Pets make us human. One of humanity’s defining characteristic is our fondness for keeping other species as pets. No other species does this. For humans, keeping a pet has its own unique rewards for which there can be no substitute.

Most people start out having common pets like a cat, a dog. Pretty soon they move on to a goldfish or a bird. Those with a hankering for a more challenging pet to keep will try and take care of exotic creatures like spiders, snakes, or scorpions. There are people however, who have no wish to take care of an animal having none or more than four legs. These people will usually be drawn to keep other fur-bearing mammals like mice, skunks, or raccoons.

People who keep raccoons will need to have a very long patience. They’re extremely clever with their hands and this usually gets them into trouble. Raccoons are scavengers by nature and in the wild; they will eat anything edible they can get their hands on. They will even raid the neighborhood garbage cans and nearby garbage dumps. That being said, raccoons are not usually filthy creatures.

Raccoons eat with their front paws making them look adorable during mealtimes. Unfortunately, their eating habits are not exactly what you would call neat. Add the fact that a domesticated raccoon’s favorite food is apple sauce or apples and peanut butter, you end up with a pretty stick-faced pet. Raccoon owners find that these messy eaters need to be bathed at least once a week, perhaps more, depending on whether your hand keeps sticking to their fur when you pet them.

Bathing your pet raccoon is not at all difficult. Unlike cats, raccoons actually like to play in water. You can simply pretend that bath time is simply an extension of playtime. Raccoons are mammals, and therefore warm-blooded. They won’t like being dumped in a basinful of cold or room temperature water. You should bathe your pet raccoon in warm water. You can even do this over the sink. To do this, let your raccoon hang from our forearm as if hanging from a tree branch. You can wear an on old long-sleeved cotton shirt for this in case your pet’s claws are digging uncomfortably into your arm. Wet your pet by cupping your hand under the warm, running water and bringing it to the raccoon. Don’t place your pet directly under the stream. Once wet, shampoo it liberally with baby shampoo. This mild shampoo won’t irritate a raccoon’s eye in case it gets into them. You should avoid getting its head wet when possible. You can use a damp rag to clean its face and whiskers if need be.

You can let your pet raccoon play in the water for a while before rinsing it in the same manner you used to wet it. Towel it dry first before letting it shake off excess water from its coat. A regularly bathed pet raccoon won’t put up a fuss to this routine once it gets used to it. In fact, it may even look forward to these baths.