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"We have a pet reccoon, who is now 8 months old and 22 lbs. He is very "high maintenance" constantly needing his in-house cage (4 x 4 x 4 ) cleaned and water refreshed. Bowls of water get all soupy with what ever he can drag thru it. The lick style water bottles constantly need refilling. He pats the spout with his hands just for the fun of it. We had a large carpeted cat condo in the cage which he destroyed by peeling apart the cardboad barrel it was made of. Anything that he can reach (socks, newspapers, books, etc) will end up in his cage and destroyed just for the fun of it! We put him on a dog tie-out outside for variety, but have to check on him frequently because he tends to get tangled in bushes, trees, anything he can figure. There is a tree in the front yard I let him climb untethered for air-robic exercise, when I am willing to stay outside to wait for him to come back down. When we can, we feed him worms, minnows and crayfish in addition to dog food and table scraps. He is a lot of trouble, but is very affectionate and has stolen our hearts. I have been bitten many times and have gotten poison ivy from him twice when he has gotten away. But we have gotten so much affection and kisses from him, it all seems to be worth while. If you ever want to keep a raccoon for a pet, you must be willing to get bitten and make the effort to give him a good quality of life from his point of view. Boredom is his biggest enemy - a raccoon can never have too many toys or too much variety."