# How much food do you give your skunk?



## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

Ok guys we have done the how much does your skunk weigh but can you tell me how much food do you give your skunk in a day....grams or ounces please. Im just curious as I have cut George down and wonder if Im being mean.

Also how many meals do you feed, I still feed 3, I know as he is a year old he should only be having 1 or 2 but 3 works for me.

Thanks.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

In the winter my lot were only eating like twice a day if that as they were less active but since the weather has been warming up they have food like 3-4 times aday the fatties :lol2:


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## naminé (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi there

Well I'm not weighing their food at all since the food portion isn't important but the calories are(this is what makes them fat ).

The zoo vet I had my skunks taken to ,said they all are in excellent condition and have an optimal weight; not being overweight or underweight. No fatrolls on their foreheads or flaps around their legs.

I could write a whole book about skunk's diet and stuff like that since there's still not much known about it and we all have to learn from each other and most important: FROM OUR SKUNKS.

I can't hold myself in not writing some stuff about food, which some of you may not like or not agree with(that's what makes us learn what's the best).

Skunk's eat EVERYTHING even if it's not good for them; 

I can only tell what I feed them and what's important for me and my skunks.

first: ENOUGH OF SPACE: a caged skunk will become obese much easier then a skunk who has a lot of space to run,climb,ding nauthy etc.

2nd: VARIETY: no one likes to eat the same everyday!!! eating the same stuff everyday is just bad: skunk's and every type of animal needs variety so they can obtain enough nutrients for a happy life.

and now other stuff:

-I always pour some TAURINE and VITAMINE/MINERAL/SPORES powder in their food: if I'd miss some nutrient in their food; they'll get it through this; my vet gave it to me :it's 100% taurine and the other bottle is powder with a concentrated mix of the three things above.

- You have to have a strong will not to get seduced by their begging and seeking of food: most skunk's aren't able to get a satisfied stomach; they don't feel when they're full or not ; some people have this too !
You have to decide for the skunk itself: limiting the amount of food is better than giving into a begging skunk; sometimes being hard is a sign of true love!

-I don't like dairy products for my skunks; although dairy products are everywhere on sites about skunkfood. I give them some, but very little, the vet from the zoo also told me not to give to much of these since ofcourse they are rich in calories and can give some skunks difficulties to digest and deliver stomachaches,puking,... So for me I sparingly give them cheese,yoghurt,...

-Okay now here I'll mention something others won't like to hear or see since it's always seen as being not good for skunks: I sometimes give them beef,pork,horse,...
Okay they are red meats, but the reason why a lot of sites say it's bad for them is because they mean raw meat which can contain roundwormeggs if the meat has not cooked,baked,boiled,...
if the meat has been cooked decently if doesn't contain any intact eggs and so meat isn't bad for skunks as long as veggies and fruits rule their diners. Every animals needs proteins ; you can't alway feed them chicken; remember variety.
another thing I sometimes give them: bones!!! Sometimes they just love to chew a bone: sometimes even a whole cooked chicken(chopped in portions; one chicken is a little to much to do any good :whip
Skunks have a hard bite and strong teeth which need some maintenance and biting a bone(not eating the whole bone but enough for some extra calcium) is also good to keep their teeth clean and healthy and their bones strong and muscles flexible. My skunks also love dog sticks to help clean the teeth. I also have given them mice when they were young but I decided to leave them out; since I'm not going to cook mice and since raw mice may contain some nasties I'm not taking the risk.

-Try to give them food as fresh as possible but cleansed!

-They need 150 calories a day so if you're able to count all calories then you can find a perfect dish which contains all they want.

-sugar!!! I read many times that they don't need sugar !, every animal needs them but in a small dosis, sugar gives them energy and helps them to built stronger bones so don't try to leave sugar out of their diet but introduce it through a small biscuit a day or a small waffle or something alike(without chocolate or any excessive sugaring)

-Sometimes we want and try to do our best that it becomes a problem, reduce their amount and try everything but make sure they have plenty of room for a run and they'll be fine.

I feed them 3 times a day: but small portions so they can digest that first before jumping into an other dish;


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

That was a fascinating read was that :2thumb:


Do you cook the chicken bones or give them raw ?


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

naminé said:


> Hi there
> 
> Well I'm not weighing their food at all since the food portion isn't important but the calories are(this is what makes them fat ).
> 
> ...


out of curiosity how much do your skunks weigh?


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

He put their weights on your thread cat : victory:


20-04-2009, 07:59 PM 
naminé








Hatchling








Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Belgium
Posts: 15 










My skunks weigh:

male albino almost 1 year old : 2kg, he's always been a very small guy but he eats ALOT
he's been a premature who got through adulthood

female chocolate 1 year old : 2.6kg

female black white chip 2years old: 2.3kg

They all eat very well but don't get greasy foods or too many treats

but as you all know :skunks come in all sizes and I happen to like smaller ones :mf_dribble:


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## naminé (Apr 19, 2009)

Lol

I cook them; I don't give raw meat to them and cooking,baking meat is always safer for contaminations or such kind.
They devoured the whole chicken; I couldn't find a single bone of the chicken, the other type of bones I dare to give sometimes are those of spareribs; they're hard and don't have those small spiky bones even when they bite through them, it's not a bad bone to bite:whistling2:not for skunk's teeth that is, I've tried but can't :lol2:
In the zoo they also feed bones but uncooked ones since they won't start cooking them, by cooking them the bones become harder but the meat on it becomes tender so the skunk can decide if she only wants the meat or also want to nibble some bone as a dog does so I'm just letting them decide if they want it or not.

I hope when my skunk delivers her babies; she doesn't prefer skunkbones with some newborn flesh on it :blush:

my skunk pics are already on but here my three:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

naminé said:


> Lol
> 
> I cook them; I don't give raw meat to them and cooking,baking meat is always safer for contaminations or such kind.
> They devoured the whole chicken; I couldn't find a single bone of the chicken, the other type of bones I dare to give sometimes are those of spareribs; they're hard and don't have those small spiky bones even when they bite through them, it's not a bad bone to bite:whistling2:not for skunk's teeth that is, I've tried but can't :lol2:
> ...


Ahhh okies well i wont give any of my animals cooked chicken bones as they splinter when cooked and can be dangerous so i would be careful with cooking them


I love your pictures too they are so beautiful are your skunkies


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

Emmaj said:


> He put their weights on your thread cat : victory:
> 
> 
> 20-04-2009, 07:59 PM
> ...


just realised emma lol
our skunks are well bigger than that!!! right chunky monkeys in comparison! :gasp:


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

xXFooFooLaFluffXx said:


> just realised emma lol
> our skunks are well bigger than that!!! right chunky monkeys in comparison! :gasp:


LOL cat you should see mickey now he makes chaos look lil but mickey is alot bigger structure wise and they all eat the same amount :lol2:


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## naminé (Apr 19, 2009)

Good evening :2thumb:

It's not that I give them bones that often, but since the zoo vet told me just to give them bones I cooked a whole chicken knowing they can splinter but I have only handed them a whole chicken only once. 

I do give them cooked chicken wings which they love without that small end bone attached to it but also it's not given to them weekly but more as a healthy treat. 

The stuff mine love areeppers, celery,self made vegetable soup,spinach,kiwis,pineapple, oranges,cucumber,mushrooms,okras,green beans,mealworms ,crickets and spiders which they find in the garden: but they won't touch snails and worms (btw natural garden no toxines or whatsoever)
but what they love best is what they don't get :whistling2:

Thanks for commenting the pics, are yours on the site as well?

enjoy the night


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

naminé said:


> Good evening :2thumb:
> 
> It's not that I give them bones that often, but since the zoo vet told me just to give them bones I cooked a whole chicken knowing they can splinter but I have only handed them a whole chicken only once.
> 
> ...


heres our two
chester the chocolate one and domino the black one



























http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/off-topic-chat/294041-karma-really-does-come-round.html


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Im just uploading some of mine could take awhile but will get there :lol2:


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## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

Ah thought I had loads of answers, Georges diet is a good diet but just wondering on the amount you give to your guys.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

mines feeding bowls are the oblong ceramic dishes from asdas cost about a quid each 

they all have a full bowl 3 times aday of veggies an a bit of fruit 

and there other bits such an chicken ect inbetween


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## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

Would you mind weighing the food for me Emma?


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

tillie said:


> Would you mind weighing the food for me Emma?


I can tomorrow when i pick up my new scales the bloomin dogs broke my others :lol2:

But yeah of course it may not weigh them same every bowl as i dont bother with weighing it normally just fill the bowls an they tuck in 

but course will do for you : victory:


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## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

Any joy on the weighing Emma?


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

Hi tillie this is somthing im trying to work out as my new girl is very fat :lol2: I have sent emails to some keepers so will let you know what they say. With the bones would fresh cooked be the only bones or would the pet shop ones be ok.


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

This is Bluebell








She eat to much dog food by the sound of it. Shes on a diet now. We still loves her :flrt:


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## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

Thanks Leggy, how much does Bluebell weigh? I dont give any bones.


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## Emmaj (Dec 3, 2007)

Arrrrr tillie im so sorry i completely forgot i have pinched my mums scales to weigh my hedgies with lol so i will weigh out tomorrow when i do the main feed how much i give :2thumb:


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## tillie (Jan 9, 2008)

On the skunks as pets site it states females from 5 months plus weigh between 3-10 lbs and males between 3 -12 lbs, its an interesting site.


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

Have no idea how much she weighs but shes going to vets next week so will let you know : victory:


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## andy123 (Oct 23, 2008)

leggy said:


> This is Bluebell
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 No wonder shes overweight she cant even move in that cage OMG i hope she doesnt live in there 24/7 as that is cruel, she needs more room to exercise:devil::devil::devil:


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

andy123 said:


> No wonder shes overweight she cant even move in that cage OMG i hope she doesnt live in there 24/7 as that is cruel, she needs more room to exercise:devil::devil::devil:


are you actually serious?


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## andy123 (Oct 23, 2008)

farmercoope said:


> are you actually serious?


it looks like it lives in that small area:Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

its not just the small part shes in there, its got a part to the left too, its just used as a hidey area for bluebelle why she setttles, she has a room with a baby gate on


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

andy123 said:


> No wonder shes overweight she cant even move in that cage OMG i hope she doesnt live in there 24/7 as that is cruel, she needs more room to exercise:devil::devil::devil:


get off your high horse thats where she sleeps andpoops in the other side if you go to classifieds and search for bluebell the skunk ive only had her a week:censor:


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## leggy (Jan 18, 2007)

actually since the 4th go on domestic/exotic classifieds its 3 pages back:whistling2:
cheers coope:2thumb:


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## farmercoope (Aug 19, 2008)

No probs, people dont like it when people jump on the bandwagon at them, people are too quick to attack others on this forum.


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## geckodelta (Dec 11, 2008)

*dwa*

hi do you need a dwa license to keep skunks?


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## bannyian (Jun 13, 2007)

no but you would need to research about the animal first obviously


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## Nerys (Apr 18, 2005)

tillie said:


> Would you mind weighing the food for me Emma?


if its any help..

mine get about a heaped mug of fresh chopped veg once a day, topped with yoghurt, cottage cheese and cooked chicken..

some get a little more, some a little less, depending on time of year and individual skunk. Pacer for instance, over winter, needs his food intake doubled to maintain body weight, whereas Mars actually gets a little less as he gets fat on the same amount.

Pacer is much more active than Mars, so burns off more food during the day, hence he needs to in the tank to begin with.

i do also from time to time feed raw bones, never cooked.

Pacer suffered a major prolapse after stealing a cooked chicken bone, he passed the bone, god knows how, i have kept it.. somewhere in my drawer i think it is, i should get a pic, how he passed it without ripping his insides apart i am not sure at all.

mine also get eggs, and some get fish, not all of them will take fish, although they will ALL take tuna mayo.. its not something they get often it has to be said tho!

i also give a few dog biscuits from time to time (but NEVER cat or ferret - which are designed for obligate carnivores) 

they like popcorn too.. you can buy it plain and un-popped, and microwave it, i dont add sugar or salt, just give them it as it comes out the dish 

live foods too.. mealworms, crickets, locusts and so on, are all taken with relish

N


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