[maureen_t_willett]

I recently adopted two baby raccoons. They are doing great and growing like crazy. I've now come to the problem of what wormers and vaccines to give my coons, how old should they be, when to give them and how often, and what would be the proper dosage, etc? Any advise would be most welcome!

[tigerfeather]

You're really going to have to ask a vet for this. Wormers have to be administered pretty carefully sometimes, because they are just dilute toxins. And they'll probably give you the same answer that I'm going to give you on the vaccinations: Rabies vaccines have not been proved to be effective on wild animals.

Are you taking them to the vet at all? Rabies vaccines can only be administered by a vet, so you're going to need to bring them in sooner or later. =) Your pet vet may even be able to recommend you to a wildlife vet.

Good luck with your babies!

[froggy7]

I'm also curious about whether it is even legal in your area to keep raccoons as pets. It's not in a lot of areas.

But, assuming that it is, there are websites out there about the challenges and rewards of keeping pet raccoons, including health care. This one is from someone who has a pet raccoon: REMO RACCOON'S HOME PAGE

Be aware that even the people who have pet raccoons say that they will bite, and that you should expect to be bitten at some point. And that if it bites a visitor, the law may not recognize the rabies vaccination. They also say that adult coons are solitary animals, so I'm not sure what's going to happen as your two get older.