Post by bugmenot on Oct 1, 2009 0:49:41 GMT 10
Pet skunk Mr Bumble on strict diet after ballooning on diet of bacon butties www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216844/Pepe-le-HUGE-Pet-skunk-strict-diet-ballooning-diet-bacon-butties.html 
A pet skunk has been put on a crash diet after ballooning to double his size - by scoffing bacon butties.
Mr Bumble tips the scales at nearly 15lbs - twice his recommended weight - after being fed up to two bacon sandwiches a day by his previous owners.
They handed him over to the RSPCA because they were unable to control his weight gain and he is now on a strict diet of fruit and vegetables with two walks a day.
Big stinker: Animal keeper Katie Godsell with Mr Bumble, who has been put on a crash diet
The North American skunk is being cared for at the Tropiquaria Zoo at Washford Cross, near Watchet, Somerset, where he has become a hit with visitors.
Park owner Chris Moiser said: 'Judging by the size of him we reckon he must have been eating more than one bacon butty every day.
'His previous owners weren't malicious but obviously couldn't look after him properly and handed him over to the RSPCA, who re-homed him here.
'He's very rotund but is a lot rounder than we'd like. We're aiming to lose half his bodyweight steadily over the next few months until he's the average weight of around 7lb.
'Like any good diet, we're taking him on walks and giving him lots of fruit and veg - he has a particular fondness for melon.'
Mr Bumble was found wandering through a city centre in the south of England, where he was taken in before being reunited with his owners last month.
But just two weeks later his owners, who wish to remain anonymous, handed him in because they could no longer look after him.
What a porker: Mr Bumble has been put on a crash diet after ballooning in size
They told RSPCA officers he had ballooned in size due to his love of bacon butties.
He was re-homed at the Tropiquaria Zoo two weeks ago, where he is taken on two 30 minute walks every day.
Mr Moiser added: 'He's a very sociable little creature and loves all the attention being lavished on him here.
'He's on a vegetarian diet at the moment. It's very much like a human weight watching issue with plenty of exercise.
'He is getting to meet lots of new people so there's lots going on in his life and I suspect it's making up for the lack of his old favourite food.'
Skunks are members of the weasel family and are native to North America but have become popular as house pets in the UK.
They are omnivores and their natural diet consists of insects, fruits, nuts, vegetation and mice and other small mammals.
A number of skunks have been abandoned recently due to a new law which banned the removal of their scent glands.
Two vets have examined Mr Bumble and neither can be sure whether he has been de-scented.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216844/Pepe-le-HUGE-Pet-skunk-strict-diet-ballooning-diet-bacon-butties.html
A pet skunk has been put on a crash diet after ballooning to double his size - by scoffing bacon butties.
Mr Bumble tips the scales at nearly 15lbs - twice his recommended weight - after being fed up to two bacon sandwiches a day by his previous owners.
They handed him over to the RSPCA because they were unable to control his weight gain and he is now on a strict diet of fruit and vegetables with two walks a day.
Big stinker: Animal keeper Katie Godsell with Mr Bumble, who has been put on a crash diet
The North American skunk is being cared for at the Tropiquaria Zoo at Washford Cross, near Watchet, Somerset, where he has become a hit with visitors.
Park owner Chris Moiser said: 'Judging by the size of him we reckon he must have been eating more than one bacon butty every day.
'His previous owners weren't malicious but obviously couldn't look after him properly and handed him over to the RSPCA, who re-homed him here.
'He's very rotund but is a lot rounder than we'd like. We're aiming to lose half his bodyweight steadily over the next few months until he's the average weight of around 7lb.
'Like any good diet, we're taking him on walks and giving him lots of fruit and veg - he has a particular fondness for melon.'
Mr Bumble was found wandering through a city centre in the south of England, where he was taken in before being reunited with his owners last month.
But just two weeks later his owners, who wish to remain anonymous, handed him in because they could no longer look after him.
What a porker: Mr Bumble has been put on a crash diet after ballooning in size
They told RSPCA officers he had ballooned in size due to his love of bacon butties.
He was re-homed at the Tropiquaria Zoo two weeks ago, where he is taken on two 30 minute walks every day.
Mr Moiser added: 'He's a very sociable little creature and loves all the attention being lavished on him here.
'He's on a vegetarian diet at the moment. It's very much like a human weight watching issue with plenty of exercise.
'He is getting to meet lots of new people so there's lots going on in his life and I suspect it's making up for the lack of his old favourite food.'
Skunks are members of the weasel family and are native to North America but have become popular as house pets in the UK.
They are omnivores and their natural diet consists of insects, fruits, nuts, vegetation and mice and other small mammals.
A number of skunks have been abandoned recently due to a new law which banned the removal of their scent glands.
Two vets have examined Mr Bumble and neither can be sure whether he has been de-scented.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1216844/Pepe-le-HUGE-Pet-skunk-strict-diet-ballooning-diet-bacon-butties.html
Happy New Years Everybody!!!
