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prairie dogs in captivity

"Pets aren't our whole lives, but they make our lives whole."

Prairie Dog Care

This page includes extensive information on diet, caging and enclosure, poisonois plants, etc.

Diet

What constitutes a healthy diet for a captive adult prairie dog?    

A daily adult captive diet should consist of 98% timothy or other grass hay, and 2% treats. Adult prairies dog should be offered unlimited amounts of fresh timothy hay or other grass hay daily. Other grass hays include oat hay, brome, and orchard grass to name a few. DO NOT FEED ALFALFA (unless for protein, see below), a legume hay which contains too much protein. Each day, remove uneaten and/or soiled hay and replace with a fresh supply to encourage your prairie dog's interest in foraging and eating. Hide treats within hay as a form of enrichment activity. Store hay in a dry environment away from potential pests where it is allowed to breathe. Some people store hay in large plastic Rubbermaid trash cans in their garage with vent holes poked in the lid. Check routinely for mold in your hay because it is deadly if ingested by your pet.

Prairie dogs younger than six months of age require supplemental protein in the form of high quality dog kibble (refer to resources page), 1 tsp. to 1 TSP. per day is typically sufficient, feed less if your prairie dog is thriving. In lieu of this, other protein sources would be 1/4 cup alfalfa hay, or 1/4 tsp. crickets (dead or alive, depending on your pet's preference). An ideal weight for a captive adult prairie dog that is not "working" in the same manner as their wild counterparts is around 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 lbs. If your adolescent or adult prairie dog has reached or is over this weight, taper the kibble out of their diet SLOWLY over the course of several weeks, removing a couple of pieces at a time until they are getting one or two pieces each week. Adults should remain on one or two pieces of protein a week until they reach geriatric age and then further consultation will be needed to assess your particular pet’s needs. Geriatric age varies from animal to animal, but typically starts around 6-8. Call if you think your pet needs to be put on a geriatric diet regime.

If you are capable of providing fresh grasses, it is highly recommended and does not count as a treat. However, three notes of caution about use of fresh grasses. One, be absolutely sure they are free of pesticides and fertilizers, as they can spread from a neighbors lawn, not only your own. Two, be careful of what flowers or other vegetation you offer because some plants can be toxic to your prairie dog. Three, adequate hydration can be an issue for your pet if you are unable to provide fresh grasses year round as they will often substitute fresh grass intake instead of drinking from their water bottle. You want to limit fresh grass intake while still providing plenty of hay to encourage your prairie dog to continue to drink from its water bottle as usual when fresh grasses are not available.

Treats consist of limited amounts of various vegetables and some supplemental pellets and/or cubes. Any pelleted type of feed developed with prairie dogs in mind is suitable as a treat but should never be considered a complete diet regardless of its grass content. Always remember that pet food companies are trying to sell their products and are not necessarily concerned about the long term welfare of your pet. Pelleted feeds do not enable a prairie dog to replicate the type of chewing action that is important for proper overall tooth wear because they chew grasses and hays differently than they do pellet feed. Even tooth wear from hay or grass is essential in tooth maintenance in order to avoid the possibility of odontoma over the course of their lifespan. Silicates from dust and dirt on hay and grass provide overall dental abrasion in a similar manner as toothpaste with humans and aid in the long term dental health in your pet.

Suggested vegetable treats include and are not limited to baby carrots, sweet potato, yam, zucchini, and romaine lettuce. Root based vegetables replicate tubers they dig and eat in the wild along with other forbs and herbs. Some vegetables to stay away from include dried corn (small pieces of fresh can be given a couple times a year as a very special treat), spinach (it interferes with calcium absorption), and iceberg lettuce. Be smart and only feed treats in quantities that make sense for your animal’s size. Providing an entire leaf of romaine lettuce can be the equivalent to a human eating an entire head of lettuce. The results of that could be disastrous! Some people have noted that broccoli can cause gas in their prairie dog. I’ve never known that to be the case if feeding in small quantities, again, this is a treat, not a meal!

Do not feed seeds and nuts because their fat and oil content are too high for your pet's long term health unless they are given as a very rare treat such as special occasions or major holidays, 3-4 times per year. Prairie dogs that are given seeds and nuts often as treats may not suffer initially, but long term many report fatty, sebaceous cysts and other health matters from trying to process too much oil that is not natural to their diet.

Do not provide branches, wood, or plastic items for chewing to wear down their teeth. Proper tooth abrasion and even wear throughout the mouth can only occur with a plentiful diet of hays and grasses that wear the entire mouth. Prairie dogs have suffered dental abscesses, splintered wood fibers imbedded in the gut lining, and other long term health complications from chewing wood and other materials in the name of tooth maintenance. Respiratory concerns also arise because you cannot get urine and other matter removed from wood safely.

Once a consistent diet has been established with your pet, try to stick to it. Their digestive tract can be sensitive to a highly varied and inconsistent routine over time. If you must make dietary modifications due to weight, or for any other reason, do so slowly over the course of many weeks, supplementing a few pieces of the new food in every few days while removing the unwanted item gradually so you don’t shock their system. Overnight changes can be disastrous.

If you stop and consider where a prairie dog comes from and the competition it gets in the wild for food, you will understand the importance of not over indulging this highly efficient animal with treats and will do your best in following the ratio noted above.

Caging & Enclosures

Please take time to read this section in its entirety. We acknowledge that it is quite lengthy but it involves a very important aspect in the long term welfare of keeping pet Prairie Dogs that we feel requires careful thought and thorough understanding so an educated owner can completely grasp the "big picture" before making habitat choices for their beloved pet. It contains valuable information throughout and concludes with some pointers to consider regardless of your choice between using a cage, enclosure or both. It is extremely challenging trying to create the “perfect” habitat for a pet Prairie Dog, almost any option you choose will have some weak point or aspect that could be improved upon. The challenge is working with your purchase or creation and improving it as you note needed changes and continually evaluating your choices and how they impact your pet over its life span. Short term choices are never the problem, it is how those short term choices impact health and safety long term. If you would like free, personalized, consultation services to help you with your cage or habitat design, feel free to contact us and we can get you pointed in the right direction. Note other aspects of captive habitat such as bedding, toys, litter, water bottles, hay bins and other accessories will be found in other sections of this website soon, make sure to read those passages as well! We will also follow-up with another segment on outdoor enclosures for those interested so check back periodically!

Ultimately, your cage and/or enclosure should be designed to keep your Prairie Dog safe and entertained when they cannot be out with you and while you are away from home. Prairie Dogs are incredible escape artists and a secure cage and/or enclosure is a critical component that needs careful consideration. When it comes to the overall size and dimensions of your cage or enclosure, the world is your oyster as long as you make sure to take certain factors into account.

When trying to decide whether to go with a cage or enclosure take some time to think about both you and your pet's immediate needs and to make a checklist that weighs all of the pros and cons of your choices over a long period of time. Making a thorough checklist before getting started is a great idea that may save you from wasting time and money. You need to be willing to periodically check any caging and/or enclosure you utilize and evaluate what is important to you in terms of safety, fun, and maintenance over time. What are the cage or enclosures weak points and how do I remedy them if and when my prairie dog discovers them? Prairie dogs are quite smart and industrious and you can be sure they will find the weakest point in any choice you make; the key is finding ways to manage those weak links easily as they arise. What type of caging and/or enclosure provides that easiest cleanup and will be maintenance free the longest? What do I need to think about to keep my Prairie Dog safe? Can it fall? Are there areas where my Prairie Dog could get trapped or caught resulting in injury> Make sure to consider this issue both when the cage or enclosure is empty and also once beds, toys, and other accessories are added. Are my choices going to result in a large amount of effort and cost in the long run if I need to replace segments or are there sections that my Prairie Dog may find weak enough to constantly work at to escape providing the risk of injury? Is there a way in my design to prevent tooth trauma or cage nose that still allows for adequate ventilation that is paramount to a Prairie Dog's long term respiratory health? Do my choices allow my Prairie Dog the ability to be centrally located in the house where they are highly visible and can get routine visual and verbal interaction with me even if I don't have time to supervise them out of their cage or enclosure?

For some people cost is one of their primary concerns. You should ask yourself, "Will building this particular inexpensive style of a cage or enclosure result in my building and/or replacing it entirely with many cages or enclosures over my prairie dogs lifespan, actually costing more money in the long run because the construction materials degraded quickly and presented health or safety risks to my pet?" Many people choose different types of wood frames for their caging and/or enclosures due to cost and ease of construction only to later realize that the wood will get compromised over time with water from when you clean it and with urine and waste from your pet. Due to the porous nature of wood grains, there is no sure way to safely get it clean and over time it can grow harmful bacteria and/or mold which can possibly lead to respiratory problems with your Prairie Dog or be lethally toxic if ingested by your pet's gnawing activities. There are no safe chemicals to use to clean and completely eliminate the germs, mold and/or bacteria growing in the wood that wouldn't impact the long term health of your Prairie Dog. People that use wood in their caging and enclosures often discover that they need to routinely monitor and replace sections over time when they are compromised from digging, gnawing, or from becoming wet by various means. Some people think that simply sealing or finishing the wood will take care of this issue, but again, over time, there is gradual degradation, regardless of how it is finished, that will eventually result in the need to replace certain sections of your cage/enclosure. If you are not a handy woodworker or are not inclined to periodically perform the required reconstruction, wood may not be a wise choice of building materials. One way some owners remedy the wood problems is by covering the wood in metal or plastic flashing pieces. This can work but the owner needs to make sure to periodically check areas where it is bolted or screwed into the wood as those are the weak points that degrade and become compromised by moisture as described above. We would ask the owner to question why to use wood at all and maybe metal or plastic is a wiser choice, but then there are some drawbacks to using these materials too. Depending on the metal you choose, it can degrade more slowly than wood, but offers another potential health risk, rust. If the metal degrades to the point where rust is starting to form and could be ingested from licking or gnawing by your pet or cause skin problems from exposure, it needs to be replaced. Some owners know upfront that they may go through a few cages or enclosure setups in their Prairie Dogs lifetime and therefore incorporate that knowledge into their thought process in their design and how much expense per setup they are willing to make. Some metal wired cages will last 4-5 years depending on your upkeep and the type of metal you choose. Plastic can be porous in nature like wood depending on what you choose or become porous with digging or gnawing combined with repeated cleanings if chemicals are used. Urine can eventually permeate the plastic and only harsh and unsafe chemicals can be used to remove the odors. Plus, some plastics can be worked on and degraded over time by your Prairie Dog and even possibly ingested by their digging and gnawing. Some plastic has been reported to become warped and too flexible from pressure washing and hot water washings. Finding good quality, highly durable, long lasting, and easy to clean building materials is usually particularly challenging for a Prairie Dog owner. Most other species of animals do not work on their cages in the manner Prairie Dogs do so they are not built with them in mind.

Cages

Some people prefer to make their own cage and have done so successfully. If you choose to use a cage, small wire spacing is strongly recommended so that a Prairie Dog will not try to chew on the bars and cause damage to his teeth, nose and/or mouth and will not get its feet caught. Long term cage nose and repeated tooth trauma from cage bar chewing can possibly lead to devastating health problems such as fracture of a tooth or jaw, or even odontoma and should be avoided if at all possible. Sidewall dimensions of no more than 1" x 1/2" for outside walls and 1/2" x 1/2" floors of 14 gauge wire or less (the lesser the gauge the stronger the wire) is a preferred choice and will keep feet from slipping through while allowing fecal matter and other waste to drop into a slide-out or pullout litter pan below. Many people choose to go with galvanized wire due to cost but some people choose stainless steel to delay corrosion issues. Vinyl or wrapped wire should be avoided due to gnawing where the Prairie Dog may ingest pieces of the coating. Some people like powder-coated wire too, but if there is any risk that the material may break down over time and be ingested through gnawing activities, you may want to think twice and avoid it. Many hardware stores do not carry 14 gauge or smaller wire so a specialty store might need to be found to make the purchase. Sometimes animal feed stores are a good source for cage wire of this type but other specialty stores carry it too (see resources page for more caging info). Usually a wire store will also carry the necessary tools and attachment rings called J-Clips (there are other types too) to assist you in assembling your own cage. They may also carry door latches, several different types are on the market. Due to your Prairie Dog's inherent desire to be with you, they will often work on doors and openings extensively to try to get out of their cage. Try to prevent this by really researching your door closures and realize that it may be necessary to reinforce corners of doors with additional security clips. Some people use carabineer style, or dog leash style clips that can be purchased at a local hardware store. When considering wire dimensions keep in mind that Prairie Dogs can brake or get a foot or nail caught on any floor spacing larger than 1/2" x 1/2" wire. Some people may complain about our recommended sidewall dimensions of no more than 1" x 1/2" because they want to be able to pet their Prairie Dog through the bars. We ask that you please consider your priorities here. Is it more important for you to pet your Prairie Dog through the cage bars or is it more important to prevent them from hurting their face and teeth from repeated gnawing on the bars? They have been known to break their teeth from applying too much leverage on the bars when they chew, over time this could lead to serious health concerns. Full floors are best as balconies can be dangerous to Prairie Dogs. Prairie dogs are not visually equipped to consistently manage navigating cages with balconies because they do not have the depth perception to notice the difference between 2 inches and 3 feet. You want to avoid putting them in a position where they could jump or fall off of a balcony at a bad angle which could potentially cause a very serious or life threatening injury. Ramps to bi- or tri- level cages can be dangerous for the same reason that a balcony can, always use caution and think of long term health. Even one slight accident at a wrong angle, despite the distance of the fall could result in a fracture. If your cage has wire ramps, try to remove the ramp and/or attach PVC pipe for access to different floors. PVC pipe can be found at a local hardware store and cut down to any length you desire. Larger sized PVC pipe can be found at just about any plumping store if you cannot find it at the hardware store. Replacing wire ramps can be helpful in preventing your Prairie Dog from catching their toes and nails where the ramps are hinged to the floor. If using wire caging materials, make sure that edges of doors are covered with rubber door guards (see photos) so that rough edges don't cause a safety issue to your pet. You may also want to implement this stripping anywhere where two ends may meet where a Prairie Dog may work at getting your attentions such as where a cage lid on the top makes contact with the surrounding vertical sides. (Note: reacting by giving attention to a Prairie Dog when it is trying to work at a escaping from cage or enclosure only reinforces the behavior, do not give attention when your Prairie Dog is working at escaping from their habitat when you know that there is no safety issue to worry about). If you want to consider long term health in your cage design, it is best to use a pull out style litter pan to avoid having your Prairie Dog in direct contact with their litter and waste. Over time skin, coat and respiratory conditions have been known to develop in those Prairie Dogs where owners did not have a pull out style pan for waste to drop through. A metal pull out style pan makes daily cleaning easy, metal is preferred because it typically will last longer than plastic pull out trays and the metal isn't permeated as much with urine odor over time when it is scrubbed down. When the waste is allowed to drop through to the bottom pan, the owner often only has to pull out the pan, dump it, wipe it down, fill with fresh litter and put it back in place for a quick clean-up. Some types of cages sit inside a bottom tray, where the Prairie Dog walks on its litter or bedding which they sometimes will use for a latrine; this is not a wise choice over time. This style cage requires you to lift it up which can be burdensome depending on its size and also requires more frequent cage cleanings because you don't want to have any food contaminated by urine and feces or for your pet to be in direct contact with their waste for long periods of time. Some people in caging situations with no pull out pan often require daily or even twice daily cleanings depending on the number of Prairie Dogs they have.

Again, we will reiterate that you can build any size cage that you desire for your pet(s), but think about enough room for the total number of Prairie Dogs you have and their toys (including a 15"wheel that you can mount in a safe position), latrine, sleeping and eating areas in your design. Also think about allowing enough room to allow for building and nesting activities, ease of cleanup, and allowing them room to stand, perch, and guard and observe comfortably. Question your design if you have built in easy access to all areas of their cage? Is each access point built strongly and securely for their inevitable escape attempts? Are you able to periodically look for weak points and able to reinforce them as necessary?

Enclosures    (Outdoor enclosure tips to follow, check back soon for more!)

Many people choose an enclosure over a cage because they want their Prairie Dog to experience what they perceive to be a less confined environment; the truth of this depends on the construction of both. The world is your oyster with what you create in both instances, so it is more a matter of your preference. If you choose to go with an enclosure instead of a cage many of the same issues and concerns from the caging section apply to your enclosure too but there are also other considerations to entertain. What materials will you use and what are the pros and cons of your choices? Some people convert whole rooms into “Prairie Dog” rooms where only their Prairie Dogs occupy the space. While having a whole entire room dedicated to your pet sounds like a terrific idea, there can be behavioral and health drawbacks to this option as well. Prairie dogs in the wild as well as in captive settings are still instinctually prey animals, in the wild they will sit and observe their surroundings and monitor all activities by those within their coterie and those actions by others and the coming and going of all that enter their environment. It is essential that the Prairie Dog(s) be able to see the activities around them and that their sight is not blocked by walls of a room, doors, or enclosure walls. For some Prairie Dogs if their site is blocked you may face behavioral problems because they feel anxious when they cannot observe properly and are surprised or caught off guard by their owners and other visitors. You can help address their visibility issue by using Plexiglas for a doorway or one entry way. Some people will use clear Plexiglas all around for their enclosure wall and have certain bedding sections where the Prairie Dogs can escape and hide when they feel the need. Having visibility is a critical element to your enclosure. Another crucial element has to do with cleaning and maintenance. Enclosures often mean that the Prairie Dog may have areas where they are in more direct contact with their waste; we've already mentioned that such contact can lead to long term health problems with their skin and respiratory system. Depending on construction, this often means more frequent cleanings are required in enclosure situations where there is no drop down pan to catch waste. Lastly, adequate ventilation can cause long term health concerns depending on what habitat you create, this is especially true in smaller box style enclosures where over time waste odor permeates the construction materials used, especially if the flooring becomes saturated over time. Again, carefully think through your material and construction choices and consider your options when faced with the challenges noted here. Preventing falls is another concern in your Prairie Dog(s) enclosure and what they are able to climb that could result in an injury as noted in the caging section must be considered here as well. If using a room, will you tile or laminate the whole room. If so, make sure to also do the surrounding walls up to the height of about 3 feet to keep your Prairie Dog from chewing through the drywall. You may also want to put a kicker plate on the door bottom to keep the Prairie Dog from chewing and destroying the door to the room.

Tips for both cages and enclosures

Regardless of your choice of cage or enclosure, the frequency of cleaning is determined by its size, the number of Prairie Dogs that inhabit it, and the materials you use as litter and bedding. It also helps for the pet owner to step back and think about the "big picture" about Prairie Dogs in the wild and their habitat. Prairie Dogs are some of the most sophisticated architects in the animal kingdom and build quite elaborate burrow and tunnel systems. In fact, they are such advanced builders that engineering students at some universities have even studied their construction techniques in the wild. Prairie Dogs take into account weather, air and water flow and adjust their construction accordingly. Their underground chambers are warm, airy, and removed from the impact of inclement weather. Only very severe storms and extreme flooding impact their construction. So, what does this have to do with cages, enclosures and cleaning? Well, in a wild Prairie Dog town Prairie Dogs often build separate bathroom chambers from their nesting and nursery chambers. When a bathroom becomes too contaminated with waste and odor they collapse the chamber upon itself which suffocates the smell and then they begin using a newly constructed chamber. This process repeats itself. Waste in the collapsed chamber is broken down and absorbed into the ground and may be redeveloped at a future date when needed. Again, latrines are not located where they sleep; this should also be part of your thought process in a captive setting. Potty locations should not be near where they are sleeping and they should not be in continual contact with their litter and waste. A pullout style litter pan in a cage is a good choice to allow for waste to drop through and it virtually eliminates direct contact with waste and provides a bit more ventilation. When thinking of how often to clean and if your environment allows for adequate ventilation for your Prairie Dog is to take time to put your head inside their habitat and breathe for at least one full minute (most people don't accurately measure how long a full minute is, so bring a timer if there is any doubt), if you can smell urine and waste, so can your pet. Repeated incidents of over exposure to these odors over time may lead to respiratory concerns for your pet over time.

Despite your choice of cage or enclosure it is vital that you consider the location of the enclosure or cage in your home the amount of lighting it receives, its exposure to varying temperatures, ventilation, sight restrictions, and protection from excessive heat or cold, access to other household pets, etc. Prairie Dogs do not have any depth perception; they are not visually equipped to tell the distance between two inches or a six foot drop. Many people note that they are great climbers and while this is true you once again have to consider in the wild what they typically are climbing; they climb a gradual incline from their tunnel to the flattened or mounded area of their burrow. There is not a drop or anything to jump from once they have climbed out of their hole. So, just because they can climb, doesn't mean that they can jump safely or know how to manage falling from any distance. Many broken backs, teeth, head trauma and other serious accidents have occurred. It is paramount that whatever habitat option you choose that you evaluate if they could fall any distance that might result in injury and try to prevent it.

If you have a picture of a cage or enclosure that you have made or that works well with your Prairie Dog(s) please email them to us, we'd love to create a network to share information by adding them to this site for others to get ideas from to benefit their pets.

Poisonous Plants

New info as of February 2010.

Below is a partial list of poisonous plants for prairie dogs. There may be more, but these are certain. If you feed something new, not mentioned here, the key is to limit it to small amounts because you don't want their routine diet to shift in any way and upset their digestive tract. Introduce one item at a time and in a small amount so if they do not tolerate something, not because it's poisonous but because it was a bit hard for their digestive system, you know what specific item caused it. Once you've tried a small snack of each an item, wait a full 24 hours to see how well they tolerated it. If no adverse reaction, repeat this process. Once you know there is no problem then you can give them the new item. This step is particularly important as they age.

I cannot stress enough that when giving certain seasonal treats: avoid giving too much so they don't turn away from what you cannot provide when the treat may no longer be available. You want other non-hay items to be intermittent treats, not something expected daily. Dandelions and grasses from the yard (pesticide and fertilizer-free) are considered seasonal and should be slowly rationed in as a treat as described above, but should not replace hay or water. If water intake lessens from treat levels, you need to back off so that they resume drinking as before. Daily treats can consist of LIMITED AMOUNTS (no more than 2-5% of their daily diet depending on their individual weight and metabolisms) of sweet potato, baby carrots, plain cheerios, plain shredded wheat, oats (without sugar/molasses), and timothy hay pellets.

Poisonous plants include:

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