# oriental small clawed otter



## PurpleHeyze (Aug 7, 2010)

Hi all,

Ive been looking into otters and how to care for them for fun and justed wanted to know if anyone on here cares for the oriental small claw privately? And if anyone has any photos of the setups that would be need.

Also what are peoples opinions on keeping otters? I havent seen anyone poston here about them really so wondered if they were hard to find here or like a taboo species that people dont agree with

Anyways thanks,
Heyze :2thumb:


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## brjjordan3 (Aug 28, 2015)

Have you ever by chance found a breeder? I am looking into getting some too and haven't found a breeder yet.


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## naja-naja (Aug 26, 2009)

you see them semi-regularly in US collections and on classifieds over there, not heard of any kept privately in the UK though, some places in europe have them, zoo zajac I think, possibly herne breeding center as well, but i don't know how you'd go about getting them over to the UK though.


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## brjjordan3 (Aug 28, 2015)

I am actually in the U.S. and haven't had much luck over here. A lot of scammers. That's why I decided to try and reach out a little further though. But thank you for the information I have emailed both companies and with any luck I'll hear back soon


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## TalulaTarantula (Jan 21, 2011)

haven't owned them myself,
but i worked at a "petting zoo" or whatever you want to call it, all the basic animals with the addition of large agri animals, birds, meerkats..and asian short claws

ours weren't reared from birth so were really quite wild, im sure if you got bottle fed babies they'd accept the human contact alot more willingly
There were a few incidents, where public would ignore the large signs and extra outer fence, dangle their brats over into the otter enclosure and kick up a fuss because said child has been bit, scratched or no shoes left
cleaning them out id have to take a broom to shoo them away, they had no problems trying to attack me or other keepers

They were kept in a large enclosure, unsure on size, but they had various scrub and levels to wonder through, they had two large ponds with a running stream joining the two, had a filter to keep it running, weed free etc

If you keep them, its best if your not near any neighbors, one thing i always tell people who work with animals, you will rarely find anything that smells worse than otter poop.

They will literally eat anything, often a over confident pigeon would land in their pen, never to leave.

The diet we gave them, was a mixture of various fish, and cray fish, they would feed them day old chicks now and then, raw eggs, and a commercial dry mix which i wasnt too keen on.

They had a wooden structure built into the ground that they would sleep in...and poop in, that could be easily accessed for our convenience 

I believe they are prone to kidney stones, so regular vet checks would be needed to keep them healthy and happy

Hope that helps a little


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