Female clawed otters for sale

What is a good pet? I tend to state that there’s no such thing as a good or bad pet — it depends on what you’re looking for in an animal. However, Asian small-clawed otters, despite being the otter species best suited for captivity, are not commonly kept, even in the exotic pet-keeping community.

They are considered to be very high-maintenance, as you would imagine. It takes a tremendous amount of time, effort, patience, and experience to house them, provide them with enrichment, and keep them safe and secure. No matter how much you fantasize about them, you must accept the fact that they are not house pets. Otters are not ferrets; they are not animals that should be kept with the intention of cuddling it.

Diet

• An otter’s diet can vary in captivity. They are carnivores with a high metabolic rate, requiring them to consume 20% of their body weight per day.
• The base can consist of nutritionally-complete cat food.
• 70-80% of the diet can be meat-based and can consist of day-old chicks, chicken, venison, rabbit, etc.
• 20-30% should be fish.
• Vegetables, insects, crayfish, monkey nuts, soft-boiled eggs, etc. can also be offered to supplement the diet. This can be fed irregularly with a “scatter” method to ward off stereotypic behavior — something that occurs when certain animals are fed at specific times.

Entertainment

It is extremely important that you provide diverse enrichment for otters — and all animals for that matter. Some ideas include:

• Freeze food in ice cubes on a hot day.
• Take feathers directly from the bird so the scent is present, and scatter them in various places.
• Place food out of reach so the animal needs to work out how to get it down.
• There are also many food dispensing devices available for dogs and cats that must be manipulated to dispense treats. These toys are excellent for species that hunt and forge