Skunks.

[RiverGod]

After being cleared as a suitable owner by the breeder I’m bringing home my first skunk this week. I’m very excited and my vets are all ready to meet him for his vaccinations.

Has anyone else got or had skunks?

The juxtaposition of those scary claws with the cute face is jarring, I must say!

Very cute.

A colleague has pet skunks and they all live very happily (and not too smelly) together.

His nose! So adorable!

His nose is huge he's adorable

The nose is definitely on the large side I’ll admit. He spent about 3 hours snuggled on me earlier. He’s now in his enclosure stomping loudly so think we need to work on not having a nap in the day! He’s still quite wary of coming close and after the spray yesterday it took a lot of courage to bravely pick him up earlier! I stocked up on more hydrogen peroxide and bicarb of soda earlier just in case. Another picture attached just because!

I can certainly see how he would be stomping loudly with feet like that! He is ridiculously cute.

Well we made it through his vaccinations and he never moved a muscle! No sprays and just lots of cuddles. He had great fun eating his mushroom like a squirrel today.

I am going to enjoy viewing this handsome creature from afar!

Did you mention Milo to your neighbours?

I have not……but then we don’t talk anyway.

He did however cause a sensation as I carried him down the high street

Awwww good boy

Very apt. When I took the dog out last night the entire neighbourhood reeked of eau de skunk.

Mind you do live right next to a forest. We get coyotes, raccoons, skunks and heaven know what else.

I am glad you are enjoying your new pet.

He is a delight, very very cuddly, he spends most of the day with his head snuggled into my neck. I could not be more in love with him. He does tiny little farts and gets a grumbly tummy when it’s snack time.

Just a wee update now I’ve had him a week. He’s got more of a personality now and is starting to display more skunky behaviours. I’ve given him a dig box and bought some puzzle feeders for him so he can work for his food and to keep him entertained. We’ve started clicker training and he’s doing well learning ‘spin’ and ‘up’. I’m hoping to teach ‘paw’ and ‘touch’ next.

I’m going to really start harness training him from today and try and make the harness a fun place so he’s ready for walks when he’s had his last jabs. I’ve also spoken to an enclosed local dog exercise barn that you can hire and they’re happy for me to take him so we can even try some recall and agility.

Pic of him enjoying his boiled quail egg.

Oh I’m so glad he’s doing well

He really is, I’m thrilled to pieces with him!

Aww he is so cute!

I don't know much about skunks, can you home them in pairs? Just wondered if they get lonely, like rabbits or guinea pigs xx

So cute! What made you want a pet skunk OP?

They can live together in certain circumstances but I’ll keep mine singly as they are naturally solitary, so they’re not fussed by company though I spend a lot of time with him myself.

I’ve always had an interest in the unusual and have had most pets at one point or another. I started researching skunks a while back and found there isn’t a lot of standard information for caring for them, the US and UK are quite different in terms of how they are kept so that’s been a challenge to find genuinely helpful information and I’d like to try and add to that as I gain insight and experience.

I’m also really looking forward to working with him to see how much is possible for him to learn in an enrichment rich environment, similar to that recommended for dogs with lots of reward based training.

Have you thought of starting up a YouTube or Instagram channel with videos of him? I bet that would get a lot of interest.

I’am definitely considering it! I’m going to see how he’s doing in a month after jabs and neutering and then I can get a better idea of where he is and look at how to best work with him as he gains confidence in being out in the world.

If anyone is interested, I have started an Instagram page for Milo.

What's your Instagram name please

I’d love to know your Instagram I’ve been reading all about skunks and would love to know more about how it all works in the uk as everything online is very US centred.

I know it’s been a few months now but I had to ask

How’s he doing @RiverGod?

I'm now invested in Milo!