Prairie Dog Lover's Burrow

Hey everyone,

My girlfriend and I bought a male prairie dog from S&S Exotic Animals in Houston, Texas about 1.5 months ago. When we are home, he is very excited and wants us to let him out. When I let him out, he's usually good for about 1-2 minutes, but then he suddenly goes into attack mode and gets very nasty.

Sometimes he'll circle me and keep attacking, and other times he'll go chew on things he knows not to, such as extension cords. My usual discipline routine is to flick him on the nose and say, "No!", and put him down. If the bad behavior persists, which it almost always does, I put him back in his cage and leave him alone for about an hour before trying again.

Am I doing something wrong? I'm not exactly sure why he's being so aggressive. It seems to be getting worse. For the first month or so he was showing improvement in behaving, but lately he's just acting out.

Any comments are greatly appreciated!

I should also add that he is currently not neutered, as we are afraid he will pull out his stitches and bleed to death. Is this something we should get done?

Also, is timothy hay sufficient for maintaining healthy teeth? Is there something else we should be giving him?

I think some more solid things to chew on would be good to add. I know there are some chew toys made of wood which you can attatch to the side of the cage-if it is wire. Also hang "Kababs" for them to play and chew on. You can put all kinds of chew stuff on the kabobs. Dr.Foster and Smith is a great website to find wonderful products for you prairies.

Hey There,

Can anyone give me some advice. We just added a pd to our family a couple days ago, Ace is a male 10 weeks old. I want to bond with him very bad, but it is really hard because if we try to hold him he usually scratches our hands trying to run out of them, he seems very uneasy when we pick him up, he loves being petted but thats about it, the first day he would try bitting us but has stopped that. Is there anyway we can help this, i dont want him to feel abandoned because its hard to hold him

Karl, S&S Exotics is a great place to ask for advice. They actually helped me save my baby pd last yr. Call them, any of their staff can help you! Give your new pd a lil time, my sister got one from there & he was a lil rowdy too, still is but not as bad as he once was.

Ohh one more thing Karl, he could be just playing with you too, My pd & my sister's pd will play with us like that, if he making a noise when he is doing the "attack" then he is being agressive, if not I would say that he is just playing. I know it can seem a lil rough when he plays with you but if you will tap him on the nose & tell him "not so rough" over & over every time he does it he will eventually be a lil easier to play with.

Mine does that too.    Got me really good today.  I'm getting her a friend in a few weeks and though her cage isn't small, we're building a bigger one.  She will get out and nuzzle me to no end, walk around for a few minutes and then launch at me with a good bite.   Who know~  I do tap her nose and say NO! and put her back in her cage to sulk.  She chattered after that today, she was TICKED!  But once she calmed down, I took her back out again until she tried it again and then I did the same thing.  Be very firm or it gets worse, I'm told.  But honestly, she's gotten better.  Definately neuter by September!!!  Wear tall gloves too until he learns.

Kerogirl at June 14, 2010 at 8:55 PM

Hey There,

Can anyone give me some advice. We just added a pd to our family a couple days ago, Ace is a male 10 weeks old. I want to bond with him very bad, but it is really hard because if we try to hold him he usually scratches our hands trying to run out of them, he seems very uneasy when we pick him up, he loves being petted but thats about it, the first day he would try bitting us but has stopped that. Is there anyway we can help this, i dont want him to feel abandoned because its hard to hold him

i hope this email helps.....i have a little girl who was like that from the begining and is still like that, we have bonded but she has her boundries i guess like anyone does, she does not like to be picked up i have to wait for her to climb on me, she is just real bossy, and on another note my previous prairie dog was with me for about 3 or 4 months before she bonded to me, i wanted to give up but a lady who save prairies for a living told me to be patient and it will happen on thier own time and it did and we enjoyed a great friendship

Karl at June 7, 2010 at 7:45 PM

Hey everyone,

 

My girlfriend and I bought a male prairie dog from S&S Exotic Animals in Houston, Texas about 1.5 months ago. When we are home, he is very excited and wants us to let him out. When I let him out, he's usually good for about 1-2 minutes, but then he suddenly goes into attack mode and gets very nasty.

 

Sometimes he'll circle me and keep attacking, and other times he'll go chew on things he knows not to, such as extension cords. My usual discipline routine is to flick him on the nose and say, "No!", and put him down. If the bad behavior persists, which it almost always does, I put him back in his cage and leave him alone for about an hour before trying again.

 

Am I doing something wrong? I'm not exactly sure why he's being so aggressive. It seems to be getting worse. For the first month or so he was showing improvement in behaving, but lately he's just acting out.

 

Any comments are greatly appreciated!

hi i understand your frustration. my wife is very good at calming our baby when he is out of control. I think she is breaking him, she gets a nice soft cotton cloth  if he is in attack mode and holds him kissing and loving on him till he settles down which i think will work much better than hitting him on the nose.Loving your pet works like a miracle so please have patence. I read about Odontoma it s a scary situation so leash training is a must, let me know how things are going feel free to call us for advice anytime 727 869 8822  RAY N DAR

Its OCT our little guy plays with us, he sleeps with us he is a Blessing from GOD  we  all must stand up to fight for there rights.

Hi all,

I have had pd's for about 8 years now. My first male was not neutered when I got him. He was sooooo sweet... and then one day he turned his back on me, frizzed his tail, and then proceeded to bite the tar out of me!!! I read my care book on pd's and it recommended neutering them. I did, and within weeks he returned to his normal loving, cuddly self. Same senario with the second adult male I adopted. The following  paragraph is taken from the "PD Care" link on this web site.  Finally, PD's do sooo much better in pairs. Consider getting him a buddy (as well as neutering him)!!!! Hope this helps...

"Vet Care: Spaying/Neutering Choosing a proper Vet is very important. A Vet should be selected by their experience with prairie dogs or at least be willing to consult with a vet more experienced with this species. Altering your pet is recommended. In order to ease the symptoms of seasonal aggressive behavior that accompanies the onset of mating season, it is best to neuter or spay your prairie dog during the Fall of their first year or the following Spring. If you wait longer, the prairie dog may develop undesirable and ingrained territorial and hormone driven HABITS that could be

curbed or eliminated by neutering prior to sexual maturity."

Hey,

Also forgot to mention Brisky Pet Products online sells a good fortified timothy pellet  for pd's. Also pd whole oats. There is also an excellent book for sale about bringing home a pd for a pet!!

Hey Carl!

We got our girls from S&S Exotics in Houston, too. See my post to Eric for the details.

So far Penelope and Pearl have been a complete delight .Penelope did bite the "hell" out of my husband's thumb a couple of months ago but that has been the only incident. She put her head down like she was embarrassed.  My husband thinks he missed the cues. She didn't really want out of her cage but he picked her up anyway. Beginning of rut, maybe?

I've heard males are more aggressive. Maybe get him neutered and then bring in a female? I would S&S and ask for advice.

Best Wishes, Denise

I've read more posts and I've noticed a trend. Other posters talk of letting their PDs out of their cages and then notice aggressive behavior. Our PDs love their 3 tier cage and have a lot of room to play within the cage. When we open one of the three doors to the cage they both practically jump out for loving. Their time out of the cage is mainly spent cuddling. If one, or both, is awake I never walk by w/o taking a few minutes to cuddle and love them but then they go back into the cage. The cage is in the living room where all the family action is and they are constantly being 'handled'. They are very much a part of our family.

When I clean out the cage, on Saturdays, they are free to roam. Penelope never is too far from the cage and I leave the bottom tiered door open for her as she is just a home body. Pearl is the adventurer but I've noticed she becomes more aggressive the longer she is out. Nothing serious but she seems to go into sensory overload at some point so I put her back into the cage when she starts 'boxing'/'nibbling' too aggressively. They both seem more comfortable and relaxed just being held. A favorite treat is dozing in the big bed on Sunday mornings with my husband and I!

Hope this helps!

Denise,

Where did you get your cage? I have a male pd & I want to get him a bigger nicer cage. I am in East Texas by the way so driving to Houston is no problem, I like to visit S&S when I go to Houston anyway 

Tip Allen & Lola Fae's Mom at January 25, 2011 at 5:38 PM

Denise,

Where did you get your cage? I have a male pd & I want to get him a bigger nicer cage. I am in East Texas by the way so driving to Houston is no problem, I like to visit S&S when I go to Houston anyway 

S&S referred us to pd lover that makes them. Just call them and ask. The "girls" love their cage!

Wow Karl, that is my Charlie to a "T"!  lol  It's just really something you have to get used to.  We simply just put Charlie back when he's behaving badly.  He'll get angry, but he's learned that the behavior is unwanted and is actually better than he used to be.  He still has his moments, but he's not as agressive as he once was.  Someone said earlier that they go into sensory overload, and that's exactly what I think it is.  It's a new place (not the comfortable home that the cage is to them), and sometimes scary to be away from the cage.  I can tell Charlie just gets scared sometimes and doesn't know how to react.  We have since raised his cage from the floor and now he tries to stretch his little arms up to reach it.  At least he knows how to tell us he wants back in the cage rather than lunge and bite at us for it.    Let the little guy out for little bits at a time, otherwise they will tend to become more agressive the longer they are out.  Oh, and yes, they don't always like to be out of the cage; make sure they're are asking before you just pick them up and out.  Charlie literally pulls on the cage door for us to let him out.  It's all about understanding what he wants and when he wants it.  Good luck!

And let me add one more thing to my comment.  I think it is important for every pd owner to understand a pds natural instinct.  Prairie dogs are prey.  They are pretty much game to every other animal.  They naturally are always on the lookout for predators, whether they were raised in captivity or not.  That's why they stand on their hind legs are look around- they are making sure there isn't any danger on the horizon.  So, when you first get a baby pd, you must be very sensitive to what they are experiencing.  The world is a scary place to begin with, but change is way more scary.  Any little movement that is made can signal danger to them.  Just try to be aware of that, and all of this "crazy" behavior can be better understood.  They are simply just nervous and scared most times when their behavior gets out of control.  They will almost always prefer the safety of a cage then to be out and in the open.  In the wild they have the option and ability to easily slip back into their burrows for safety, so be sure they have a place to feel secure when out in the home.  Either keep their cage accessible, or give them a place to hide out for a while until they feel safe again.  And NEVER leave them out unattended.