Help please? Peruvian Baby Cotton Candy with mold inside, can't remove head :(

[LilAlleyCat]

Hi guys,

I'm hoping someone has some advice on what I can do. I just got a Peruvian Baby Cotton Candy from ebay. At first I was excited to get her, even though it wasn't a steal of a deal I felt it was at least in her upper price range in value based on condition.

However, she has arrived and it is quite clear she has mold/mildew inside her. When I squeeze her body the smell is very strong and distinct. There is discoloration at the base of her mane that looks like a greyish/greenish mold color and she has some small discolored sections on strands on her tail (that's very odd, it's like the strand section itself was dyed that color, greenish/blue). Some people may not mind this or notice so much but I am very sensitive to mold

I can't return her because the shipping cost (overseas) to and from is just a hassle and monetary loss I don't want to deal with.

So, what can I do? Her head is only super tight. I've never seen a head on so dang tight. I can't remove it to clean the inside. I don't want to use bleach on the hair and make it brittle/dry and damage her further. Any suggestions that are known to work without damaging the hair?

I may have to wind up reselling her but now I don't know what a fair price would be considering the mold, which I would of course be forthcoming about. She is otherwise in pretty nice condition and I would rather be able to salvage her. Oh, is her hair suppose to be white or pink?

Thanks!

[SeashellnBubbles]

I'm not sure as to what her color should be, but I've found that removing heads can be made WAY easier with heat. I'll briefly boil my toughies for a moment, fish them out and use a towel on either side of the neck seam (so I don't burn hands and better grip) and give it a twist. Don't go crazy with the twisting, though, because you could damage her! If it doesn't work right away you can try repeating the steps and leaving her in a little longer. The bath shouldn't damage her, and if her hair is a little frizzy it can help straighten and soften it!
I hope this works for you. At the very least I'd get ahold of the seller and request a partial refund if she was sold as minty or whatever. If she was sold as is I think you're pretty much stuck.
I've had great success with whitening toothpaste and a firm toothbrush for rust and mold in ponies. It has a fine scouring ablity that really works well, then I fill the body cavity with pure vinegar and replace the tail washer with a zip tie. If it's moldy inside chances are there's rust, too, so while you're in there...
Anyway, good luck with her. Make sure to take photos of before and after for the seller to see and as proof to eBay of condition (plus we'd like to see them, too )

[Lady Starflower]

I recently got a Peru Baby Medley and she smelled sooo awful of mildew *yuck*

I would say pretty much the only way to really clean her is take her head off...have you tried super hot water to see if the glue will loosen?

If you can see a discoloration in her roots I would say she is extremely filthy inside.

Once you get her head off you can better assess how bad she is. Then clean her with toothpaste or baking soda.

My Baby Cotton Candy has white hair...could have faded though.

[mlp4me]

You could also try a hair dryer and prying with a very small flat screw driver...
Good luck!

[hathorcat]

I am pretty certain its supposed to be pink - or at least I have seen a couple with pink hair, although mine like most is white now.

In all honesty with the issues you describe, I would try every possible option - from acetone dental floss right through until boiling water - to get her head off as I doubt you ll manage to cure the problem without getting the issues internally sorted and cleaned.