Someone is at the door

latenightowl
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Someone is at the door
Someone is at the door

From the outside looking in. The dog groomer has arrived. This means treat time for us!

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Book Notes
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Peggy Sue: 1 year old, 12 pounds
Dora: 3 years old, 30 pounds

It takes two to three years for raccoon girls to reach their full size and maturity. Can you see the difference in their coats? Peggy Sue still has quite a bit of fine baby coat.

Dora is overweight, but not extremely so compared to some of the girls outside. She is dieting and I'd like to see her lose three to five pounds. I have seen (horrifying) pictures of raccoons that people have overfed up to 50 and 75 pounds. I will never understand why people think an overweight animal in their care is something to brag about. I see it all too often with dog and cat owners, too.

It's not easy to stay slim when you are a raccoon who lives in a house. They enjoy sweets so much and enjoy exercise so little (hey, sounds like someone else I know), and there is no cuter mooch in the world than Dora sitting next to me at the table! Still, the responsibility for her health is most important.
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I've read that raccoons can have from one to six kits in a litter. I've seen mamas walking around with four trailing behind, but two is the average here at the Marshside Menagerie. There may have been more in the litters, but two is the average I see by the time they are up walking about. They are 2.5 to 3 months old by then.

Though I have not read about this elsewhere, I have observed here that the young are raised communally by mothers, aunts, and older siblings. I saw Patty babysitting a group of half a dozen little ones on the deck several months before she had her first litter.

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Taken on: March 26, 2006
Tags: Everybody's photos tagged with book book
Camera: Nikon D70, f/4.5, 1/320 sec, 35mm (=52mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)
Camera: Nikon D70
Aperture: f/4.5
Exposure Time: 0.003 sec (1/320)
Focal Length: 35mm (35mm equivalent: 52mm)
ISO: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return detected
Exposure Program: Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode: Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-segment
White Balance: Auto
Color Space: Uncalibrated
Software: Ver.2.00
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