Prairie Dog pics*

[Lisa]

Originally posted by Zoe
These are different, because the frame doesn't sit in the drop-pan; the pan pulls out like a drawer.

We have one of these cages, you can see it and alot of our favourite rats @ http://rats.lexxdog.com

I find the mess spills out too much, the martins cages keeps it in cause the pan extends past the bottom of the cage.

[Linds]

Such a cute little guy! Is he fixed? That may be a reason for the biting if he is not, eep...prairie dog bites hurt I would get him a buddy if you can, they are best kept with friends

[jason h]

I have two and they are great! ones a little bitey but the other one is awsome ,and loves to be handled and played with!! and mine will sqeek if you cough(even if theyre asleep)hehehe I love them!!

[silent_truth]

Linds: Yep, Ernie is fixed. That was crucial to me before I even considered taking on a prairie dog. I think the biting stemmed from the sudden change of environment, but with any luck he will be easily handleable by spring time. (fingers are crossed) You're right though, pd bites hurt and I've seen the results many times. Multiple employees at my workplace have been bitten and lets just say, there was a demonstration of how blood can fly. It wasn't pretty.

Jason: did you get both at the same time? I would love to add a friend for mine, but I'm worried about the territorality issue considering he will have been on his own for close to a year when I will be ready to possibly take on another.

Thanks

-Adam

[Wilma]

Try to avoid seeds and lab blocks, prairie dogs in the wild have a diet mainly of dry grasses so their bodies arn't used to the richness of seed mix and lab blocks. My friend adopted a 2 year old that had been raised on lab blocks and hay and he suffered a painfull death about 4 months later. His liver and intestines were just shot from the bad food.

Not trying to scare you but its safer to stick with timothy hay based pellets like Bunny Basics by Oxbow and different grasses and hays with richer things like lab blocks being a once a month treat and limited fresh veggies.

Good luck and he looks like quite a sweety!!

[NiagaraReptiles]

Oxbow actually makes a Prairie dog food as well (Prairie Delight). I kinda doubt many places will stock it, but we have always ordered it through a vet clinic. It's good stuff! My g/f has used it for several years with her Dogs and they are doing great on a diet of that and Timothy Hay.

Definately are cute little things

JonK

[silent_truth]

Okay sounds good. I will look into a diet based more heavily on grasses. I just got a big bag of timothy hay yesterday and I will search for a pellet of some sort that has a high grasses content.
Hopefully I'll find something at the store I work at. I will also stop giving him the seeds. He really likes them but if they are bad for him, it's better not to in the long run.

Thanks all!

[Hamster of Borg]

As long as it is a timothy based pellet, they can't have alfalfa either - which if you're already feeding timothy I'm sure you're probably aware of.

Rav

[silent_truth]

Oh yes, I'm staying away from alfalfa. I always make sure the food I feed doesn't include that. Thanks for the reminder though. I remember in the '80s and early '90s everyone I knew who kept rodents or any type of herbivorous mammal swore by alfalfa as at least a treat if not part of the diet. It's good that an individual understanding of particular species has progressed since then to provide better nutrition and care.

[matt_89]

wow, i didn't know people even had prarie dogs as pets.... are they hard to find or a good pet? does anyone know of a good website with info about them?

[silent_truth]

Hey Matt, here's some info I just found. It's not much, but a more indepth search on google will reveal more about their care. Enjoy!

http://exoticpets.about.com/cs/prair.../aa040803a.htm

and one more: http://www.animalsexotique.com/prairpet.html

[matt_89]

sounds good, thanks silent.

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Cute little guys!

[matt_89]

i thot this was a pretty good pic...http://spot.colorado.edu/~sharonc/prairiedog.jpg

[silent_truth]

that's an awesome pic and I really like the way they use their "hands" so delicately whether it be for grooming or social interaction. Great find!