re: Baby Racoons

I raised some as a kid. Males go feral after about a year. Females may stay tame, but generally go feral after two years.

Someone gave me a female about 15 years ago. Brought it to a vet to check out. He warned me about a worm that they can carry. Can be infected by bare feet and fecal matter or ingestion. We Had little kids at the time. Did the research, it’s rare, but real. Scared the hell out of me and I gave it away.

“The raccoon roundworm, Baylisascaris procyonis, is increasingly recognized as a cause of zoonotic visceral, ocular, and neural larva migrans and, in particular, of devastating encephalitis in young children. Exposure occurs mainly due to raccoon feces, where large numbers of infective eggs may be accidentally ingested or absorbed through the skin.”