How old is a skunk when they can spray

Even with all this activity, female skunks will do their best to keep their search and their chosen burrow a secret. Why all this trouble to avoid drawing attention? This perfect hole is the den where a female skunk will give birth to her litter, a bundle of blind and hairless baby skunks whose black and white skin tones are a preview of the distinctive black and white striped fur to come.

Unlike adult skunks that easily defend themselves from predators using their devastatingly stinky anal spray, baby skunks are defenseless. Any predator that finds a skunk den can quickly make a snack of the skunk babies, and male skunks also enter dens and kill and eat young. A female with young in a den will aggressively fight off male skunks and vigorously defend the burrow and young from predators, often to the dismay of a coyote or bobcat that has been temporarily blinded by the spray of the mother.

The transformation from docile skunk to protective mother happens about a week before giving birth, and woe to the animal that provokes her at this time. By the time the young skunks are 8 days old they can emit musk, but they are unable to defend themselves by spraying musk spray until they are about a month old. Once skunks become adults they have little to fear from other animals. The musk that skunks spray from highly developed anal glands is such an effective defense that adult skunks are rarely killed by predators, although they are occasionally eaten as a last resort by foxes, coyotes, bobcats, or mountain lions.

Great horned owls also prey on skunks, and since they have little sense of smell and are also nocturnal they may pose the greatest risk to skunks, but the threat is still relatively small. Outside of the birthing season female skunks are happy-go-lucky animals that go about their nightly lives mostly oblivious to other animals.

The only time skunks appear to even pay attention to a person or animal is if they feel threatened, when they will begin a typical set of behaviors that progress from hissing while arching their back and displaying their tail, to stomping their front feet, and ultimately bending in a U-shape to simultaneously look at the threat and aim the business end of their musk glands before spraying. While this strategy is remarkably ineffective against cars, it will drive off other animals and skunks will even chase after fleeing intruders.

Since the top running speed of a skunk is similar to the running speed of a frightened person this can lead to some heart-pounding nighttime encounters!

Skunks are the only mid-Atlantic species that have this particular defense, but this ability has evolved multiple times in several different species around the world. In a fascinating display of what is known as convergent evolution, or the evolution of similar attributes in different species groups, all of these species share common traits. Species that spray anal musk for defense are mid-sized compared to other carnivores , have black and white markings, are typically nocturnal, use open habitats, and are often stocky animals that do not run fast.

The bold black and white striping stands out well even at night, warning potential predators at any time of day.

There is no single set of indications that an animal may have rabies; since it is a neurological disease, rabies can manifest itself in many ways. However, those same depressed signs can also indicate head trauma from an injury, or another disease.

Never handle a skunk of any age without wearing gloves. Roundworm: Baylisacaris columnaris is a skunk roundworm that can be spread to other animals, including humans. Infected skunks shed eggs in their feces; the eggs are very resilient and cannot be killed with bleach or normal disinfectants. While the skunk roundworm is not as prevalent as the raccoon roundworm, all skunk feces should be treated as potentially infected; read more about this zoonotic disease on the CDC website.

Prevent pets from co-mingling with skunks; outdoor food dishes should not be shared between wildlife and pets. There are several diseases skunks and pets can transmit to one another, including rabies, leptospirosis , and distemper. Bring in pet dishes at night.

Donate Now. Need wildlife assistance? Search form Search. The Wildlife Center of Virginia. Skunks as Neighbors. Before spraying, an agitated skunk will first: Stamp its feet; Turn around with backend toward target ; Raise its tail; Look over its shoulder at target and hiss.

Skunks will then spray up to five or six times and can reach targets that are feet away. Common Conflicts with People Den under Building: The openings to skunk dens are usually about four to six inches wide, and smell faintly like skunk. Clothing may be a lost cause. If you Find a Baby Skunk Skunks typically have a single litter of four to six babies in May-June; skunks den in old woodchuck burrows, hollow logs, wood or rock piles, or under buildings and stone walls. Public Health Concerns Skunks can carry zoonotic diseases that are serious health risks to humans and pets: Rabies: In Virginia, skunks are a high-risk rabies species.

If skunks, even babies, are handled without gloves, bites and scratches may possibly occur, which will qualify as exposure. If the health department thinks someone has been exposed, they will require rabies testing of the skunk, even if the animal is not showing symptoms.

Wear gloves and a dust mask if cleaning an area where skunks have been denning. In Virginia, it is illegal to keep skunks as pets or to attempt to raise them yourself without a rehabilitation permit. However, this does not mean that at that age they are able to control and direct their spray until they are much older, and in younger skunks this is more of a panic reaction rather than something targeted. The Differences Between Sprayed By A Juvenile And An Adult Skunk By the age of around three months skunks will have fully developed anal glands and will have the ability to spray, although one feature worth noting is that the older the skunk the better they will usually be at directing their spray.

The key thing with an adult is that they can spray quite some distance, and are usually quite accurate over distances of up to ten feet, and will aim for the eyes and face of the animal or person that they view as a threat.

Should I feed a baby skunk I found? What should I do if I find an orphaned baby skunk? What should I do if I find a nest of baby skunks? Can a skunk spray multiple times at once? Signs A Skunk Is About To Spray Skunks do not like to waste this foul smelling fluid however, so they will give the potential threat that they are intending to spray several other warning signs to encourage them to get away.