Animal Stories - Small Animal Pets


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Latest Animal Stories on Small Animal Pets (6263)

Lynn - 2019-03-18
Do not buy a squirrel from takirs exotics and animal ranch they are scammers. It is 'Mary Shakespeare and Benson' they just changed names.😡👿

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Miss - 2019-06-27
I almost did buy from Takirs, when they said the would ship from tx to nh in 2 hrs...huge red flag!

mathew - 2018-08-18
Hey guys am new here,visited site last week and got scammed of $640 but lukily for me i met James who had beautiful litters available which he was selling. So i got a baby from him for just $520. If anyone here will like to get a grey squirrel contact this guy he got very healthy babies am so happy to have met you James James (630) 296-6804

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Stephanie Lashmit - 2019-06-22
where is he located? looking for an eastern gray squirrel. thanks!
fantomwing@comcast.net

Ali - 2015-05-19
Im thinking of getting a mini lop eared bunny in Augest, 2015. If there is anyone who knows where I can find a rabbit breeder near in hinesville, ga, could you please tell me.

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Anonymous - 2019-06-19
h]ilk

Jennifer Pruitt - 2019-02-22
Do not buy a squirrel from Mary Shakespeare or Benson they took my money and I got the run around 'it's a scam'.

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Toni Scudero - 2019-06-19
Did you ever find any baby squirrels

Mary - 2018-09-02
Squirrels For Sale Contact us today for more details... live an SMS and w'll call u back @ +1(434) 233-4396 email us @ maryshakespeare19@gmail.com We have squirrels for sale and can arrange transportation for out of state homes! personal pickup on bookings(no exception) The following are available... Fox Grey Flying Red Squirrels Prarie Dogs Rock squirrel Our babies come hand fed, extensively socialized, healthy and each will come with hand feeding supplies and a sample of food. Contact us today for more details... live an SMS and w'll call u back @ +1(434) 233-4396 email us @ maryshakespeare19@gmail.com

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Curtis Pugh - 2019-06-01
Mary I’m trying to find a male baby flying squirrel for my wife. Do you have any available at this time?
Mike Wagner - 2021-07-29
Beware of Mary Shakespeare and Benson!!! They are a scam, they take your money for the animal and shipping, then give you the runaround, saying that you to pay more money for a climate controlled shipping crate and veterinary exam for the airline to ship,they even go as far as to send you a fake shipping website stating the same thing and that they will reimburse you 90% of the shipping cost upon delivery, they even had someone call me, claiming to be from the airline, confirming the fees for delivery!! It didn’t sit right with me and I got suspicious and decided to look up the company and airline website and phone numbers instead of using the ones that he provided to me, and I called them myself and neither one of them had a clue as of what I was talking about, so I didn’t feel comfortable with sending him any more money, so Then he really started to convince me to send him more money; he offered to pay half of the additional shipping costs if I could send him whatever I could come up with ASAP, when that didn’t work, he tried to guilt me into it, saying that the squirrel was going to be stuck at the airport in the box until it starved to death. I refused again and he would call or text me every few hours for me next few days, until I got beligerant and said “listen, I know you are scamming me and you might as well just stop, because there is not a snowballs chance in hell that I would send a dime more than what I already had, I even told him that I would pay him back whatever the cost of shipping when received the squirrel, if he paid for it, and then I stopped hearing from him all together!!! I believe that they also have a exotic animal business with a variety of different animals for safe under the name “Takirs exotic animal ranch, so beware of these people cause they really go the extra mile to convince you that they are legitimate !!!

Kristy Nannie - 2019-05-23
We have female and squirrels, 15 weeks old. Not hand tamed yet, but they can be touched. Outdoor enclosure is brand new, never used; will sell together or separately. $275 for both squirrels, $200 for enclosure. Shipping is possible but buyer covers cost. Interested then text me via (972) 638 - 9315 Thanks

Lora - 2019-05-20
Hi Lisa. We are looking to buy. Do you have any avail??
If so can you call me 254-339-8933
Thanks
Lora

Lori Ferraro - 2016-01-09
We have had a STO for two weeks. She's been great, active, eating great. Yesterday she just didn't look right. She seemed lethargic and really wasn't really able to walk. She's been eating and drinking great, pooping. She ended up having one small episode of bloody stool and we found her dead this morning. Any ideas? We are beyond devastated.

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S-TO - 2019-05-17
Why would you let an "incident of bloody stool" go, without taking it seriously?

Small animals do not have bloody stool, as a matter of course.

Most animals do not, but it is very important to not ignore something like blood coming out of any orifice of an an animal as small as a STO.

It could be any of a number of things, that's why you need to take your STO to an exotic animals veterinarian, immediately, when something like this happens. It could have been a blockage, it could have been a rupture inside, if you have young kids with access to it, they may have hurt it somehow by squeezing or dropping it, and then put it back into the cage, etc.

PLEASE dont take these kinds of symptoms lightly. STOs are fragile and time is of the essence when they show a disturbing symptom like this. I'd feel as badly as you say you do if I ignored my STO when it had a symptom like this, knowing it died a miserable death over the hours that I could have taken it into a vet to be seen. Even if you couldnt help it, euthanasia is kinder than letting an animal suffer in pain for hours.
S-TO - 2019-05-17
Again, this goes for all animals, big AND small:
If they are suddenly lethargic, cant walk or have bloody stools, these are ALL individually reasons to get them to a vet, immediately. If they are having them ALL at once, dont ignore it-- DO IT.

Animals arent like humans. They don't have 'off' days. If they are showing distress, it is VERY SERIOUS. Wild animals, like STOS or any birds, etc, especially will try to hide a problem. So if youre seeing a problem, it is beyond serious, and they need to be seen by a professional, STAT.

Allison - 2015-05-10
I recently bought a STO and on the second day of owning her I tried the bathroom trick to have a more confined space to try and hold her. Well, she jumped down and found the smallest hole under my sink and is now loose inside of my wall. I have placed her food and her cage in thebathroom in hopes she will come out. Anyone have anymore ideas for me.

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Clarice Brough - 2015-05-11
Hopefully she will come out to eat, and as she gets more comfortable you may be able to catch her again.
jake - 2016-01-30
Either a 5gallon bucket or trash can with favorite food at bottom and some object close they can climb on to get in but can't climb out. Or I catch mine with large plastic mixing bowl and food tied to a stick to prop it up trick.
S-TO - 2019-05-17
Keep an open jar of baby food -chicken or turkey is good- out for her in front of where she left, and on every level of your house , and also a small dish of water. Leave her cage open and on the floor, so she may return to it. Set up a surveillance with video if you can, at night. Keep nightlights on every floor, and wait around dawn and dusk to see if it comes out. KEEP any other animals out of the room, and generally keep an eye on them all the time, also, so they dont get to the STO before you.

You have to get looking for the STO , immediately, because if they can dehydrate in a matter of 48-72 hrs, with no food and water.

The one time that mine escaped, she had found a tear in the lining underneath the couch and was hanging out in it like a little hammock.

You can also walk through your house and in your basement or crawlspace and see if you can hear them moving through the ductwork, or any noises from them. Watch your animals, if you have them, are they hanging around a certain area, listening to something? The STO might be near. If you have a dog, put it on a leash and walk it around the house, basement, etc, and just be silent, and watch to see if it hears something, looks to an area or turns its ears up or toward an area.
I have a scent dog as opposed to a sight dog, so I took a sock from the STO's cage (which she liked to sleep in), held it in front of my dog's nose and said the STO's name; I did it 3x and then I said, "Where is (STO)?? Go get (STO)!" And of course she just turned her head toward the couch, and took a couple steps toward it. My dog knew she was there the whole time we had been in the room, but she was ignoring her (she was jealous of her).

When it comes to the registers and duct work, you can stick a long piece of rope or tie some yarn together, or a long strip of fabric, and let it hang down into it, tied to the register or something, so that the STO can get a grip good enough to climb out of a smooth or vertical duct.

If youre putting out a bucket for the STO, make sure its not too short or flimsy, or some STOs could just knock it over.

Please do NOT put out any contraptions that falls down or springs shut!
Your STO is tiny and delicate, and can get injured horribly by them! They have tiny vulnerable little fingers, as well, and eyes that get injured.
I've never seen a store bought animal trap that was gentle enough to catch an STO, and most of them just work like garbage, in general.
S-TO - 2019-05-17
If you use the scent trick I did with my dog, obviously do not let them actually "go get" the STO. You can put the dog on a leash, first. It can then lead you to where the STO is, but you can prevent it from actually getting to the STO.

This trick may not work with every scent dog, but mine was a working dog breed.
If you dont have a dog ( you can try it with a non-scent dog, too), you can borrow one from a friend, family member or neighbor, if you are able to handle the dog and it cant break from your grip of the leash.
S-TO - 2019-05-17
Please do not bond with your STO in the bathroom. There are human fecal germs in every bathroom that spray out in a fine mist when you flush the toilet, and they can harm an animal -espcially a small one- that is walking around on the floors and surfaces of a bathroom. STOS are tiny, and their hands and feet also go in their mouths as they clean thmselves, and they clean themselves quite a lot. Any traces of bathroom cleaner can get on them, also, and that is toxic. Don't make your STO ill or poison them, please.

If you want to bond with your STO, first, understand that isnt going to happen over night, They are wild animals and afraid of humans. It's going to take time. As in weeks, probably.

Make sure their housing is in calm place and they feel secure. You might feed them some 'gourmet' crickets from a can (they love then), or small pet food grade worms, like wax worms (do not use wild caught insects because of potential pesticide poisoning). Dont take the STO out of its home or sleeping area to feed it. Let it feel secure and safe. If you pick it up, it will not feel secure or safe, period. Natural predators that are way smaller than a human pick them up to eat them, and they get scared with you when you do that, just the same.

Over time, if you are respecting them, they will feel safer with you, and you can coax them out to feed them.

Do NOT get food on your fingers and then put them by the STO. They have bad eyesight, and may bite your finger by mistake, thinking that it is food because it smells like food.

After they have built up a solid sense of trust with you, another way to bond with them, is to allow them to stay in a sock or soft slipper, while you hold them on your lap. You can use a bonding pouch or use the sock or slipper, etc. Whatever is soft an comfortable for the STO. Dont fuss with them, allow them to settle and feel comfortable. They may even start to come out and look around, or climb on you.

Be warned: The WILL pe on you. Actually pee & poop, as they have cloacas and both come out at the same time. This is also something they won't tell you, when you go to buy a STO. They are wiild animals and they will act like wild animals. It is nto something they grow out of, or that you can or should even try to train them out of. If you want an STO, get used to being peed and pooped on, nearly every time they are on you (or n your couch, bed, etc. ) It is gross, but that it who it is; they didnt ask to be a pet. They use this behavior a scent marking their territory, in the wild. IF they are ON YOU, then YOU are their territory.

Another way to bond, when they are very secure with you, is to let them snuggle down into the top of your shirt. If they are done exercising and exploring, the will settle down and clean themselves and then fall asleep.
Be careful that you do not fall asleep, either, though, or you will kill or cripple it, rolling over, etc. And of course do not forget it is there. If it's on your upper chest just under your sternum, you can keep your eye on them there.

Angela Johnson - 2013-05-28
Hello everyone, i am a proud owner of a sto, for short, whose name is benny, jr. We have had him for a few months and he is so sweet and friendly, but, and i say but in caps for a reason;are you ready? He eats his own poop! ! It is so completely nasty and i have caught him already a few times doing it. I provide him with the special food they recommended at the exotic pet shop where we bought him- but why is he doing this? What makes it worse is that he gets it on his little 'fingers' and flings it about his home,(a fish aquarium. ) he makes such a mess and it is just so gross because then we don't want to handle him after seeing it stuck to his feet! ! Anyone have this problem?

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Anonymous - 2013-05-28
I have seen this with dogs. I don't know of any absolute cures, but I've seen products for dogs that may help. There is a discussion here and products here . I can't attest to how well any of them work (thank goodness I've not had to deal with this problem myself)
Laurel - 2014-11-30
Some animals do eat their poop. Such as bunnies and guinea pigs. Maybe your animal does too.
Makenzie - 2015-12-20
Dont worry my STO does it too!
S-TO - 2019-05-17
If you have a STSO and it's eating it's feces, then there is a Problem, capital P. These are pretty fastidious animals, and eating its feces probably indicates something wrong with the nutrition or food that it's getting.
Is the feces wet, like diarrhea? It could be sicker than just nutritional problems.

You need to get it to an exotic vet, and bring your store bought food you bought for it, so they can see the food and nutritional info on the bag.

The urine and feces your STO makes should be removed at least once a day, more like 2 or 3 times in 24 hrs. The cage should be cleaned weekly and wiped down with a vinegar-water solution.

How big is the cage or habitat your STO is living in? If its too small, or he has no mental stimulation, then this is obviously bad. From wht I've seen, most people stick these poor creatures in homes that are WAY TOO SMALL for them. They need plenty of space to roam and things to climb and do. If you were stuck in a tiny space, you might try to fling your feces away from yourself, too. Any animal put into too small a space with start showing abnormal behavior, humans included. People in solitary confinement go nuts too, and fling their feces around, if they are in there long enough.
S-TO - 2019-05-17
Also, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE YOUR STO ANY PRODUCTS MEANT FOR OTHER ANIMALS, like the advice above about dg products.

STOS are marsupials > opossums.

They have NOTHING to do with dogs! Or rodents or any other animals.
NEVER use products meant for another species.

The very FIRST thing you should be doing, with ANY animal that eats it's feces, is take it to the veterinarian. They can determine if it's due to a deficiency in its nutrition or behavioral, or whatever else it may be.

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