# Know it All know...



## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

You gotta love this...

My friend popped round yesterday to meet Bear (skunky). She works at a college and they had a baby skunk today. She mentioned to the 'breeder' who dropped off the skunk (he does educational displays) that she met Bear yesterday and apparently the guy had a right attitude!

He did not appear to agree with people keeping exotics as he thought they do not know how to care for them properly and have no experience. I thought this bizarre as I presume he has not met a skunk keeper before being as he did not seem to realise they were kept by private keepers at all.

Anyhoo, my friend text me a photo of the college's new baby skunk and she is being kept in a zoozone tank!

You gotta love someone who is anti exotic keeping but sells a skunk to live in a tank which I personally have 10 of and most are inhabited by a single rodent (solitary ones I might quickly add)

:bash:, :bash: and:bash: me thinks.


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## Moosmoo (Jul 21, 2008)

people can be so stupid :bash:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

What do they say "Those that can't - teach!" ??

There's a perfect example!!!


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Edit: Oops, sorry - double post!!


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

:lol2:Feorag

Apparently he has qualified herpitologist written on his shirt! 
Must make him a mammal expert too I guess.

I don't know if there is any such thing as an expert in animal fields to be honest. They'll always teach you something new! :no1:
.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Very true - I honestly think you are learning all the time and even so called "experts" can't know it all!!!


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Did i read correctly?
Their baby skunk is being kept in a tank!
Personally id be straight on the phone to the college and then the council.


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Faith said:


> Did i read correctly?
> Their baby skunk is being kept in a tank!
> Personally id be straight on the phone to the college and then the council.


 
lol you did indeedy.

Thats the irony of it. My friend works at the college and is ensuring a purpose built enclosure with outdoor section is built but this guy was aghast that people like me are keeping skunks yet he advises its ok to use a zoozone.

why didnt he check what accommodation the college had before he delivered the skunk??

The skunk will be well cared for, I don't doubt that but I had a rough day today so I think the guy just rattled my cage LOL

To be honest though, whilst I'm sticking my 2 pennies in, I'm not sure I agree with a college having the skunk full stop. I would rather see her in a proper home with a keeper to bond to. Hopefully they'll at least get another.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

LOL i get horrified looks when people ask me what i keep mine in ..............when i say they are only caged at night an when im out for thier saftey they ask where they are when im in ...........i say they free roam like the dogs do i get a very horrified look then they step closer to me to see if i stink :lol2::lol2::lol2:


its becoming quiet coming now people sniffing me :lol2::lol2::lol2:

they cant understand why i dont stink :bash: being im a skunk owner :lol2:

I have to admit im glad to hear they are building her an enclosure she would go stirr crazy in a zoo zone for too long


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Emmaj said:


> LOL i get horrified looks when people ask me what i keep mine in ..............when i say they are only caged at night an when im out for thier saftey they ask where they are when im in ...........i say they free roam like the dogs do i get a very horrified look then they step closer to me to see if i stink :lol2::lol2::lol2:
> 
> 
> its becoming quiet coming now people sniffing me :lol2::lol2::lol2:
> ...


 

:lol2: u crazy lady:no1: yeah I suggested to my mate they let her take the skunk home each night until she has a nice enclosure :2thumb:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Pouchie said:


> :lol2: u crazy lady:no1: yeah I suggested to my mate they let her take the skunk home each night until she has a nice enclosure :2thumb:


 
i know my mum keeps saying she should have christened me crazy mad gurly :lol2::lol2:

yeah would be an idea for her to do that till the enclosure is built for her : victory:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Emmaj said:


> LOL i get horrified looks when people ask me what i keep mine in ..............when i say they are only caged at night an when im out for thier saftey they ask where they are when im in ...........i say they free roam like the dogs do i get a very horrified look then they step closer to me to see if i stink :lol2::lol2::lol2:
> 
> 
> its becoming quiet coming now people sniffing me :lol2::lol2::lol2:
> ...


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

Pouchie said:


> lol you did indeedy.
> 
> Thats the irony of it. My friend works at the college and is ensuring a purpose built enclosure with outdoor section is built but this guy was aghast that people like me are keeping skunks yet he advises its ok to use a zoozone.
> 
> ...


Sorry i dont agree with them having it even temp in a zoozone they should have waited until the enclosure was built to a good standard before they thought about getting it...........
This just proves the point that they are now becoming main stream pets, as far as i know and as far as ive read many many sites will state you need to be a special person to be owned by a skunk and as the skunk wont just have one or two owners id expect it to get quite stressed in a college enviroment with so many people in and out etc.
Lets just hope its scented and it can use its defences if they are putting it out side.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Shell195 said:


> Emmaj said:
> 
> 
> > LOL i get horrified looks when people ask me what i keep mine in ..............when i say they are only caged at night an when im out for thier saftey they ask where they are when im in ...........i say they free roam like the dogs do i get a very horrified look then they step closer to me to see if i stink :lol2::lol2:
> ...


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Faith said:


> Sorry i dont agree with them having it even temp in a zoozone they should have waited until the enclosure was built to a good standard before they thought about getting it...........
> This just proves the point that they are now becoming main stream pets, as far as i know and as far as ive read many many sites will state you need to be a special person to be owned by a skunk and as the skunk wont just have one or two owners id expect it to get quite stressed in a college enviroment with so many people in and out etc.
> Lets just hope its scented and it can use its defences if they are putting it out side.


 
I couldnt agree more. A college wouldnt get a friggin dog so why a skunk? I really cannot see a college environment suiting her but that said, maybe it will be similar to her being kept in a zoo I suppose :sad:


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

See i dont think it would, in the zoo animals have specific handlers, they also have somewhere to go to get away from people, I take it this is a learning college?
Um thinking about that i dont get that part either, if they are a learning college then wouldnt they need to learn what to do when the skunk was ill?
But it shouldnt get ill in the first place (makes no sense i know)


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Faith said:


> See i dont think it would, in the zoo animals have specific handlers, they also have somewhere to go to get away from people, I take it this is a learning college?
> Um thinking about that i dont get that part either, if they are a learning college then wouldnt they need to learn what to do when the skunk was ill?
> But it shouldnt get ill in the first place (makes no sense i know)


It is an animal college. They keep all sorts of exotics and the students have to look after them in order to learn their husbandry. So yes you are right, she will have numerous carers and will not be able to form a bond like with a keeper in a zoo. 

I am sure there are skunks at lots of animal colleges though unfortuantely. 

I have just advised on diet but may get my friend to come on here as I am a newbie to skunks anyway!


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

I think that would be a great idea tbh they would not only learn about skunks that way but loads of other species  
Im sure with the right research they will be great, i just dont see skunks as an exotic pet that needs to be kept on the other side of a fence


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

We have 2 farm attractions reasonably near where I live. I've visited both in the last 3 weeks during the school holidays and noticed that both now have skunks in the "petting barn". Fortunately in both attractions they were away from where the public could lean over and touch them, but the one I saw last week in Durham was in a small-ish pen in the middle of the larger rabbit and guinea pig enclosure - yes rabbits and guinea pigs all mixed up in a big walled-in enclosure inside a barn. The skunk was exhibiting what I thought was quite distressing repetitive activity, just pacing backwards and forwards over a very short distance.

My boss had been the week before and had been very unhappy with the way they were allowing small children to handle the baby rabbits and she said at least 2 of the children when she was watching dropped their rabbits!! She spoke to the 'animal handler' about how she felt about the stress of the handling and her response was that she didn't like it and very often when they arrived in the morning they would find some of the rabbits dead. 

There was nobody in the barn for me to speak to when I was there, so I couldn't find out whether the skunk was de-scented or not - what's the betting if he's not, they'll have him out for handling too at some stage.


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## Faith (May 17, 2007)

See it really upsets me to hear crap like that 
If anyone needs reporting its places like that!


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## MrsP (Apr 13, 2008)

I think the whole idea of petting zoos is mad. I saw some very distressed rabbits running away from kids at a parrot sanctuary and it really upset me. They clearly didn't want to be handled or bothered but they had only one small space to hide. Incidentally the staff at the place were smug know it alls and I don't plan to visit the place again.

However, allowing children to handle animals in a controlled supervised situation is invaluable. I have taken snakes and a parrot into the school where I work and have allowed the handling I know the animals can manage with, in a very controlled situation. If there was ever any sign of distress in the animal then the session stopped. 

Incidentally all I've had at work when I've mentioned the skunk was "eeew doesn't it stink?"

Well yes, he did last night when he had the farts.. :flrt:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

MrsP said:


> Incidentally all I've had at work when I've mentioned the skunk was "eeew doesn't it stink?"
> 
> Well yes, he did last night when he had the farts.. :flrt:


:lol2:

Absolutely agree with what you say. We do talks at The Sanctuary where I work when we're open to the public (and we also go into schools), but it's only at weekends, not every day and we allow a small amount of handling but it's one animal at a time with one child at a time! At this attraction they had one handler handing out about 6 baby rabbits to a row of children sitting on little seats. How can they supervise that the children are handling them right? And of course because most of them don't, are too small and don't have knees big enough for the rabbits to feel secure, the rabbits struggle and the children either grab them tight and hurt them or drop them - one of the ones my boss saw dropped landed on its head, which was why she was so upset.

I think children need to learn to respect animals and learn how to handle them properly, but this definitely isn't the way!


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

How these 'attractions' where children can reach the animals are left unsupervised is beyond me.

ah oh... I feel a rant coming on! :blahblah:

The worst part of these stories for me is the rabbit part. Rabbits are so unsuitable for children to handle, you only have to look at their skeletal structure. They are basically a head, a mass of powerful back legs with a long fragile curve of spine connecting the two.

That spine is fragile enough but when you couple that with a rabbit's disposition I am not surprised some were found dead the next day after being dropped.

A rabbit is a prey animal and they 'hate' being picked up. When they are initially lifted off the ground their instinct tells them they are being taken by a predator. If they then twist and buck in the arms of a child, well, tis a recipe for disaster and injury.

Not to mention the injury those back claws can inflict on the kid.


I love the fact my little boy will grow up around all sorts of fantastic creatures but lots of children who visit petting zoo type setups do not have a rabbit and their parents may not even be experienced in handling one. Therefore surely these 'attractions' need to be manned.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

I suspect that's why they only give the baby rabbits to the children, but that's the problem - they get so stressed out.

While I was there I told a boy off twice for leaning over the low wall and trying to grab a rabbit. I told him not to grab it, so he stepped away and I turned back to the children I had with me and when I turned around he was back again, so I just leaned over, picked up the rabbit and put him down far enough away that the boy couldn't reach.

Like I said, there were no staff there to watch what children were doing, which maddened me so much I kind of took over and started bossing!! :lol2:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Our local petting farm used to have some Paraplegic Guinea pigs all becaause the kids had dropped them. I only went once when my children were small and it upset me to much. I was in danger of smacking someone elses child so never went back.These brats didnt understand* NO :devil: *


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

Thats awful Shell.

And I was just going to suggest g.pigs are better for kids to handle than bunnies!

I liked the setup at Hatton Country Park where they have a large barn with guinea pigs all round the edge in an enclosure and a big circular bench in the centre. 

The kids were to sit on the bench and the adult supervisors caught the pig and gave it to the child to hold as they sat on the bench.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

That's one of my problems! I want to go because I want to take the children I look after to see animals and take pleasure in them and if it was just me and the 2 children, we'd be fine, but I can't switch off from 'protect' mode. 

Apart from the boy with the rabbit, I told 2 children off for kicking stones at free range chickens - gave one of them my really scary stare and stopped him in his tracks and one for chasing a guinea fowl.

Sadly a lot of people who go to these places (and indeed who come to ours!) aren't really interested in the animals, they just want to take their kids somewhere where they can run riot in the open air, while they sit in the tearoom drinking coffee or congregate in the smoking area outside the entrance gate!! 

We had a group visit last year and they were all horrendous! The children were bouncing balls off the goats heads and the staff spent the whole day basically rushing around b*llocking kids while the mothers all stood outside the gate smoking! Our sandbucket was overflowing by the end of the day. The bosses were on holiday and when they came and we told them, they both said if they try to book next year we won't take them!


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Usually we have an Annual Open Day at The sanctuary and its a nightmare. the kids feed sweets to the cats, crap to the Horse(she got bad colic last year) and one year we had a kitten stolen aged 5 weeks.It took all the pleasure out of holding them and now we lock everything up and have volunteers that act as Wardens. I hate it and all because some people cant control their kids, it ruins it for all the nice children. Some people actually try and bring their kids for a day out to The sanctuary with no intentions of adopting/sponsoring anything, they say its a free day out.:devil::devil:


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

Know exactly what you mean Shell. It's really a viscious circle - you need the public to bring money in to keep you going, but with them come so many problems, you wonder if it's worth it?

Same old story, though, isn't it? The minority spoiling it for the majority!!!


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## MrsP (Apr 13, 2008)

I have bitten my tongue so many times in pet shops when I've seen out of control kids.

As I'm a teacher, the natural instinct is to tell them off, but you can't do that when you're shopping!

They need more staff in these places to monitor kids whose parents are clearly incapable of doing it.


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## feorag (Jul 31, 2007)

MrsP said:


> As I'm a teacher, the natural instinct is to tell them off, but you can't do that when you're shopping!.


Who can't? I can! If I see children behaving badly or rudely I'll speak to them and ask them to stop whatever it is they're doing and hopefully embarrass their parents!! Course some parents don't give a toss anyway!


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