Our male pet skunk, Jeronimo liked the litter pan in the downstairs bathroom at the cabin. If someone locked him out, he would bang down the door.
The title was Lacey’s first long sentence, she’s beginning to talk now. Been so busy marketing a book with three pet skunk co-stars that I didn’t get to the litter pan story until now.
There are never enough pet skunk litter boxes in a house. The more skunks you have the more litter pans you might want.
We have two girl skunks now. They are not like the boys. The girls prefer a clean litter pan. We can have a pan in every room – for their convenience – but it is not enough.
After dinner the other day Blossom had to go pooey. She headed for the one closest to her den. Lacey was just finishing up. Blossom sighed, exasperated. Lacey climbed out, helpfully saying, “The one in the office is clean.” And off Blossom galloped to the other end of the house for the clean box.
I can be in the office working and one will come in to poo. I have the box right by my feet so that when I am working I can deter them from using it. Otherwise I would have to stop what I am doing and clean the box. Geez, I think they could use the other ones more than once.
Really, even if one of our pet skunks pees in a litter pan, they will avoid it until it is changed. We would be standing by with a towel over our arm like their maids, if they had it their way.
PET SKUNK LITTER PAN FACTS:
- Skunk prefer corners. In the wild they back up to logs and tree stumps. They also will use the other end of their den because the poo smells like skunk spray and deters other animals. Best to warn a wolf with a pile of poo than surprise them with a spray in the face. What skunk wants to wake up and bother with all that.
- They seem to prefer a side cut out than to climb over. We like the corner boxes with a low edge in front, more expensive but our favorites from the pet supply store.
- Pet skunks owners use many litter solutions.
- Some use newspapers right in front of their den. If that works and you don’t mind, it’s easy.
- Puppy pads. Our experience with puppy pads is they do attract the skunk to use that area but our skunks also confiscate the pads for bedding, and tear it to shreds for fun. Lacey also gathers the pad into a ball then poos an pees on it in the corner, does not work very well.
- Alfalfa.
- Kitty litter – not recommended, keep reading.
- Wood chips – not recommended, keep reading.
- Plastic with newspaper over – not safe at all, they take everything for bedding and can get caught in plastic.
- We once used sweet alfalfa on a bed of sand for the litter. It went well but was messy, they played in the pan too much.
- In our opinion, the worst idea for pet skunk litter is kitty litter. Skunks scoot to wipe, right after they poo. Their arse can gather up loose litter and it gets stuck in there. We did not have this happen, but have heard from reliable sources that it is definitely a concern. We do know from our experience that the kitty litter can get stuck in a male skunk’s peepee and cause infection, pain, male urinary tract disorder which can kill them. Our Sage had this issue when he was young, but that is another story.
- We use newspaper in the litter pan with paper towels over to protect them from newspaper print. Remember to not use the color newspaper, just fold it inside. No need to shred paper, just layer and cover with paper towels. Then we clean the pan with vinegar and paper towels. We clean the litter pan every time one of our pet skunks uses it and we are home.
- Pet skunks wipe their hineys on the floor or in the litter pan right after they poo. We place a washable rug in front of the litter box, they come out and scoot. If you do not have a towel or rug there, they will either scoot in the pan on a rough surface like the wood chips or litter and this can cause severe issues, or they will come out and find the nearest carpet or rug.
PET SKUNK TIP CONCERNING HIDING OFFENSIVE ODORS:
All animals are highly sensitive to essential oils. These should never be used directly on your pet or around them too close. Be careful of oils in shampoos too. The best shampoos are fragrance free and do not contain potentially harmful ingredients like PEG, meaning very bad propolyne glycol (there are about 100 synonyms for this alone) lauryl sulfates, DEA and harsh chemicals. I keep my life simple and just shampoo my skunks in the mildest human shampoo and conditioner that also has no harsh chemicals—- which I believe is by Neways. I like the Ultimate shampoo for my girls, but if you really want to take them to the salon try Keratonics. With these for shampooing, I just know they will always be okay. Email me from my website ESSA Natural with questions.
Pet Skunks for Sale 
Rachel
August 11, 2009
Oh you’re so darn cute! Hubby and I can’t wait until we can have a skunk. Not permitted here in Colorado, but we are planning on moving to Florida, within a year or two. First on our list!
essaadams
October 7, 2009
Yes, the litter pans. They are cute aren’t they. The one under my desk that I will not let them use but keep there just in case when I am gone from the office, well that one keeps rubbing my cable connector and then I lose the net. I know some homes with litter something in every corner of every room, skunks c an be that way, they prefer a corner or to back up to a log in the wild. We are fortunate, if they do a poo outside the pan, I verbally scold and they will both quit for months before trying or forgetting.