From: schwae@marcus.its.rpi.edu (Eric A. Schwartz)
Subject: Re: River Otters?
Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1992 02:15:53 GMT

In article <1992Sep8.100733.1@ualr.edu> bproden@ualr.edu writes:
>In article <16819@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu>, nathan@charles.ucdavis.edu (Nathan Rollins) writes:
>> 
>>   Hi, I was just wondering something... I've met several people who have
>> had river otters as pets (none had them at the time I knew them, however)
>> and yet I'd always thought that otters were under some sort of wild
>> animal protection act... Where did these people get otters? Were they
>> legal? Are they legal in California and if so where could I look into
>> getting one?
>> 
>>  (Yes I know they are a hell of a lot of work.... probably twice as much
>> as ferrets, at least...)
>> 
>> The people in question weren't forest rangers or anything like that... 
>> just ordinary folks.  What's the story?
>> 
>>  _Otter (Not Nathan Rollins, but his SO)
>
>As far as I know, they are not protected nationally (they may be in some states
>where the population has dropped).  I plan on having a couple of river otters
>when I get to build my ranch house (with an interior courtyard and fountain
>where the otters could play).
>
>If you get an otter, GET TWO!!! They are very playful animals and thrive on
>contact, from what I have read and heard.  Unless you can spend 12 hours a day
>with your otter, he'll need a friend.  Of course, if you have a male/female
>pair, you'll either need to get a USDA exotic animal breeder license or have
>them fixed.
>
Two can be a problem.  Even in the same species it can't be guaranteed 
that any two will get along.  If they don't, then you have two otters
each of which you have to spend 12 hours a day with.  The more common
problem, however, is that they learn how hard to bite by playing with
their friends.  So they learn to bite you as hard as they would bite
another tough otter.  Otters also tend to imprint strongly on only
one person.  It could just as easily be the other otter person as you,
so you may have two otters who don't trust you completely.  It is best
to just spend a lot of time with them and not try to avoid that fact
of otter ownership.
 
As far as I'm aware, they can't be easily fixed.  Surgery on a wild 
animal is more complicated because they can be more dangerous when
in pain, and the level of familiarity with their anatomy and 
physiology isn't high.  If it were sick, it would be possible, but
not advisable unless necessary.
 
>An exotic animal breeder here in Arkansas told me he had a couple of otters
>coming in at $1200 each!!  Another exotic animal owner (she has kept foxes and
>currently has a coyote as a house dog) said she had seen them for $300-$400.
>
When my otters (the zoo's, actually, but they are sort of mine) had
cubs, they sold for $1500, each.  It is an AAZPA member, trading at
fair prices, so if you find one for significantly less, it was
probably gotten through disreputable channels.

>Make sure they have a pool of some sort.  After all, they are swimmers.  It
>probably wouldn't hurt to keep the pond stocked with small fish as snacks.  The
>zoo near here feeds their otters something that looks like a ball of hamburger
>meat, but I'm sure it has all kinds of vitamins added.
>
A pool is nice, but they have been kept in a regular house and allowed
to swim in a bathtub, and they do fine.  They have to learn to love
water, so whatever they grow up with is what they like.  What is important
is that they are given attention and playtime. As for food, keeping a pool
stocked with fish would be essentially impossible.  The otter will kill
them all at once, and probably refuse the nutritionally balanced food
as long as fish are available.  The stuff they are fed in the zoo is 
probably horsemeat, mixed with liver, carrots, brewers' yeast, yogurt,
mink chow and/or other similar ingredients.  Either that or a commercial
carnivore chow.  A diet that contains too much of any one food will
lead to vitamin deficiency or too much of some minerals.  Too much cheap
fish, especially, can lead to a depletion of vitamin B and cause bone and
neurological problems.
 
>Brian P. Roden

Eric A. Schwartz
otter@rpi.edu
Newsgroups: rec.pets