Pictures So irritated about this toy! [and a question]

[BirdCatLady]

So after Christmas (I think in early January) I purchased this pinata toy -- I got the unicorn one.

I set it aside for a little while since Brodie had plenty of shredding toys at the time. A few weeks ago I put some goodies in it, and noticed some brown spots on the tissue paper that covered the unicorn's ears. I ignored them (stupid me!) but Brodie still didn't get access to the toy, since he was skittish of it.

Thank goodness, because I went back to it today (it had been sitting in view but not within reach of Brodie, off the ground in a dry place). And these are pics of what I found. If anyone knows what the **** this is, please let me know! My husband told me that he didn't want me to rip it up any more than I had already to see if I could find out anything else, unless I did so outside -- so aside from what is shown in the pictures, I didn't touch it and it is now wrapped in a plastic bag in our garbage.

YUCK.

This is the front left leg (the white blob is not the issue, it's the brown stuff).

Back right leg.

The brown spots I noticed on the ears (you can especially see them on the left ear [top of the pic]).

What it looked like when I ripped a little bit into the cardboard/tissue paper.


What is this?! and why is it on a toy that should be safe for my bird? because that definitely does NOT look safe to me, and aside from putting some nuts and crumpled paper in it, I have not touched it. There are no spoilable foods in there, there was no smell at all, the brown specs are dry.

(It almost looks like poop to me...? but I have no idea what it would be from...)

 

[Lady Jane]

OMG! Its a mess. Does it have an offensive odor? We have a dangerous toy thread and I believe Pintas are one of them. Some have staples in them.


!! Dangerous toys list !!

 

[gibsongrrrl]

have you noticed any seed moths? hard to tell from the photo but it looks like their eggs or droppings. I had some appear after leaving a foraging toy in an old cage that I forgot had food in it.

 

[BirdCatLady]

Thanks for the link, Lady Jane. Checking it out now.

It doesn't smell at all, and I haven't seen anything crawling in it/around it.

No moths or anything have been around. It does look like moth droppings, based on when I raised caterpillars and stuff... but no sign of any anything.

Ugggh. *shudders*

 

[camelotshadow]

 

[calibird]

I would contact the vendor that you purchased it from to make them aware of the problem.

 

[Lady Jane]

Most likely made in China.

 

[BirdCatLady]

I purchased it directly from the Drs Foster & Smith website. Will definitely contact them -- I wanted to make sure that it wasn't just me being way too over-careful regarding the toy.

I'll send them an email with the pics... uggghhh.

I hate even thinking about the toy, but now I really want to rip into it and see how it looks inside. I'm horrible, heh.

 

[painesgrey]

Was it one of the pinatas that comes pre-filled with dried fruits? If so, I would worry that it got moist at some point and caused bacterial growth.

My quaker loves pinatas, and I've never had a problem like what you're seeing. I would definitely contact the vendor and manufacturer and let them know, so they can check their stock for abnormalities.

 

[gibsongrrrl]

If it's the piñata that comes with treats already in it, it's probably from that.

 

[Greycloud]

Possible mold? Let us know what Dr. F&S says.

 

[BirdCatLady]

It did have a small amount of the dried fruit in it (I say small amount because when I shook it, it was clear that there were only 4-5 pieces in it... there was plenty of room for me to add my own stuff there). But again -- it wasn't mold (at least, the actual brown "stuff" wasn't, although there might have been some on the inside of the toy). I did email Drs Foster & Smith and will let you all know what they say.

 

[Jenphilly]

Some nuts don't mold, they kinda go rancid... whatever, that is nasty... definitely a toy I'll never buy after seeing that...

 

[KimKim]

Yuck
But Dr Foster and Smith has excellent customer service, they will make it right

 

[zoo mom]

I would say some kind of insects damage.

 

[alcmene]

Looks like bug poop to me

 

[iamwhoiam]

Also contact the manufacturer.

 

[BirdCatLady]

This is the email I received from Drs Foster & Smith:

Thank you for your email. We would like to apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you. We have forwarded your pictures to the appropriate department for further investigation. At this time, we have reshipped the product to you at no additional charge. The new order number is XXXXXXXXX and will arrive within 5 business days. We do not require that the original product be returned and ask that you please dispose of it as you see fit. An automated email notification will be sent once the order has been shipped. As always, please feel free to contact us with any further comments or concerns.

And I will also look at contacting the manufacturer, probably tomorrow since it's my bedtime now.

(I don't really want another pinata toy... but I'm glad they're forwarding on the pictures. At least, I hope they actually are.)

Thanks for all of the responses. I'm glad that it wasn't just me being a paranoid parrot. (Well, kinda glad. Not glad that there were issues with the toy, but glad that it wasn't just me being over-the-top newbie parront-paranoid.)

 

[Laurah]

Not good. Yuk!!

 

[Bird-Mom]

Wow! I order products for my birds off of them. I would have been mad about that. We count on manufactuers to make safe items for our pets and yet they still mess up. Good thing you saw it before your bird had gotten a hold of it. I'm glad they are sending you a new one, maybe you can find a way to see inside it before giving it to your bird.