A basic morning meal for your adult skunk can consist of:
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup thawed frozen vegetables (no asparagus!)
- 1 tablespoon cooked chicken or turkey
- 2 teaspoons of cooked rice, oats, or cereal
What do you feed a skunk?
If you think about feeding a skunk, their primary diet should consist of mixes of fruits, nuts, vegetables, protein, and carbohydrates. Skunks generally do well if they eat proteins like chicken or fish and a constant mix of cooked grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Do skunks eat garbage?
Most skunks, especially when food is not available, will also look to invade homes and feed on decaying plants and other food sources around properties, which is mainly when skunks become an annoyance for humans. So, similar to a fox’s diet, skunks will eat garbage!
Do skunks eat beehives?
While these may sound common prey for pretty much most of the animals, what’s interesting about a skunk’s diet is that skunks are one of the major predators of the honeybee. Of course, protecting themselves from bee stings is possible with the thick tuft of fur on their bodies. How skunks attack the beehives is also quite interesting.
How often should you feed a baby skunk?
For baby skunks (kits), four months or less should be fed four times a day like puppies. The nutrients should be well balanced in each meal. Generally, the diet should include a healthy percentage of protein, as previously discussed. Salmons, red meat, raw chicken, cheese, and dairy products are good protein sources.
What do skunks like to eat the most?
Diet. Skunks prefer meat, but will also eat plants and vegetation. Insects, small animals, birds, eggs, poultry, worms, berries, grubs, and grasshoppers are also common food sources. Skunks are attracted to honey and also foods with a strong odor.
What should you not feed a skunk?
What NOT to feed a SkunkNO leaf or iceberg lettuce.NO cat food (dry or canned) Cat food is high in fat and protein and should only be used as a last resort if a skunk won't eat anything else.NO sweets.NO chocolate.NO fatty foods.NO fried foods.NO lunch meat (salami, bologna, etc.)NO hot-dogs.More items...
Is it illegal to feed wild skunks?
Feeding Wildlife Is Generally Illegal In general, feeding any wildlife is illegal under animal harassment laws. “Harassment" is legally considered any action that interrupts an animal's “normal behavior patterns," so this includes trapping, petting, or feeding most animals.
What veggies do skunks eat?
These veggies may include bell peppers, red cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and cauliflower. It can be served fresh or frozen or fresh. Skunks also eat cooked foods though they should only be fed such food once a month. Such food could be potatoes, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.
Do skunks eat bananas?
When choosing fruit, choose mostly low-sugar options like berries and melons. However, high-sugar fruits like bananas, apples, or pears won't hurt if given in small amounts. Finally, leafy greens should make up a large portion of your skunk's vegetable intake (just skip the lettuce).
Do wild skunks eat apples?
Fruits and vegetables Skunks also eat certain fruit and vegetables. They are especially fond of fruits like berries, grapes, apples, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, frozen fruits, and many others they might find on fruit farms.
Will skunks eat cat food?
4. Remove pet food. Skunks are scavengers, and they will gladly eat pet food. If you must feed your cat outside, either place the food on a table or other elevated surface — skunks can't climb and jump like cats can — or bring it indoors as soon as kitty has finished eating.
What happens when you feed a skunk?
So long as you feed your skunk a healthy diet and keep them active, they can live up to 10 years. However, like humans, they are susceptible to becoming obese along with all of the complications associated with having too much body fat. That's why it's important to know what you should and shouldn't give your skunk.
Do raccoons eat skunks?
4:2810:02RACCOON VS SKUNK - What if these two animals fight? - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipWhen food is scarce raccoons aren't above scavenging human trash or eating roadkill skunks areMoreWhen food is scarce raccoons aren't above scavenging human trash or eating roadkill skunks are omnivores.
Are carrots good for skunks?
Skunks generally do well when they're fed lean proteins such as fish or chicken, cooked grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Leafy greens in particular make good veggies for skunks. Good vegetables and fruits to feed skunks include: Carrots.
Do skunks eat bird seed?
Skunks also enjoy eating bird seed, which can sometimes be a nuisance when it comes to bird feeders. If you have an issue with skunks living in your garden, removing any bird feeders -- particularly during the night hours -- may help you solve the dilemma.
What fruit can skunks eat?
Skunks that live in the wild will eat a variety of berries and your pet skunk can also enjoy this type of fruit. Items such as black berries, strawberries. blueberries and raspberries can all be purchased at your local grocery story or at fruit stands. Always use fresh or frozen fruit and nothing processed.
Can skunks eat human food?
Skunks generally do well when they're fed lean proteins such as fish or chicken, cooked grains and fresh fruits and vegetables. Leafy greens in particular make good veggies for skunks. Good vegetables and fruits to feed skunks include: Carrots.
Is chocolate poisonous to skunks?
Please do NOT use chocolate as a skunk repellent. The theobromine found in chocolate is poisonous to skunks, as well as many other animals.
Are grapes toxic to skunks?
Grapes are an excellent choice of fruit for your pet skunk as they are small and easy for the animal to manage. Green, black and red grapes as well as seedless are all good choices.
Can skunks eat raw meat?
Skunks should be offered a variety of proteins; meats and dairy should total about 60 to 70 percent of the diet. Chicken and quail eggs can be offered raw, boiled or scrambled -- with or without the shell. Offer raw chicken or marrow bone once a week.
What Do Skunks Eat?
Skunks are omnivores. While they do have a liking for meat, they do not mind settling for plant-based food to sustain themselves.
Why are skunks useful?
Skunks are highly useful in getting rid of unwanted and harmful pests from your backyard and other places. When a skunk finds a cockroach-infested place, they can easily clear it up.
How long do skunks stay underground?
They tend to remain underground inside their dens, and their activity levels decrease drastically. The duration of this dormancy can range from four to five months. As there isn’t much thriving wildlife outside, they have to rely on plants or search for food in unattended trash cans.
Why aren't humans fond of skunks?
This behavior of theirs is another reason humans aren’t too fond of skunks, as these animals are a little too comfortable being around pungent odors and unclean areas.
Do skunks sneak into homes?
They’re quite the home invaders when looking for a meal. In urban environments, skunks have no choice but to sneak into yards and homes in order to access food.
Do skunks eat rabbits?
While skunks don’t usually go for adult rabbits, they have no qualms about finding rabbit nests and eating the babies to sustain themselves.
Do skunks have venom?
Did you know that skunks are immune to snake venom? They are completely unaffected even by venom 100% times the amount necessary to kill a household pet.
What do Baby Skunks Eat?
Baby skunks are called kits and mammals rely on their mother’s milk for survival. Skunk kits are usually weaned when they are about 8 inches long or four months old. Orphaned kits can also be reared by offering them specialized formula milk that contains 3.3% fat.
What do Skunks Eat in the Wild?
This usually includes natural vegetation, wild berries, insects, plant roots, carcasses, water, and other small animals such as rodents and lizards that they manage to catch.
What do Skunks Eat in Captivity?
In zoos and animal parks, skunks are often fed on a variety of foods such as insects, snakes, fruits, vegetables, lean meats like chicken or fish, cooked grains, and many others. The diets of these skunks are carefully monitored to ensure that they receive all the nutrients they need to stay healthy.
How much do Skunks Eat?
Kit skunks need to eat four times per day. As small kits, they only need about 3 tablespoons of food per meal. As they grow older, their food intake gradually increases.
What do skunks dig up?
Skunks will dig around in trash cans in search of human foods such and leftovers. Foods like bread, cake, cookies, fries, chips, and many others are not ideal for their bodies since these contain various salts, sugars, and spices.
How many skunks are there in the world?
There are twelve species of skunk but only four of these species are likely to ever come near your home. When they do come to your property, it is usually in search of something to eat and not to harm anyone in your family.
How long do skunks need to hold out for food?
In the wild, skunks might need to hold out for several days before they can find enough food. In captivity, skunks are usually fed 2 times per day and their portions are monitored since they have no fasting period in between to digest everything they ate.
What do skunks eat?
It would be like raising a child on a diet of only hamburgers, fried chicken, and water. They wouldn't be too healthy for too long. Skunks need a mix of fruits, vegetable matter, carbohydrates, and protein like we do. And don't be taken in by those begging faces; skunks will eat even when they are full.
How much food should a skunk eat?
They only need about 3 tablespoons worth of food per meal.
What would you write about if you were a skunk?
If I was a skunk, I'd write about all of the foods I'd want to eat, but not much about the foods I'd need to eat. Pet skunks have the same problem of overeating, just as we do. Fortunately for the pet skunk, the owner is in control of the dietary choices; an overweight skunk risks dying an early death just like an overweight person.
How to keep a skunk as a pet?
First, make sure you get a skunk from a skunk breeder—do not just pull one out of the wilderness. Second, make sure you get them spayed and neutered and descented, as this will make it much easier for you to keep one as a pet. This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge.
How long do skunks live?
So long as you feed your skunk a healthy diet and keep them active, they can live up to ten years. However, like humans, they are susceptible to becoming obese along with all of the complications associated with having too much body fat. That's why it's important to know what you should and shouldn't feed your skunk.
What to feed a sailor?
And their evening meal can be: 1 ½ to ¾ cup fresh or cooked veggies 2 2 tablespoons of cooked chicken or turkey 3 1 to 2 teaspoons of nuts, cooked grains, or bread 4 1 teaspoon of yogurt
Can skunks eat anything?
Pet skunks will eat just about anything. Since they are still relatively new in the pet world, how to best feed a skunk is still the subject of some debate and probably will be as long as people care about keeping skunks happy and healthy.
Skunks Habitat
Skunks will quickly adapt to different habitats that provide them food and shelter. However, these animals will mostly prefer to live close to a water source.
What Do Skunks Usually Eat?
Skunks are omnivorous animals, so they can adapt their diet based on the food they find according to each season. While during summer, skunks will go for some easy food that consists of small prey and insects, during the colder months, they might have issues accessing these natural sources.
What Do Skunks Eat-In Urban Areas?
Very often, skunks leave behind their wild areas and get closer to the urban settlements. This mostly happens when they find themselves in extreme cases. Unfortunately, these animals can invade homes and feed with any food they see in the garbage or human gardens.
How To Feed Pet Skunks
Although their odors are not that pleasing, some people love the idea of keeping a skunk as their favorite pet.
Last Thoughts
Skunks do not have a peculiar diet, but they need to seek the ideal nutrients to survive, especially during the winter months. Since the skunks do not hibernate, they will always look for food from different sources.
What are the pests that skunks eat?
Many yard pests like snakes, roaches, spiders and scorpions are on the menu for a skunk, as are smaller rodents, especially mice. Based on previous research, the diet of a skunk can be made of up as much as 70% of harmful insects. Some of the common pests that skunks will ingest include: Snakes. Black widow spiders. Roaches.
Why do skunks rummage through trash?
Here, skunks can find a steady source of rodents and rotting food and they are known to rummage through dumpsters and trash cans to seek out a meal. This is one of the reasons many humans have a negative outlook on the animal.
Why are skunks bad for humans?
If they cannot find prey, they will result to foraging and will eat non-animal materials to sustain. Many humans consider a skunk to be a nuisance and are fearful of their potent and long lasting odor. However, these mammals are actually quit e beneficial to humans as they prey on creatures that are harmful.
Do skunks hibernate?
Since a skunk does not hibernate, they are always out looking for a food source and will rely on whatever they can find. They often eat the very first thing they come across and then move on to find additional sources of nourishment. Skunks will not prey on any animal that is larger in size, so they are not feared by many.
Do skunks have self defense?
Skunks do have an effective spray that is used for self defense, but they are not known for having the ability to combat other animals and kill. This means that skunks have to keep things quite simple when they are seeking food and they must look for small animals that will not pose any challenge. If they cannot find prey, they will result ...
Do skunks eat plants?
Skunks will often prefer an animal to eat over plants, but depending on the time of year, they may have to rely on foraging to find food. Winter and fall seasons restrict the availability of food sources and during these cold months, a skunk will rely on any small prey they can get. They will eat food that is not fresh and prefer foods ...
What is the best food for skunks?
An easy food source for skunks in your yard is food left out for other animals. This included bird seed and pet food in outdoor bowls.
What are some animals that skunks eat?
Amphibians and reptiles are small and provide a lot of protein for skunks. The soft flesh and hollow bones make these animals easy for skunks to feast on.
Why do skunks eat plants?
It’s thought that skunks eat a lot of vegetation as an easy way to get to the insects that are covering the plants or leaves.
Why do skunks scratch bees?
The skunk will scratch the surface of the hive to entice the bees to investigate. Once they leave the hive the skunk eats them. They will mostly chew them to extract the bodily fluids and then spit out the solid parts. A skunk will eat a whole hive of bees if they get the chance to.
Why do skunks eat smaller rodents?
Smaller rodents are easier for skunks to catch and eat. They may eat larger rodents if they are injured or diseased and unable to flee.
What do skunks eat in the winter?
When food sources are scarcer in the winter month skunks will fill up by eating fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Skunks aren’t really fussy about what type of fruit and veg they eat, yet leafy greens are often a favorite. Fruit and veg keep skunks healthy by providing them with nutrients and vitamins as well as a good source of fiber.
Why are skunks beneficial?
Skunks are really beneficial to have around for dealing with problem insects.
Making Sure The Kits Are Orphaned
As humans, we like to swoop in and save helpless baby animals without giving it much thought. But we encourage you to take a step back from the situation. We need to make sure that these babies are actually orphaned and that the mother isn’t coming back for them. So keep an eye out on the baby.
Checking The Laws
Now that the orphaned skunks are inside and safe, you will need to check your local laws. Currently, it’s only legal to keep skunks in 17 states. And if you have too much contact with the kits, it’s nearly impossible to release them back into the wild. So it might be best to contact your local wildlife agency to care for the skunks.
Preparing A Home For Them
One of the first things you will need to do is figure out where to put your baby skunk. A warm dark place is best for them with old towels for bedding. Some people prefer to use an old cardboard box, but it won’t be long until they outgrow this.
The First 24 Hours
Now that your skunk kits are inside and safe, the most important thing to do is warm them up. Most people want to jump right into feeding and giving animals water. But this could cause more harm than good. The reason for this is that it takes a lot of energy to digest food.
Estimating The Age & How Much To Feed
With your baby skunk rehydrating, it’s time to start guessing how old your baby kit is. To do this, you will need a scale and an excellent observation of the skunk. Here is what to look for when guessing how old your kits are and how much to feed them. You can also use this as a guide to keeping up with your skunk’s growth and development.
How To Feed A Baby Skunk
Now that you know how old your skunk is and what they need to eat, you might be wondering how to feed it. Most people want to jump right in and buy bottles used to nurse kittens or puppies. But you don’t want to do this. Skunks are very aggressive eaters, and if you feed them with a bottle, they will engorge themselves.
The Best Formula
What to feed orphaned baby skunks wouldn’t be complete without talking about the best formula to buy. It’s essential to find a formula that will have everything skunks need. The best formula on the market is Esbilac for puppies.
How to keep skunks out of my garden?
Spray the skunk deterrent around your garden and where you have seen skunks. Repellents that contain cayenne pepper keep skunks out of your garden.
How to get rid of skunks in your yard?
Use a trap with a one-way door and set it where you have seen skunks in your yard.
How to kill a skunk with a cage trap?
Learning when and how to kill skunks with a cage trap or the best way to kill chipmunks is simple. Set the trap in the evening because skunks are nocturnal . Carefully place the bait of your choice inside the trap and check on the trap in the morning. With the right bait, capturing a skunk is simple .
What are the signs of a skunk infestation?
The most obvious indicator of a skunk infestation is skunks searching for food sources like grubs and insects.
How to get skunk smell out of dog?
Curious pets are prone to getting sprayed by skunks that reside in your yard. To get the strong odor out of your pet’s fur, use a vinegar-based mixture for the best odor-removal.
How to kill a skunk without spraying?
When dealing with any wild animal, handling the situation with caution is necessary. A popular method to kill a skunk without it spraying is to use baits and traps. Traps are an excellent way to catch a skunk that is causing damage to your property.
What attracts skunks to your yard?
However, some of the things that attract skunks are an essential part of your yard, like bird feeders or produce from a home garden.