Two Summerville couples find striped bandits lovable but demanding pets

Landa and Milton Berry of Summerville are settling down for the night. They pull the covers back on their queen-size bed and spy a dozen bushy-tailed skunks scurrying about.

Some people would raise a stink, but not the Berrys.

The critters in their bed are beloved pets — some of the 35 de-scented, spayed, neutered and house-trained skunks the couple keep in their Logan Drive home.

"They get up in a chair and they snuggle up to you. We wake up with 20 skunks in the bed," Landa Berry said.

Though the Berrys are state-licensed wild animal rehabilitators, this brood of skunks was born and raised in captivity. Their frightening scent glands were removed while they were babies.

"You can put a (de-scented) skunk up to your nose and you won't smell anything," insists Milton Berry.

A few miles from the Berry menagerie, Mary Vice and Dan Copeland are just as proud of their 11 skunks. The couple also allow their skunks to share their bed and even provide a set of miniature stairs for the aging creatures who might have trouble crawling up the comforter.

The two Summerville couples meet often and share skunk stories. "They are very entertaining. Daily you are going to get something to laugh at," Copeland said.

Six years ago, Copeland and Vice launched Striped Bandits (www.stripedbandits.com), a Web site for owners of pet skunks.

The skunks found in the Summerville homes are black and white, brown and white and all white. There are a few all-white, pink-eyed albinos. Copeland, Vice and the Berrys speak of their skunks in affectionate terms.

Copeland said he often awakens to find a skunk wrapped around his head, or is jostled awake by "a cold, hard nose on the back, (when a skunk is) trying to find their spot to settle in. They will yank the covers off of us and jump on your face. They will actually pull your hair at 4 o'clock in the morning," he added.

Like the Berrys, Vice and Copeland are licensed by Keepers of the Wild to rehabilitate wildlife in their homes. People often bring orphaned or injured skunks to them, along with other forms of wildlife. When possible, rehabilitated animals are returned to the wild.

In addition to their 35 skunks, the Berrys have five cats, two dogs, a cockatiel, seven ferrets, four Texas prairie dogs, a fleet of flying squirrels and some regular Lowcountry baby squirrels. The skunks, dogs and cats get along just fine, the couple said.

Captive-born and bred skunks are legal to own in South Carolina, but it's no longer legal to buy or sell them, or breed or import them, in the state. But don't think about owning skunks unless you can afford the considerable expenses and are ready to make changes to your home and lifestyle, both couples said.

Copeland and Vice explained how they have had to make their home "preservative free" because of the dangers chemicals used in preservatives pose to skunks. "We make our own laundry detergent, shampoos and soap, and dish detergent," he said.

"They have to have as natural an environment as possible," Vice added. Skunks need constant attention and care. You can forget about leaving home for the weekend or for a long vacation if no one is left to tend to the skunks.

"They are really high-maintenance but worth it, if you have the patience. They have the personality of a 2-year-old," Copeland said.

Vice said every skunk is imbued with a personality. She said one particularly aggressive one has to be kept away from her other 10. "He gets along with no one. He bites them, and that stresses the whole house out," she said.

Skunks are nocturnal creatures but will somewhat adapt to their owners' hours. They will eat just about anything, but there are many foods that can be harmful to skunks, even fatal. A healthy skunk diet consists of mostly vegetables, with some crickets, mealworms and mice meat tossed in. Pet skunks like to roam the backyard and dig up treats such as grubs, snakes and worms.

Just like dogs and cats, skunks can be house trained and will even teach the newcomers to use kitty litter boxes or old newspapers. "When you have a group, they learn from the others where they are supposed to go," Vice said.

Copeland and Vice said their skunks are given old newspapers because the skunks tended to toss the kitty litter boxes. The Berrys said kitty litter works in their home.

Both skunk-owning couples have secured their refrigerators with Velcro straps to prevent the clever animals from helping themselves to food. Skunks figured out how to lie on their backs and push the refrigerator door open with their feet, Milton Berry said.

The skunks are treated by a local veterinarian, but Milton does the nail clipping and necessary vaccinations. "Nail clipping is an all-day event," he said.

"They are extremely intelligent and they actually demand to be loved. When they want to be loved, they refuse to be ignored. They will grab you and make you pet them," Copeland said.

"They love being under foot," he added. "You have to learn to walk differently. It can take five minutes just to get down the hall when they are trying to 'help' you."

To learn more about skunks, see stripedbandits.com, animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/skunk.html and projectwildlife.org/living-skunks.htm.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at efennell@postandcourier.com or 745-5865.