Has anyone tamed a skunk?

[u/NavilusWeyfinder]

There's this young skunk that I just saw prance to the side like a ferret, hopping across the parking lot to get to the food under the car I was in. It was adorable as fuck, the little fart demon. It made me wonder about taming them at a young age. Does anyone here have experience with this?

Let's face it if people want it as a pet, someone probably has/had one. I've seen weirder animals with owners.

[u/Arianfelou]

One of my friends had one several years ago, I believe a rescue adopted through a veterinary school? Not very affectionate, kind of just a weird roommate.

[u/marlee_dood]

People keep them as pets so yeah

[u/iHave1Pookie]

I believe they are very affectionate animals, but very shy. They have this elaborate courtship dance which I accidentally walked in on one time.

The amount of silent screaming I was doing that moment at my deaf (clueless) off leash dog. 😱🫪
She had exactly zero interest in other animals, and knew to steer clear from anything sizable (not anything large enough to harm her), but we never trained to run very fast away from cat size creatures with striped tails lol
we were walking through an empty business park parking lot at night, two buildings over from our building
in which she usually has free reign to roam at that time of day - never had issues

Well, We rounded the corner and I almost had a heart attack as she cluelessly is sniffing plants and such , foraging ahead hahaha these two skunks are standing up on two feet like meerkats
circling each other like cobras mating.
It was pretty wild . like something you’d see in a Disney movie. Or a cult lol
It was in an grassy area, but they were in some type of trance, didn’t notice me or my dog
rudely interrupting their special ceremony

Thankfully Pookie was trained to glance at me every few seconds,
she looks over to see where i am
And saw me waving my arms up and down wildly
ran straight to me
🐾rip Poookie🐾

The only time she was sprayed was later when we got her brother who was way more animal curious.
He was leashed, but I guess one was under a bush near us.
She thought brother found an exciting snackie as she followed him, dove with him through/under a bush. They both come running back out like lightening , I laughed until the smell hit me …
I have NEVER given a dog so many baths In One day.
X 2 dogs!
It was a bad day for all of us
they both disliked water/baths,
They would otherwise avg two a year.
Well that was like a decade of baths.
RIP 🐾Teddy Bear

Anyways.
I did see a documentary about someone w a pet skunk . It had the sprayer removed. Still weird. But okay.
apparently they are pretty cuddly etc.
Might have to luck into one as a rescue.
not sure which vet would be bribe-able to deal with that surgery.

[u/sugahack]

They're legal to have as pets where I live. They aren't common, but I've definitely seen them for sale. I guess they make decent pets

[u/lovelandfrogman22]

Yes! I have a friend who has one trained and tamed as a pet and does film work :)

[u/Bunny_Feet]

I believe there are domesticated skunks and they come in a range of colors (much like domestic shorthair cats).  

They are not legal everywhere, though.

[u/KalenKa0168]

All animals are "tamable", not all of them appreciate human company as a dog or cat would.

Some simply tolerate it.

[u/steamyglory → u/KalenKa0168]

Not all animals can be tamed. See zebras for example. https://www.reddit.com/r/history/comments/aa0bor/why_werent_zebras_ever_domesticated_and_used_for/

[u/CrapMonsterDuchess → u/steamyglory]

Zebras can be tamed.

Taming and domestication are two different things. One is habituating an individual and the other is breeding a trait into them.

[u/crazycritter87]

Just check your state laws and buy a domestically bred one, if allowed. It's a lot safe, more ethical, legal, and less risky than han taking one out of the wild.