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Skunks are very gorgeous animals despite their unpleasant odor. These creatures, which are members of the Mustelidae family, are well recognized for their defensive tactic of frightening off people and other intruders. They squirt a potent, foul-smelling liquid at intruders that is extremely difficult to remove on your clothing or other belongings.
Only four of the twelve skunk species that exist are likely to ever get close to your home. When they do visit your property, it is typically to find food and not to harm any members of your household.
What Do Skunks Eat
Insects
These omnivores enjoy eating several kinds of insects. Insect larvae, earthworms, grubs, grasshoppers, crickets, roaches, moths, ants, caterpillars, worms, and several other kinds of insects are among the things they like to eat. Skunks are very immune to bee stings and can even consume bees.
Small animals and eggs
These creatures also hunt and consume insects and other tiny animals. They will consume moles, lizards, frogs, lizards, salamanders, birds, and mice. Additionally, they go to nests of birds or chickens to steal and consume the eggs. These are all excellent sources of protein.
Fruits and vegetables
Some fruits and vegetables are also consumed by skunks. Fruits like berries, grapes, apples, strawberries, blues, raspberries, frozen fruits, and many others that can be found on fruit farms are among their favorites. Additionally, some veggies like carrots, beets, corn on the cob, peas, beans, cabbage, and many others are edible to skunks. Skunks can even be provided with cooked and chilled veggies to eat.
Plants
These ravenous creatures consume many kinds of pants. To stay hydrated, they prefer digging up roots in the wild, but they also eat soft green leaves, twigs, and flowers. They enjoy almost any kind of food plant or crop.
Carcasses and carrion
Rats, snakes, frogs, and cat carcasses are just a few of the dead animals that skunks won’t hesitate to eat. If they happen to come across the carcasses of larger animals like deer, sheep, cattle, and others, they may even eat them.
Pet food
A skunk is probably looking for your pet’s food bowls if you spot one breaking into your house or garage. Skunks adore pet food and will consume nearly anything you give them. They are completely well digesting dog kibble and cat food, which they both like.
Honey
Additionally, skunks like honey. When they enter their hives to grab the honey, their thick coats help protect them from the stings of honeybees. When they visit hives, skunks also relish consuming bees and their larvae.
Water
Even though skunks don’t consume a lot of water, they nevertheless require it to be hydrated. After meals, they typically drink water to aid in proper digestion. You can also leave out some water if you are providing food to skunks in your garden.
Diet Variation
Skunks’ major dietary variances come from the fact that they occasionally consume things that are not typically found in their natural area. Skunks often rummage through trash bins looking for leftovers and other human food. Since these foods contain a variety of salts, sugars, and spices, they are not the best for their bodies. Examples include bread, cake, cookies, fries, and chips.
How to Feed Skunks
What do Skunks Eat in the Wild?
Skunks in the wild only consume things that are present in their native environment. They typically manage to catch other small animals including rats and lizards as well as natural flora, wild berries, insects, plant roots, carcasses, and water.
What do Skunks Eat in Captivity?
Skunks are frequently fed a range of meals in zoos and wildlife parks, including insects, snakes, fruits, vegetables, lean meats like chicken or fish, cooked cereals, and many others. These skunks’ diets are closely observed to make sure they get all the nutrients they require to stay healthy.
What do Baby Skunks Eat?
Kits are the name for baby skunks, which are mammals that depend on their mother’s milk to survive. Typically, skunk kits are weaned when they are four months old or about 8 inches long. Kits that are orphaned can also be raised by feeding them customized formula milk with a 3.3% fat content.
Skunk kits will learn to consume other foods once they begin to wean. After weaning, they require roughly 80% fruits and vegetables and 20% protein-containing foods like dog kibble, fish, chicken, or turkey.
How much do Skunks Eat?
Kit skunks require four meals per day. They only require around 3 tablespoons of food per meal because they are little kits. Their calorie intake gradually rises as they age.
Because they do not receive as much activity as wild skunks do and because wild skunks do not always have access to food, pet skunks need to be given tiny portions of food. Skunks typically weigh 7 to 8 pounds and require just around 14 cup of meat and 1 tablespoon of feeder insects each day, in addition to various fruits and vegetables.
How often do Skunks Eat?
Skunks may have to endure in the wild for several days before they can obtain enough food. Skunks are often fed twice daily in captivity, and their portions are watched because they lack a fasting interval to allow their food to fully digest.
Do Skunks Eat Meat?
Skunks do indeed consume meat. They will hunt for and eat smaller insects in the wild, even rodents. If they come to the carcasses of other animals, such as cats or rats, they will also eat them. To ensure that they get adequate protein, pet skunks are given lean meats like chicken, fish, and red meat.
Do Skunks Eat Rabbits?
Skunks eat dead rabbits, and they may even catch a young rabbit to eat. However, because they move a little more slowly, these animals are less likely to succeed in catching a rabbit.
Do Skunks Eat Snakes?
Skunks can consume snakes, and they can withstand the poison pretty well. Skunks’ thick back skins are difficult for snakes to pierce. But a snake can kill a skunk if it spits forth enough venom to do so.
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FAQ
How do you get a skunk to leave?
Utilized cat litter, as well as professional or home-made capsaicin or castor oil repellents, may be used as mild deterrents that must be passed by the skunk in order for it to exit the den.
What do you do if you see a skunk?
Skunks are advantageous since they are nocturnal, non-aggressive, and move on of their own volition (which they readily do). They can also be safely persuaded to leave an area where they are not wanted.
How long do skunks stay in one area?
Skunks rarely stay at the same den location from late summer to early spring, so you may simply wait until they leave before blocking access to the den site. Females with young may spend more time at a den site in the early spring through the summer.
What are skunks good for?
Skunks help farmers, gardeners, and landowners because they eat a lot of bugs that are harmful to crops and gardens. While skunk pups are adorable and resemble kittens, it is against the law to keep them as pets because they are wild animals.
Will skunks bite humans?
They may bite and/or spray if a person approaches them too rapidly or disregards the warnings. Avoid trying to pet or feed skunks. When fed, skunks become less afraid of people and are more inclined to approach them, which can lead to bites. The typical method of rabies transmission is by the bite of a wild or domestic rabid mammal.