Q & A #1

A reader asked:

"... do skunks use a litter box and are they an indoor animal?"

Stinkerbell is very much an inside pet. She only has been outside en route to somewhere or being held by one of us. I have put her down in the back yard once to see what she would do, and she went right up next to the house and ran back to the sliding door.

This last weekend during a party in our back yard, we experimented to see if she can swim. She was lowered slowly into a small wading pool and as soon as her feet hit the water she started doggy-paddling. She swam right across the pool (about three feet) and climbed out.

In the living room Stinkerbell has a cage in the corner that is about 3.5 feet wide by 2.5 feet deep by about 3.5 feet high. There is a drawbridge style door that is open most of the time and she sleeps in a little hut that is on a shelf inside the cage. (I'll try to post a picture soon)

She has the run of the house most of the day and the house has been baby-proofed to an extent, anything that can be gotten into will get investigated and trash cans MUST be heavy enough to not get knocked over.

Skunks are similar to ferrets, other small animals and rodents in that they like to relieve themselves in a corner. Litter training is pretty easy, a plastic corner litter pan is placed in the corner that the animal prefers to use, and the animal will go in the pan.

In some cases, the animal may want to use a different corner than you want them to and it can be difficult to change their mind.

When we moved from the condo, Stinkerbell decided that she didn't want to poop in the pan in her cage anymore and the first two mornings Scott discovered that she was pooping in the shower. I thought it was a pretty good place but Scott was not as pleased, probably because he was IN the shower when he made the discovery.

Recently she started pooping in my closet in our bedroom, and near the front door. When we were cleaning up the house and getting ready for the party, I moved some things around and since the party she has been back to using the litter pan in her cage. Every time I see her go in the pan I praise her highly. I'm very thankful that the front door anointing was shortlived, as most guests probably don't wanted to be greeted by that aroma on their arrival.