prairie dogs?

Question

Do prairie dogs make good pets and if so are there any books that I can research them in?

Answer 1

If you want to have a prairie dog (which is a rodent, not a dog) in the US you can't legally buy one anymore.

Capture of wild prairie dogs and sale or transfer of prairie dogs is no longer allowed because of a disease called monkey pox.

Go here to the FDA site:
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2003/NEW00970.html

Answer 2

I've known two prairie dogs that were kept as pets *i think they're rodents, not dogs though. kinda like koala bears are marsupials and not bears* and let's just say that I was warned of them with a very vivid picture painted in my mind by the words they used.

I've been told that they can literally bit through a welding glove, and I've heard that males can get WAY aggressive. I don't know much about females but their bite puts me off more than a little.

Legalities would be an issue, some states they are flat out illegal, some you need a permit, some you can just pick one up and be on your merry way. Check that out before you buy, because even pet stores are in it just for the money sometimes and will have an animal listed as something legal so that it can't be effectively traced.

I don't know the "true" pet potential of this animal, because the two I've had any contact with weren't owned by the best people to be owning any animal *one had a skunk that lived in a dog kennel, never got to run around at all. skunks should usually be kept like cats if you didn't know* the other had half a dozen starving dogs and twice as many starving cats, none fixed and it wasn't like they couldn't afford/didn't have food for them, it was more a case of they simply never refilled the food dishes. In any case, the prairie dogs owned by these people weren't at all socialized, so I don't know how they could be if played with from a very young age *birth if the parents will accept them with your sent, but I know with cats that if the kitten smells funny they'll either reject it or kill it*

Do your research, online is your best bet because it's easier to get published on your own free website than in a book that needs money to be put into print. You've gotta weed out opinion from fact, but it's better than buying a book that says they make GREAT pets and then finding out that no matter what you do they're mean as a witch.

Answer 3

Prairie dogs aren't dogs at all. They are rodents. They are not pets, either -- they've been banned in the USA completely (as pets). They are wild animals. They live underground in burrows, and they're very social (with prairie dogs in their burrow communities, NOT people). They're terrified of humans and of just about everything else; their way of running away is to go down into their burrows until the predator passes. I'm afraid the only way you're likely to interact with one at all is at the zoo, because if you live in an area that has wild prairie dogs, they'll dive underground before you get a good look at them!

Answer 4

Prairie dogs are wild rodents. Check with your state to see if they are legal or not. There are many books with information in their natural setting. Have a nice holiday.

Answer 5

They are wild animals, I don't know of anyone who has ever had one for a pet, and I've never seen them in stores, so it would be difficult to get one probably.

They live underground too, so unless you want to put a BIG cage full of dirt in your home I would pass on them as a pet.

Just get a Guinea pig they look similar to them.

Answer 6

They are wild as wild can be. You might be thinking of them as dogs. They are rodents that live in the grasslands. Some believe that they got their name from the sound they make, which is similar to barking. If you see someone selling one, that's illegal, so don't buy one.

Answer 7

yes they do make great pets and can be litter box trained im not shure about books but i googled it a wile ago and found out really cool stuff on them