tend to become very territorial and aggressive as they get older, and neither sex make a good inside pet, as they are not domesticated. They have no reason to use a litter box or defecate outside, and providing health care is difficult and costly. They are also susceptible to many illnesses, like rabies, that they cannot be vaccinated for. If you have dogs, cats or other household pets, it's really not worth the risk to the rest of your household.


If you are interested in keeping one, or helping rehabilitated ones that are found too young to care for themselves and the released back into the wild, contact your Dept of Natural Resources. They will be able to put you in contact with someone that has the answers!Has anyone had a racoon as a pet?
Yes, raccoons are wild animals. Just because you get them as newborns they are still wild and have the wild instinct.I work for a vet who helps some of the wildlife rehabilitators in the area who have raccoons and most don't try to make pets out of them. they rehab them and set them free
I had a Coatimundi and yes they can be but they are fun too!
No but they look like my cat. So maybe yes!
When I was a kid, my dad caught a baby raccoon for me right out of his nest (I would never do that today). He wasn't a small baby or anything...he was probably about ready to leave anyway. We kept him outside and fed him from afar because he was extremely hostile and wild. We kept him for a couple weeks and let him go. After that, he would come back to the house and get within about 20 feet of us. We would put out food for him and he would eat it but he never became what I would call tame. I have heard that even if you could tame one, once they reach sexual maturity they get a little unruly. Keeping a wild animal is really not a good idea.
Um no, just as a hat :-)
Very much true. I got a female that was 6 weeks old. She was adorable. Then she started climbing on the curtains, tearing the furniture and even ate my retainer. When she turned about a year, she started biting and didn't like being held. She no longer slept with me because I never knew when she was going to bite. We ended up having to cage her until we could figure out what else to do. We eventually turned her over to the wildlife people to train her to become wild. Even though we had a lot of fun with her the 1st year, I would never get another pet that was meant to be wild. Now that I'm grown it just seems like it was cruel. We bought her at a petstore and didn't give it a second thought. I think they are illegal to sell or purchase in our area now. At least I hope it is. Rosie was much happier when we set her free, I'm sure of it.
Yes I have had many. My kids and I now rehab young ones and return them to the wild as you can NEVER tame these animals. Once they hit ';teenage'; status they get aggressive and big quick. The babies are great very lovable. When they get big though watch out they can get in anywhere and destroy EVERYTHING. Anything shiny or valuable(they know) you might as well kiss goodbye unless you can find the hiding spot but then be prepared for a fight to get it back. As with all wild animals if you haven't had ant training or experience leave it alone more often than not we do more harm than good. Good luck!!!!
Yes. Yes again. It is all depending on how old they are when you get them.... We had MANY when I was growing up.
When I was a kid we had one in a cage on our farm. Meanest animal I have ever met.
yeah we had a baby. he got out of his cage and managed to get out of the house. We never found him even after we moved. They are wild animals and they want to be outside.