These ring-tailed animals are equally opportunistic when it comes to choosing a denning site. They may inhabit a tree hole, fallen log, or a house’s attic. Females have one to seven cubs in early summer. The young raccoons often spend the first two months or so of their lives high in a tree hole. Later, mother and children move to the ground when the cubs begin to explore on their own.

 

DISEASES:

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Rabies: Any direct contact with a wild animal needs to be taken seriously even if an animal appears to be healthy. Rabies incubate in a raccoon for some time before symptoms appear. Many symptoms of distemper in raccoons, which is NOT transmittable to humans and is still far more prevalent than rabies in raccoons, are very similar to the symptoms of rabies. Unfortunately the only way to guarantee that the raccoon does not have rabies, is for it to be killed for testing. Even if it is a little baby raccoon. Depending upon your area, it may be illegal not only to have a raccoon but to not report any possible risk of exposure to rabies from a raccoon. Don’t let a perfectly healthly animal lose its life because of you. The best way to protect wildlife is to leave it in the wild and leave it alone. The best way to protect yourself, your family and your pets from all strains of rabies is to have your pets vaccinated, keep away from stray or wild animals, and call your doctor if you think you may have been in contact with a rabid animal.

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Raccoon Roundworm: Raccoons are the normal host for the parasitic nematode or roundworm known as Baylisascaris procyonis. It is the common large roundworm found in the small intestines of raccoons. Cotton rats are believed to be a possible intermediate host. Adult raccoons are susceptible only to larvae from rodent tissue while young raccoons are susceptible to infection by egg ingestion where larva hatches in small intestine with migration apparently limited to the wall of the small intestine. This roundworm is zoonotic, meaning it can pass from animal to animal (or human). In the raccoon, these worms normally produce no symptoms in the infected host raccoon, other than possibly intestinal obstruction, and apparently do little or no harm to adult raccoons.

 

In the Midwest, prevalence is 70% for adult and 99% for baby raccoons according to the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Adult worms measure 15 to 20 cm in length and 1 cm in width, tan-white in color, cylindrical and tapered at both ends. The eggs are ovoid, brown, with finely pitted outer shell, measure 70 x 55 microns and are passed in one-cell stage. The eggs embryonate into larva outside of host.

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Raccoon Distemper: Next to humans, the second leading cause of death of raccoons is distemper. Raccoons are susceptible to infection by both canine and feline distemper. Although they both can cause acute illness and death, they are caused by two completely different viruses.

 

Canine Distemper is a highly contagious disease of carnivores caused by a virus that affects animals in the families Canidae, Mustelidae and Procyonidae. Canine distemper is common when raccoon populations are large. The virus is widespread and mortality in juveniles is higher than in adults. Feline distemper, also called feline panleukopenia, cat plague, cat fever, feline agranulocytosis, and feline infectious enteritis, is an acute, highly infectious viral disease affecting members of the Felidae, Mustelidae and Procyonidae.

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