Skunk Haven™ Rescue, Shelter, and Education, Inc.

Foods

Use this as a guideline, use common sense when selecting foods. Please monitor the weight of your skunk, adjust quantities appropriately. Watch for an allergic reaction to anything you may try.

Sample Diet

The following recommended meals are guidelines for typical skunks:

Kits under four months old should be fed four or five times each day.
Morning meal:	Afternoon snack:
1 to 2 tbsp chopped frozen vegetables 1 tbsp chopped, cooked poultry (or dried dog food softened with milk) 1 tsp cereal or bread	1 tbsp chopped fresh or frozen vegetables 2 to 5 pieces of dry dog food 1 tbsp fruit (occasionally)

Evening meal:	Night snack:
2 to 3 tbsp chopped fresh vegetables 1 tbsp chopped, cooked poultry or fish (or softened dog food) 1 tsp cooked grain or crushed raw nuts	1 tbsp chopped fresh or frozen vegetables 2 to 5 pieces of dried dog food 1 tsp cooked grain or crushed raw nuts

When your skunk is four months old begin reducing the number of meals each day by increasing the morning and evening meals and reducing the other meals. Cut down to three meals and one small snack by six months and then on to the adult diet by nine to ten months of age with an additional night snack if necessary. Some skunks may go through a growth spurt in the summer-to-autumn of their second year, be careful to feed properly without over-feeding.

Adults should be fed twice each day.
Morning meal:	Evening meal:
1/4 to 1/2 cup frozen vegetables, thawed 1 tbsp cooked poultry 2 tsp cereal, cooked grain, bread, etc.	1/2 to 3/4 cup raw or cooked fresh vegetables 1 to 2 tbsp cooked poultry 1 to 2 tsp cooked grain, nuts, or bread 1 tsp yogurt

Monitor the weight of your skunk and make sure it is not getting too fat or to thin. A simple technique to determine how much fat an adult skunk has is to feel the base of the tail, there should be a ball of fat that gently tapers down the tail. If there is no fat at the base of the tail, you can feel the bones of the tail easily, the skunk is too thin. If you can't easily feel the bones about two-thirds of the way down the tail the skunk is getting overweight.

We feed a wide variety of foods; each day there is something different. Below is a list of foods that we feed. For one skunk just give a bite or so, not a whole pear, egg, etc., per feeding. We cut everything into skunk bite size pieces. You can cut up and mix enough food to last two or three days and store the extra in the refrigerator.

Young skunks need to be fed four or five times per day.

Foods We Feed to Our Adult Skunks:
Morning Meal
	Each skunk gets approximately 1/3 cup frozen mixed veggies thawed, along with supplements as needed. Some get added extra virgin olive oil. Some get Bil-Jack or Nutro dog food. Occasionally add cereal or grain.
Evening Meal
Choice of one per day	Nutro all natural dog food (chicken and rice), tofu, Skunkie Delight (cooked), cooked chicken, turkey, extra lean ground beef (few times a month), Mauzri Omnivore A, Innova or any all natural dog food, Bil-Jack (not available in all states) frozen dog food.
Choice of one per day	yogurt, cottage cheese, Swiss cheese or other types of cheese, ricotta
Choice of one per day	honey, flax seed oil, Best Coat, ranch dressing, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! (used on items skunks will not eat)
Choice of two per day	raw oats, puffed rice, other types of cereal, almonds, soybeans, macaroni salad, beans, natural bread, pasta, brown rice
Choice of 3 to 5 per day	fresh vegetables- broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, napa, yellow squash, zucchini, green peppers, turnip, parsley root, dandelion, parsnip root, corn, peas, sugar snap peas, carrots, black carrots, endive, romaine lettuce, brussels sprouts, egg plant, green beans, wax beans, broccoli slaw, cole slaw, tomatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, beets (watch for red poop), avocado (skin and seed are toxic), purple cabbage, alfalfa, bean sprouts, Spanish olive (few times a month), celery (once a month) cooked vegetables- potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, acorn squash, butternut squash
Choice of one per day	fruits - pear, apple, blueberries, one or two grapes, melon, banana, strawberry, cranberries (once in a great while)
Every day	Harlmen Dyna Taurine
Every other day	Rep-Cal (Note: if your skunk's calcium is normal, then use this or any other calcium supplement in moderation.)
Every once in a while choice of one	boiled or poached eggs, wheat germ, Multi-Minerals, spray of Willards Water, oregano, cranberry juice, orange juice, organic apple cider vinegar, garlic juice, Old Mother Hubbard dog biscuits, live crickets, meal worms, pinkies.

We also use a wide variety of supplements (herbs, homeopathic, and holistic) depending on what is wrong with the skunk. (Note: We do blood work and X-rays to determine what is needed):

Synovi-MSM, shark cartilage, Liver Support
Colostrum, minerals, Pet Tinic, milk thistle, etc.
Vitamins, Missing Link (we mix vegetable and feline together), Pet-tabs, Nutra-Cal, Felovite II, Nu-Cat

Foods we do not give - asparagus (can cause seizures in skunks), onions, chocolate, sweets, cookies, fatty foods, processed meats like lunch meat, hot dogs, some fried food., pork., bacon, lettuce, cat food.

Many of the commercial products listed on this page are referenced on our Additional Links page.

Please join us for SkunkInfo Chat on Yahoo, ask questions about your skunk's diet -
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SkunkInfo/

Revised 04/09/06 (kw)

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