Family+Life

Early Life
Skunks mate in late February to early March. Average gestation period is 40 to 72 days. Skunk kits are born from May to early June. Litter sizes can range from 1 to 8 kits. Fact, baby skunks make clicking sounds with their tongues. When they get older they start to squeal like a mouse. Kits are born blind and don't have a lot of hair. Skunks hiss and growl when they get angry. The mother's eggs float in the uterus, usually 1 to 8 babies are born. The male plays no role whatsoever in raising the baby skunks. The kits can be about three weeks old to be able to spray.

The Musk:[[image:baby_striped_skunk.jpg width="121" height="80" caption="baby striped skunk"]]
The musk is made by two sophisticated glands connected on both sides of the skunks anus. Each is 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Right when a skunk is about to spray, the muscles around the gland contract and the musk comes out. When skunks spray it cause no real damage to the victim, but makes them very uncomfortable, and will also leave them smelling really bad. Tomato juice doesn't work! It just makes the smell worse. For pets it's extreamly hard to get the smell out, you need a quarter cup of peroxide, a quarter cup of baking soda, and a teaspoon of dishwashing soap.

Size of Baby Skunks:
Males legth is 680mm. The females legth is 610-225mm. Depending on the skunks weight and amout of fat the average weight is 1.4-6.6kg, which is the size of a domestic cat. A skunk has a small head, short legs, and a big, long fluffy tail.