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. Whether or not you can have a pet skunk depends on your state and its regulations, so be sure to do your research. Although the skunk will like this "diet," it is far too full of fat and protein for a healthy diet. 17. They eat insects, larvae, earthworms, grubs, rodents, lizards, salamanders, frogs, snakes, birds, moles, and eggs. A basic morning meal for your adult pet skunk can consist of: Kits (baby skunks) less than four months old need to eat four times a day (like puppies do). Plants. They’re unaffected by doses of venom 100 times higher than those that could kill a household pet! Baby Skunk Removal. 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 adopt this eating pattern in winter because since they don’t fully hibernate they need to find food to help keep them active and warm and provide enough layers of fat. So, similar to a fox’s diet, skunks will eat garbage! They forage for plant life like corn, cherries, grapes and berries, whether or not they are fresh. This will firstly trigger the guard bees to come out and they usually are the first set of bees that get eaten up. When you are confident that they are warm enough, you can comfortably offer them with dehydration solutions that are also warm. So you’ll need to know how fast a moose can run! They eat berries, leaves, roots, grasses, nuts, and fungi. Since skunks are opportunists, they will eat chickens if they can easily get to them. I've been interested in raising and caring for exotic pets for quite some time. When food isn’t available in trash or garbage, this can bring more problems. Here Are the Reasons - a Simple Guide, link to How Fast Can a Moose Run? The food can be a combination of a third protein, a third carbohydrate, and a third vegetable. And most importantly, skunks don’t have a proper mechanism to combat or attack animals and to prey on them. Kits (baby skunks) less than four months old need to eat four times a day (like puppies do). It would be like raising a child on a diet of only hamburgers, fried chicken, and water. Cow's milk, human baby formulas, and most pet products (except Esbilac) are not suitable and will likely cause death. Obviously, the smell of this critter is an issue. Allowing skunks to do their job will maintain a natural balance of predators and prey in our neighborhoods. Starting with summer and spring, these are the times that skunks feed on fresh food sources as they’re available in plentiful supply. Skunks, easily identifiable by their characteristic black and white striping, are infamous for producing a foul odor when frightened. The skunk bit the rabbit and killed it. 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. Baby skunk removal is a very common call that many wildlife professionals from all across the united states receive each and every year. Skunks also love fruits and will forage for wild berries, fungi, and nuts. They have long claws on their feet that they use to dig in the earth looking for food. But most skunks won't spray unless they are threatened or marking their territory. So this diminished capacity for skunks to attack many animals makes it more obvious then that their diet needs to be relatively simple – and will never include prey that is too large for them to attack. Well, here’s the guide on what baby robins eat, and if the need... View Post. It has to be said, the favored food for a skunk is mainly small creatures and those listed above. Skunks can also source food from the garbage. Skunks eat both plant and animal material, which makes them omnivorous animals. This makes them a nuisance to beekeepers, but also integral to keeping wasp populations low. But depending on the seasons and availability of food, these can differ. In order to maintain this site and keep providing valuable information and learning tools, rangerplanet.com has become a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We’ve found the ideal resources to continue your learning at home and at school on amazon. Among the many options a skunk will consume, they prey upon insects, grub, small rodents, lizards, berries, fungi, and potential eggs in the area. They only need about 3 tablespoons worth of food per meal. During this time, skunks naturally eat fewer plants and more prey. Over this cold season and as a last resort, skunks may occasionally kill poultry to eat their eggs. He is content with small invertebrates, rodents, shrews, frogs, lizards and shrimps. These include field mice, rabbits and voles and in some cases, a skunk will target ground nesting birds, fish and some small reptiles and amphibians. The babies will eat just about anything you place in front of them, but then they will get very sick. Warming up the babies is important because they usually depend on their mother’s warmth for survival. What to do about skunks. Skunks are omnivores and are very adaptable in their diet. Examine Let’s take a good look at it. Plus leftovers and even rotting food from the garbage can could potentially make up a huge meal for skunks that are foraging for food. But it has to be said the plant … Not as a main food source. What to be careful of when leaving food out and perhaps a little more understanding of the world of skunks. These foods are bad for skunks (even though the skunks will eat them anyway!). Either you found a baby robin that’s fallen from its nest, or perhaps you’re just curious and asking what do baby robins eat? Firstly they scratch the beehives with their forefeet and long claws. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies. To some extent, they do have scavenger tendencies, so this means that their diet is very adaptable depending on seasons and availability – and is key to their survival. Your task as a skunk owner is to provide a healthy diet that prevents disease and provides for a long life. So long as you feed your skunk a healthy diet and you keep them active, they can live up to ten years. This of course largely depends also on how fast you can run. This content has been checked and verified by a qualified veterinary practitioner. It’s estimated that on average around 70% of a skunk’s diet is made of up harmful insects. It's only now he's decided, along with his partner Fran, to begin documenting what he knows. ), 2 teaspoons of cooked rice, oats or cereal, 2 tablespoons of cooked chicken or turkey, 1 to 2 teaspoons of nuts, cooked grains or bread, processed meats like hot dogs or lunchmeats. However, like humans, they are susceptible to becoming obese along with all of the complications associated with having too much body fat. A skunk’s diet largely depends on availability. They also eat insects and larvae, small rodents, earthworms, lizards, moles, salamanders, snakes, frogs, birds, and … During spring and summertime, skunks will feed on grasshoppers, bees, beetles, beetle larvae, and crickets as well as others from our first list above. Skunks eat wasps and honeybees are immune to their sting. Can You Outrun One? They’re immune to snake venom. The guys behind rangerplanet.com. One of the most popular is from the Exotic Nutrition Pet Company's Skunk Diet, and they also make skunk nutritional supplements and a canned insect diet for any protein-craving exotic pet. But it has to be said the plant-based diet is mostly only an alternative that skunks turn to during times when food is scarce. They tend to eat an equal amount of animal and plant matter in winter and autumn. When Will Baby Skunks Be Old Enough To Spray The ability to spray a potential threat is something that starts to develop early on in skunks, and certainly for those who have looked after domesticated baby skunks, the natural reaction to spray is something that is actually developed after only a few weeks. Just like us, a skunk instinctively prefers high-calorie food that contains lots of fat and sugar. They eat both meat and plants. Feed the baby skunk esbilac powder, mix only enough for 24hrs and keep it refrigerated. It is quite obvious that the baby skunks will be suffering from starvation, dehydration and chilled. On occasion, he can catch a rabbit, and also misses eggs or fallen. Here’s What To Do, Small amphibians such as frogs, toads, and newts. A skunk will eat baby rabbits and full grown rabbits. Especially as unattended garbage is also very welcoming to insects, rodents that skunks can also eat. What Do Skunks Eat? Skunks have been known to eat poisonous snakes such as rattlesnakes. In spring and summer, skunks eat more insects and less plants. They eat plants and small animals, whether dead or alive as well as dog food. Plants are usually eaten when food is scarce. They may think your berry bushes were planted for them. See more ideas about baby skunks, skunk, cute animals. 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. Beautiful photos are paired with STEM-appropriate text to offer a basic exploration of the appearance, behavior, and habitat of skunks, the musk-spraying mammals. As we mentioned earlier, skunks are omnivores and their diet also consists of plants. Skunks are omnivorous, eating both plant and animal material and changing their diets as the seasons change. Skunks will also eat species that can be dangerous to us, like Black Widow Spiders and scorpions. As winter approaches, when the availability of food reduces, skunks will eat food that is not as fresh and those that even fall to the ground and are easily accessible. Some of the prey that skunks choose to eat are often to teach their young ones on self-defense mechanisms. In fact, during this season skunks will usually eat anything edible they come across if it provides sufficient nourishment. Esbilac is a puppy milk replacer, which you should be able to purchase at a vet or pet store. Skunks are diggers. This is because when skunks don’t find what they want in the garbage they can often target other food courses, such as:-. When can you expect a baby skunk issue? Rejected by her mother and only a few hours old on this video, we have to hand rear her with a little help from our very kind dog. However, their favorite food consists of small prey and insects, especially in summer and spring. They will eat fruits, vegetables, small mammals such as mice, rats, chipmunks, ground squirrels, rabbits, snakes, insects such as snails, slugs, roaches, worms, grubs, spiders, dead animals, eggs, leaves, grains, nuts, trash and Skunks eat plants. Skunks at different elevations and in different habitats during different times of the year will have different diets. Berries and nuts – Skunks like eating many types of berries as well as nuts like walnuts, pecans, and hickory nuts. Skunks do not fully hibernate in winter, at times during winter when a skunk wakes from its torpor – usually, when temperatures are 30° Fahrenheit or above. In the spring and summer, a skunk’s diet mostly consists of grasshoppers, bees, beetles, beetle larvae, and crickets. Many yard pests and other yard creatures and insects make up the bulk od a skunk’s diet, like:-. Also included is a story from folklore explaining the unpleasant scent of skunks. Amazon also donates to Wild-life related charities! Can You Outrun One? I've been an online writer for over 11 years. Yes, they do have an effective spray for self-defense, but when it comes to their physical capacity or ability to kill animals, little is known about this. Where possible, skunks will eat forage for. Of course, protecting themselves from bee stings is possible with their thick tuft of fur on their bodies. Pet skunks have the same problem of overeating just as we do. So they do feed on human garbage and trash. Skunks mostly eat insects. USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr. Mother skunks tend to give birth to 4-6 babies at once. By this time, you may start feeding it with fatty fish, eggs, carrots, sea foods, vegetable oil, yoghurt, cottage cheese, vanilla wafer, chopped mushrooms, peas, corn, squash, nuts, cod liver oil and so on. During spring and summer, when these bugs are plentiful, you may find a skunk digging small, conical holes in your yard as part of their hunt. WHAT DO SKUNKS EAT? Early spring is usually birthing season for baby skunks. They stay in their dens for the first 6 to 8 weeks of life. As much as it may be complex to understand the science behind... How Fast Can a Moose Run? They eat predominantly insects, earthworms, frogs, and small mammals that live in the soil such as moles. Skunks as omnivores generally prefer animals over plants. The food can be a combination of a third protein, a third carbohydrate, and a third vegetable. “Yes, baby skunks can and do spray. This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional. Insects; Frogs and toads; Birds and other eggs; Earthworms; Grubs; Snakes; Other small animals. The article has been reviewed by our editorial board and has been approved for publication in accordance with our editorial policy. During colder months, skunks still eat whatever insects and small prey they can find, but nonetheless adapt to a plant-based diet. They only need about 3 tablespoons worth of food per meal. April 23, 2017 June 6, 2017 admintag The skunk is not adapted to hunt for large or rapid prey, such as, for example, rabbits or birds. Out how a skunk and rabbit fighting have an insect based diet, skunks eat as. 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