CHICAGO EXOTICS ANIMAL HOSPITAL
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Prairie Dog Care

Prairie Dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus)
By Kristin Claricoates, DVM

 
            There are 5 species of prairie dogs, and the black tailed prairie dogs are the best known species.  Prairie dogs typically have a lifespan of 8-10 years in the wild, although in captivity they often do not live this long.  The shorter lifespan is contributed to issues with their enclosure and diet.  Males typically are larger than females in weight and prairie dogs typically weigh up to 0.7kg-1.4kg or 1.54lbs-3.08lbs.  Prairie dogs reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years of age, and females will have 1 litter a year.  Typically there are 3-4 pups in each litter and the gestation period is 33-38 days.  Mating season is in March and lasts about 2-3 weeks.  98% population decline is seen in the 20th century. 

            In an enclosure, they prefer the temperature to be 68-72° F and humidity between 30 and 70%.  In the wild, they live in coteries, which is a basic social group of 8-10 animals.  These typically consist of 1 male, 3-4 females, several yearlings and juveniles.  Each prairie dog typically has 11 distinct vocalizations which owners will come to know over time.  Two to know particularly are the chattering that expresses frustration and a high pitched scream that indicates distress.  An owner must handle and socialize with their prairie dog often or else they will become prone to biting and become more aggressive over time. 

            In their environment in the wild, they have underground tunnels.  So in your house, offer a deep amount of bedding to allow for digging tunnels and use PVC pipes to allow them to feel like they are underground.  Do not use any wood in the cage as they will chew it down and escape.  The enclosure itself is ok to be made from wire and stainless steel.  A cage should not be all solid walls, but a cage with 3 solid sides and one wire side helps cut down self-trauma from biting on the sides of the wired cage.  Also, there should not be any shelves or climbing areas as they do not climb well.  Prairie dogs should have a photoperiod (amount of light in the day) of 10-12 hours. 

            The diet of a wild prairie dog consists of grasses, leaves, herbs, insects and carrion.  At home, please offer free feeding of timothy hay, 20-40g of hay per each kilogram of weight of your pet of timothy hay-based pellets and offer a small amount of greens and veggies. 

            Some diseases that prairie dogs uncommonly get but are imperative to know are the zoonotic diseases that have the potential to spreading to other animals or humans through a pet prairie dog.  These are monkey pox and Yersinia pestis (the bubonic plague).  Do not assume that these diseases are present in your prairie dog, however large lumps or lesions on the body that are discolored will be of concern for either disease. 
​
            For a routine prairie dog examination, we will use a gas anesthetic to do our examination.  We check for any intestinal parasites, topical parasites, and dental diseases such as malocclusions, tooth abscesses, or odontomas (a nodular mass in the hard palate resulting in poor breathing secondary to poor dental health).  We also like to do routine workup such as a fecal and bloodwork.  If needed, we may do additional diagnostic tests like a radiograph (x-ray) if needed. 
             
 

If you have any NON-EMERGENT questions, please feel free to call us at 847-329-8709
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  • Home
  • Emergency Care
  • Care Sheets
    • General Care >
      • Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM)
      • Heating Reptile Enclosures
      • Health Veggie Shopping for Reptiles
      • Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
      • Metabolic Bone Disease Care
      • Vaccines in Exotic Animals
    • Birds >
      • Amazon Care
      • Avian Influenza Fact Sheet
      • Avian Influenza for Poultry Fact Sheet
      • Avian Bornavirus Testing
      • Budgie Care
      • Canaries
      • Chicken Care
      • Chronic Egg Laying
      • Cleaning and Disinfecting
      • Cockatiels (and other small Psittacines)
      • Cockatoo Care
      • ​Converting Your Bird to a Pelleted Diet
      • Feather Picking
      • General Parrot Care
      • Handfeeding Baby Parrots
      • Healthy Shopping for your Birds
      • Infectious Diseases of Parrots
      • Instructions for Physical Therapy in Birds
      • Lead Poisoning
      • McWatters Diet (Homemade Mash)
      • Macaw Care
      • Parrot Precautions
      • Polyoma Virus
      • Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease
      • Proventricular Dilatation Disease
      • Spiroform Pharangitis (Spirochetes)
      • Baby Starling and Sparrow guidelines
      • Territorial Aggression
      • Unsafe Plants for Birds
      • Weaning Baby Birds
      • What to Feed Your Pet Bird
      • Wing Injury and Rehabilitation
      • Wing Trims
      • Your Overly Reproductive Female Bird
      • Zinc Toxicity
    • Caiman Care
    • Ferret and Fox Care >
      • Your Ferret’s First Visit to the Vet
      • An Overview of Ferret Adrenal Disease
      • Chronic Diarrhea in Ferrets
      • Ferret Dentistry
      • Heart Disease in Ferrets
      • Heartworm Disease in Ferrets
      • Insulinoma in Ferrets
      • Lymphoma In Ferrets
      • Bob’s Chicken Gravy
      • Fennec Foxes
      • Red Foxes
    • Fish >
      • Algae in your Freshwater Aquarium
      • Eel Care
      • Freshwater Tropical Fish Care
      • Beginning a Freshwater Aquarium
      • Cleaning your Freshwater Aquarium
      • How to Feed your Fish
      • Aquarium Corals
      • Koi Care
      • General Goldfish Care
      • Hermit Crab Care
    • Invertebrate Care
    • Frogs, Toads, and Other Amphibians >
      • Argentine Horned Frogs
      • Bullfrog Care
      • Dart Frog Care
      • Feeding Pet Frogs and Toads
      • Fire Bellied Toad Care
      • Pixie Frog Care
      • Red Eyed Tree Frog Care
      • Short Tongue Syndrome
      • Tiger Salamander Care
      • Axolotl Care
      • White Lipped Tree Frog Care
      • White's Tree Frog Care
      • Ranavirus
    • Guinea Pigs and Rodents >
      • Chinchilla Care
      • Cuy Criollo (Giant Guinea Pig)
      • Health Problems with Guinea Pigs
      • Degu Care
      • Gerbil Care
      • Guinea Pig Care
      • Hamster Care
      • Diabetic Hamster Diet
      • Mice Care
      • Rat Care
      • Health Problems with Rats
      • Prairie Dog Care
      • Odontoma
      • Veggies For Guinea Pigs
      • Visible Tumors in Rodents
      • Vitamin C Deficiency In Guinea Pigs
    • Hedgehog Care >
      • Baby Hedgehog (Hoglet) Care
    • Kinkajoos and Armadillos >
      • Kinkajou Care
      • Nine Banded Armadillo Care
    • Lizards >
      • Anole Care
      • Bearded Dragon Care
      • Blue Tongued Skink Care
      • Crested Gecko Care
      • Geckos of New Caledonia
      • Crocodile Monitor Care
      • Frilled Lizard Care
      • Green Iguana Care
      • Jackson's Chameleon Care
      • Leopard Gecko Care
      • Nile Monitor Care
      • Old World Chameleon Care
      • Panther Chameleon Care
      • Red-Eyed Crocodile Skink Care
      • Savannah Monitor Care
      • Tegu Care
      • Thai Water Dragon Care
      • Uromastyx Care
      • Veiled Chameleon Care
    • Potbellied Pigs >
      • Pot Belly Pigs
      • Diamond Skin Disease
    • Rabbits >
      • Bonding Rabbits Bullet Point Checklist
      • Healthy Shopping for Rabbits
      • Complete Rabbit Care
      • Getting To Know Your New Bunny
      • Training Your Bunny
      • What To Feed Your Rabbit
      • Learning to Use the Litter Box
      • What To Expect From Your New Rabbit
      • Dental Disease in Rabbits
      • Heart Disease in Rabbits
      • Healthy Stool in Rabbits
      • Gastrointestinal Stasis in Rabbits
      • RHDV2 Fact Sheet
      • Parasites of Rabbits
      • Sore Hocks in Rabbits
      • Pasteurella in Rabbits
      • Medicating Your Rabbit or Guinea Pig
    • Snakes >
      • Amazon Tree Boa Care
      • Ball Python Care
      • Black Rat Snake Care
      • Boa Constrictor Care
      • Brazilian Rainbow Boa Care
      • Burmese Python Care
      • California Kingsnake Care
      • Cornsnake Care
      • Dumeril's Boa Care
      • Eastern Kingsnake Care
      • Emerald Tree Boa Care
      • Garter Snake Care
      • Green Tree Python Care
      • Western Hognose Care
      • Mexican Black Kingsnake Care
      • Rosy Boa Care
      • Sand Boa Care
      • Western Fox Snake Care
      • Inclusion Body Disease
    • Sugar Gliders and Marsupials
    • Turtles and Tortoises >
      • Alligator Snapping Turtle Care
      • Bell's Hingeback Care
      • Box Turtle Care
      • Chinese Box Turtle Care
      • Common Snapping Turtle Care
      • General Tortoise Husbandry
      • Leopard Tortoise Care
      • Mud Turtle Care
      • Musk Turtle Care
      • Painted Turtle Care
      • Red Eared Slider Care
      • Russian Tortoise Care
      • Soft Shelled Turtle Care
      • Sulcata Care >
        • Diet For Sulcata Tortoises
      • Common Health Problems
      • General Care of Aquatic Turtles
      • Redfoot tortoise Care
  • Contact
    • Referrals
  • Vets, Externs & Shelters
    • Xoran CT
    • Acupuncture and Chiropratic Medicine
    • Erchonia Laser
    • Vet Day Camp >
      • Heart Supplement Formula
      • Avian Hemotology
    • Shelters
    • Externships
    • Jobs
  • Products
  • Links
  • About Us
  • Chicago Exotics Blog
    • About Us April Fools Page
  • Happy Turtle Stories
  • Tour
  • ADV Testing Information
  • Lacy Act Summary