Does baby or juvenile skunks spray?

Baby Oregon skunks are considered to be juvenile skunks, and they get born incredibly small in weight. They are very small creatures that may come out to be the size of a hamster, but they do grow throughout time. And since skunks have the foul smell spray inside their anal, people have been wondering if this comes from birth or do they develop it over time. This is of major importance, since the spray is a defense mechanism the skunks use against their attackers. Therefore, are baby skunks able to use it when they are in need of being safe or is the spray still not produced and they need to find other ways to protect themselves?



As a Portland baby animal, there are many things to learn to survive in that species, whether it is a cat, dog, skunk or even a lion! Everything needs time and practice to master it. Therefore, when a baby skunk is first born, they are not born with the spray smell inside their anal glad. The spray is actually produced a few weeks after the baby's birth. Consequently, it is safe to say the first 2 or more weeks the baby skunk is odor free, however there are a bunch of disadvantages that occur when they actually receive their foul spray smell.

First off, the spray might come out and in any direction! This is because baby skunks will not know how to control the spray and the direction it will lead off to. At times it may come out when the baby skunk is scared or panic. Therefore, they can either accidently hit other skunks, or just to fight back with the spray in wrong direction. As a result, they need some time to master the foul spray smell to be able to aim it in the right direction when needed. Also, keep in mind that it takes around 3 months for a skunk to full produce their anal glands, before then, it could be incredibly unstable. This is why adult skunks can actually shoot their spray of a distance of 10 feet, while the baby skunk can barely make it to two feet.

An important objective that will help in knowing is that skunks do not like to use their foul spray smell. Baby Portland skunks may not be able to hold it in at first, but as they grow older, they do not like to use it. This is why they tend to do other defense types at first to scare their attacker. These defenses can be hissing sounds, stomping, and moving around quickly, but if all goes to fail, they will have no choice but to spray.

This is why once you see either a baby or adult skunk, it is best to take precaution since they both can blow out of defense. Also better to stay clear from baby skunks because they have no idea what they are doing in the first few weeks of their lives.

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