What is a skunk's natural diet?

Wild animals are not known to be good pets, but when skunks are domesticated, they are loving, entertaining and docile. A skunk is an omnivore and it eats anything it finds. When it is in the wild, it can scavenge in the garbage.



A skunk should eat fresh and natural ingredients in its diet so that it may thrive. The right food is needed to ensure good growth, reproduction and maintenance. Vegetables have to be combined with fruits to get the superior nutrition for its life stages. The skunk eats eggs and vegetables, and enough water should always be nearby.

When it comes to eating, a skunk is normally an opportunist and it will eat anything that it finds around. In the wild, the skunk is known to get its protein from small insects and eggs. It will eat worms, crickets, raw nuts and hulled seeds like sunflower seeds, lindseeds and almonds

Vegetables are also among the diet of the skunk. There are many vegetables that the skunk will eat. They will eat them raw. They will eat carrots, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower and broccoli. The skunks can eat butternuts, yams, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and acorn squash.

Fruit can be eaten by the skunks because it is healthy and safe. They like strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. However, they also eat cranberries when they find them. Other fruits that they can eat are melons, bananas, apples and pears.

The skunk will eat a different diet to get minerals and vitamins. Pets can be given supplements when they do not get enough nutrients. When the skunks do not find the right diet, they can suffer from cancer, kidney disease, diabetes and obesity.

A skunk is not picky when it comes to eating, and this means that it can even go through the garbage to eat anything they can find in it. The skunk will enter into the refuse bin to get rotting food, insects and rodents. The skunks look in the bins to get food and they will also eat from outdoor grills, bird feeders and compost piles.

While in the wild, the skunks eat everything they can find like fruits, insects, plants and even small mammals. They will get the food from different sources depending on what they are able to get in the environment. A wild skunk is an omnivorous mammal and it will eat only during the night.

If you are the owner of a skunk, you have to make sure that it eats on a regular basis and that it does not go a day without food. You can try its favorite foods like yogurt, fruit and meat. When the skunk refuses to eat, you should force it to eat pureed foods when needed. An adult has to eat twice a day. The skunk should be monitored so that it does not get too thin or too fat. If you are not sure of what to feed your skunk, you may buy the commercial food developed specifically for wild animals and keep away from pet foods.

You may also want to read:

  • Do skunks dig in lawns looking for food?
  • What is a skunk's mating habits?
  • Do skunks hibernate in the winter?
  • How to identify skunk tracks


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