Rufus is a Racoon. He came to us with his sister Rita when their owner no longer wanted them and didn’t really have the space for them. Rufus was ever so shy when he first arrived and hid in his bed a lot but it only took a few weeks of giving him his favourite foods and talking to him to make him gain confidence. Now he loves a cuddle!! Rufus is such a sweet little boy. His favourite foods are cashew nuts and morio worms. The Racoons have a huge enclosure with lots of play things to keep them occupied and of course they get lots of attention from the Fripps team. Jodie’s dad is a massive fan of the Racoons and Jodie herself sits and plays with them for hours. They’re used to being around humans so they like the attention. Jodie hides food around their enclosure so that they have to go hunting for it and you have to watch them as if you take any bags or containers into their enclosure they will be straight into it. They are very curious and like to investigate everything! Rufus is so loved and we know we’re biased but we think he’s the most handsome Racoon ever!!!

Rita the Racoon came to Fripps with her brother Rufus. She only has one eye and we were never told why when we rescued them. She’s quite happy though, unless you wake her up and my goodness does she get the grumps. If you wake her up she will literally stomp about growling and huffing at you. She’s more dominant than Rufus and she acts more like his mum than his sister. Her favourite foods are Morio worms and dog food. Rita loves a cuddle and will happily cuddle you for hours (as long as you didn’t wake her up). She’s such a funny little character and we are all obsessed with her. She definitely rules the roost in the Racoon enclosure and wanders around keeping herself busy. We think she’s absolutely beautiful and her and Rufus will be at Fripps forever.

Racoons are classed as invasive in the UK so you need a license to keep them. You’re not allowed to buy them, breed them or sell them, and they can only be kept as pets if you had them before the law changed in 2016.