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Have you ever smelled a skunk? If so, then this memory you most likely will not forget soon. Due to the intense stench produced by their anal glands, skunks often get a bad reputation. When many people – and predators – see a skunk, their first instinct is to run in a different direction. However, most skunks tend to be quite casual and don’t bother people. Until the 20th century, skunks were sometimes kept as pets, and the practice is still allowed in some states. Known for their sensitivity and intelligence, skunks easily leave their imprint on humans and have a playful personality. However, wild skunks sometimes carry rabies, and domestic skunks can bite if caught by surprise or threatened. However, every year people find young wild skunks or catch skunks with the aim of turning them into pets. The question is, what do skunks eat?
In this article, we will learn what skunks love to eat and how they find and hunt for food. We will also find out how their diet changes in winter and summer. Finally, we will discuss what domestic skunks eat and the special diet of baby skunks. Plug your noses because things might smell a little while we research what the skunks are eating.
What do skunks like to eat?
Skunks are omnivorous and eat a variety of plants and animals. They have an insatiable appetite and eat almost anything edible they can find. This includes things like trash and rubbish, especially if they live in close contact with people. Throughout the year, a skunk’s diet will vary with the seasons. Whenever possible, skunks will prefer fatty and high-calorie foods. They will also continue to eat even when full, which can cause obesity and health problems in captive skunks. However, you can narrow down the skunk diet to 15 common foods.
Popular foods that skunks love to eat include:
- Small mammals (mice, rats, gophers and chipmunks)
- A fish
- Little birds
- Eggs
- Small amphibians (frogs and salamanders)
- Reptiles (small snakes and lizards)
- Rubbish
- Insects
- Honey
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Vegetables
- Fruits
- worms
- Carrion
Skunks will also eat leftover pet food and will eat herbs, leaves, or mushrooms if other foods are not available.
How do skunks gather food and hunt for food?
As nocturnal animals, they hunt and forage at night when most other animals are asleep. Skunks mainly hunt using their sense of smell and hearing. Because of their poor eyesight, skunks rarely rely on their eyes to forage and hunt for food. Due to their limited vision, they usually only react to movement or changes in lighting. They use their pointed nose to hunt down smelly foods such as ripe fruit, honey, carrion, trash, or small prey. They also use their hearing to spot small prey in their nests. Skunks have powerful forearms and claws, which they use to dig for insects and burrowing mammals. At top speed, skunks can run at 10 miles per hour, although they rarely use their speed to catch prey. Instead, skunks rely more on catching their prey by surprise, usually when they are nesting in their burrow.
What do skunks eat in summer?
In the summer, skunks try to gain as much fat as possible in anticipation of the leaner winter months. To accomplish this task, skunks will search for the highest calorie and fatty foods. In summer, their favorite foods are oily fish and small mammals such as rats, moles, mice, chipmunks and ground squirrels. They will also target small birds and their eggs, as well as tiny lizards, salamanders, frogs and snakes. In the summer, insects make up most of their diet, especially larvae, worms, larvae, and beetles. Skunks love bees and will gladly attack a bee hive. Their thick fur protects them from stings, and they will eat adult bees, larvae, and combs. They also often dig up and eat hornets and wasps nests, again targeting both adults and larvae. In addition to these protein sources, skunks also eat fruits, leaves, herbs, nuts, and seeds.
What do skunks eat in winter?
In winter, skunks go into a daze, similar to hibernation. However, they do not completely hibernate and wake up to move around or leave the den in search of food at night. As mentioned earlier, skunks will eat almost anything they come across. In winter, there are fewer foods, so their tastes expand. Skunks living in close proximity to humans may eat more trash or debris. If they can find meat, they will hunt small nesting animals such as mice, chipmunks or moles. However, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits make up the majority of their winter diet. In winter, skunks will eat fruits such as chokeberry, elderberry, mountain ash, wild grapes and cranberries. Nuts and seeds include walnuts, pecans and hickory, as well as sunflower seeds or even bird food. They will also feast on carrion if they find it near their lair.
What do domestic skunks eat?
In the wild, skunks eat almost anything they come across. These instincts do not disappear when they become tamed. On the contrary, your pet skunk will most likely eat whatever you put on it. Some skunks even develop a taste for garbage, which suggests that skunks are hardly considered picky eaters. However, you shouldn’t just feed your skunks with burgers and potato chips. Skunks love high-calorie foods because they have developed a biological need to store fat in order to survive the winter. Like humans, skunks can easily gain weight if they are not well-fed, which can lead to long-term health problems.
In general, skunks do well on a diet of lean meats, vegetables, fruits, and complex carbohydrates such as grains. You can serve vegetables, meats, fruits boiled or raw, but be sure to cook all the grains before serving them to your skunk. For meat, stick to lean proteins like chicken or fish. For grains, go for boiled oats, cereals, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or rice. When choosing fruits, choose mostly low-sugar foods such as berries and melons. However, fruits that are high in sugar, such as bananas, apples, or pears, will not harm if consumed in small amounts. Finally, leafy greens should make up the bulk of your skunk’s diet (just skip the salad). Alternatively, you can also include corn, carrots, peas, pumpkin, and other root vegetables besides asparagus.
Skunks do not fare well on a processed food diet. Although they will eat whatever you put them, you should avoid feeding your skunk table scraps and foods full of additives and preservatives. Here are some foods you shouldn’t feed your skunk:
- Asparagus (causes seizures)
- Garlic
- Onion
- Chocolate
- Candies
- Processed meat
- Canned food for cats
- Fatty, fried foods
- Lettuce
What do little skunks eat?
Most female skunks give birth in late spring or early summer, usually between April and June. Pregnant skunks will find a den without a male and carry their young for 60 to 75 days. At birth, baby skunks cannot see or measure about 4 inches in length. For the first 6 weeks of their life, baby skunks must rely entirely on their mother’s food. After six weeks, they will leave the den and completely give up milk after 2 months. In the wild, baby skunks eat a variety of foods and anything they can catch. Common foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, leaves, and grains. They will also hunt eggs and small mammals such as mice, rats, gophers, rabbits, snakes and chipmunks. In addition, they will eat a variety of insects and beetles such as worms, snails, slugs, spiders and larvae.
If you find a baby skunk in the wild, always check to see if its mother is nearby. In case the mother does not show up, call your local wildlife rescue service before attempting to care for a baby skunk. Baby skunks require a special diet and cannot tolerate the same food as baby dogs or cats. In fact, processed pet foods can cause choking and cause digestive problems, diarrhea, and other problems in skunks. Up to 6 weeks of age, captive baby skunks should only eat mixtures such as KMR liquid or Esbilac. At around 6 weeks of age, you can start introducing small amounts of the same foods that adult skunks eat. You can start by including a limited amount of cooked grains in their formulas. From there, you can serve small amounts of vegetables, fruits, and meats, cut into small pieces.
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