Feeding and sharing with wild animals is a nice thing to do, but can raccoons eat chocolate?
Raccoons should not eat chocolate. Raccoons cannot eat chocolate because this sweet treat contains caffeine and theobromine. Both these compounds are indigestible by raccoons. Chocolate results in raccoons vomiting, becoming hyperactive, developing seizures, tremors, diarrhoea and can even cause death. If you want to give raccoons a treat offer them fruit.
I love chocolate just as much as the next person, chocolate is a deliciously creamy and rich snack. So is it ok to share a chocolate treat with our furry friends? Can racoons eat chocolate? Whether you’re a wildlife lover, passer-by, or a pets’ best friend this article will be beneficial to you.
Raccoons aren’t always looked at in the best light. They can be seen as dirty animals that carry rabies, this is a bad reputation to have. Some people own pet raccoons, these animals can be a great addition to your home. Spoiling your pet racoons may be something you want to do, but should you use chocolate to do it?
Table of Contents
Can raccoons eat chocolate?
Raccoon diets:
Racoons evolve to eat just about anything. They are omnivores and thus eat both plant and animal matter. As exotic creatures with a fondness for water a wild racoon diet often includes crayfish, eggs, foraged berries, fruits, nuts, and acorns plants. Chocolate isn’t exactly foud in raccoon habitats.
Benefits of chocolate:
Chocolate is a source of several potent minerals. Dark Chocolate is loaded with age delaying and skin enriching antioxidants. Chocolate-based flavonoids increase the release of endorphins which eases pain and stress, making us feel good. These benefits, however, are only realized by human beings. Even to us human’s chocolate can be harmful. At certain doses it’s a carcinogen and cause of obesity.
Chocolate for raccoons:
Raccoons can not eat chocolate, is actively dangerous and even life-threatening to animals like racoons.
The benefits of chocolates do not transcend to animals like racoons. Fact is, caffeine and theobromine in chocolate and cocoa beans are not readily digestible by racoons.
Chocolate can cause racoons to vomit, be hyperactive, have diarrhoea, tremors, seizures, abnormal heartbeats and even death. The ASPCA says that as small as 1 ounce of chocolate or cocoa powder causes severe problems.
Can raccoons eat the cocoa plant?
If not outright chocolate what about the cocoa plant? There are animals like certain monkeys that eat the cocoa plant fruit. Racoons are impressively adaptive, and their dietary tracks are equally impressive too, so if not processed chocolate can they eat the cocoa fruit?
Certain monkeys have been known to eat the cocoa fruit but not the nut. Those monkeys are chiefly herbivores which a racoon is not. A monkey’s stomach can digest it while racoons will have a hard time doing so. So no, raccoons cannot eat the cocoa plant.
What foods are poisonous to raccoons?
Spices such as onions and garlic: These have chemical components and nutrients that can cause what is known as Haemolytic Anaemia in racoons.
Raisins and Macadamia nuts: These have concentrated minerals that act as toxins to the intestines of racoons. They also speed up the growth of a parasite-specific to racoons, known as racoon roundworms.
Other Animal Milk, like cow’s milk: The composition and vitamin D concentration in cow’s milk is not suitable for other animals including racoons. This can cause indigestion and adverse stomach reactions.
Bread and yeast: These aren’t favourites of a racoon, but in desperation, they will oblige. Yeast is present in most bread and it can cause fungal infections in racoons.
What do raccoons generally eat?
While racoons adapt to eat just about anything, straying from their diet is usually due to desperation. The science of it is that racoons are not exactly herbivores or carnivores but rather omnivores.
Herbivores thrive on plants, while carnivores eat meat. Omnivores have the ability to flex between plants and meat. Omnivores need both meat and plants to survive.
The digestive anatomy of omnivores cannot process certain plants and meats completely as a purely carnivore or herbivore can. Instead, omnivores eat a bit of both.
Racoons in the wild thrive on cherries, apples, acorns, berries, citrus fruits, watermelons, beech nuts, corn, and walnuts. For meat, a raccoon’s favourite treats are frogs, fish, crayfish, insects, rodents, and bird eggs. Ravaging our garbage is desperate times. As urban pets feed your pal racoons foods like eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, chicken, fish, and turkey.
Here are some articles looking at if raccoons eat fish or birds. Click the links to find out more
Conclusion:
You may love it but chocolate is no good for raccoons at all. To humans, chocolate offers a number of benefits but this treat is not good for raccoons. Cholate contains caffeine and theobromine which can’t be digested y raccoons. Giving chocolate to raccoons will result in vomiting, hyperactivity, diarrhoea, seizures, tremors, abnormal heartbeats and even death. In addition, the cocoa plant shouldn’t be given to raccoons either.
Other foods that you should not give racoons are onions, garlic, raisins, macadamia nuts, animal milk and bread. Rather give them foods like cherries, corn, acorns, beechnuts citrus fruits, watermelons, apples, berries, walnuts, fish, frogs, rodents, bird eggs, insects, crayfish, vegetables, chicken, and turkey
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other raccoon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Can You Make Raccoon Poison With Coke?, Can You Repel Raccoons Using Ammonia-Soaked Tennis Balls?, Are Raccoons Afraid Of Dogs? , Raccoon In Backyard At Night, What Do Raccoons Eat In The City?, What To Do If You See A Raccoon At Night?