Prairie dogs may be born to be wild, but they are also happy to be your house pet. Once bonded to you, and acclimated to your home, they are quite content there. They have no desire to go back to the wild or outdoors. Although prairie dogs may be taken for a walk (with specially designed prairie dog harnesses), they don't need (or want) to be walked. What they want to do is to stay right in their own little environment. This makes them good pets for those who don't get out much, for those with small houses or apartments, and for people who live in big cities, where it can be tough keeping a pet that needs to be out in the sunshine.

Care of baby prairie dogs: Often, baby prairie dogs are captured before they are actually weaned so they are not eating solid foods enough to keep their layer of 'baby fat. These babies often lose this layer of fat from the time of capture until they get into your home. They get cold easily and can die quickly. Keep them warm, in an aquarium with a heating pad under a small portion of the aquarium. Keep the heating pad on 'low' and check it often. It must only be under PART of the aquarium, on the outside, so that the prairie dog can escape to a cooler part of the container if the heating pad setting is too high or malfunctions. Supplement babies with a plastic syringe. Small (5cc) syringes or bird feeding syringes can be purchased in apet store or from the vet. Mix 1/2 gatorade or pedialyte with 1/2 whole milk - Esbilac for puppies is actually best and feed the pup SLOWLY dripping it into the mouth. Be careful that it does not gasp and aspirate which will mean DEATH if the milk gets into the lungs. Take it slow and be patient. Do this every few hours. Be sure the milk is warm. Putting the baby under your shirt, next to your skin will also warm it but do give it time to be 'outside' and breathe normally. Feed a 6 oz. baby every 2-4 hours depending on its condition. A dehydrated baby will not last long so keep it full of fluids.

Ambient & Body Temperatures: Black-Tailed prairie dogs are not true hibernators. Prairie dogs exposed to ambient temperatures of around 55ø F. may enter a state of torpor or semi-hibernation. Warm with heating pads and apply supportive oxygen therapy. Exposure to lower temperatures may result in hypothermia. Ailing prairie dogs may also have a temperature drop and may not respond to treatments until warmed. The prairie dog's normal temperature is 98 - 99ø F.

Restraint: Roll the prairie dog in a large towel folded lengthwise to restrain it for injections (normally in the thigh). This takes a little practice and must be done quickly, but it works well without having to squeeze any one area as the towel equalizes pressure on the body. Be sure to roll your 'prairie dog 'tamales' tightly!  A clinician experienced with prairie dogs may choose the following method of restraint for sedation. Grasp the prairie dog at the BASE of the tail with one hand. Lift the prairie dog off the table surface, maintaining your hold at the base of the tail and keeping the head pointed down. Allow the prairie dog to obtain footing in this position on something such as a cage door or your pant leg if you are very brave. (Prairie dogs rarely bite in this position but the possibility is there.) With the other hand, pin down at the back of the neck preventing the prairie dog from turning its head.

House Training: In the wild, each prairie dog family has only so many square feet of grass; if they were to do their business all over that grass, they would gradually poison their own food source. So each little family digs a latrine, and everybody goes to the bathroom there. When it gets too nasty, they either clean it out or bury it and dig another one. In your home, a prairie dog will actually want to find and use a litter pan, or some other such spot away from its principal stomping grounds.

Prairie dogs should be kept confined when you are not at home to watch them. If you let your prairie dog run around free in the house while you're gone, you are likely to discover a whole new world when you return. But a prairie dog will probably do none of this when you're home. It's you the animal really wants, not the chair leg. Even when you are there, however, you will have to triple-childproof your home if you're going to turn your prairie dog loose. You can't have drain cleaner or chemicals of any kind where the animal might get at them. You will have to disguise or cover electrical cords -- prairie dogs love to gnaw on them, especially those with Christmas lights. Prairie dogs are also terrible thieves, with a special fondness for socks. (They won't destroy your socks, but they will collect them.) Like most of us, though, prairie dogs tend to grow less destructive with the passing years.

Prairie dogs are extremely healthy and hardy. They don't even catch colds and little ailments the way cats and dogs sometimes do. They are also easy to keep parasite free. Just dust them with cat flea powder only if you have fleas in your house already. If you don't, the prairie dog is not going to get them. In captivity, it is common for prairie dogs to live to the age of 12.

Fractures: Limb fractures may need amputation. Prairie dogs will not tolerate bandages, casts or splints and will chew them and the affected leg to the point of self-amputation. Fractures that are set will take 3 to 6 weeks to heal. The prairie dog must be restrained during this healing period. Pelvic fractures are common in 3 to 9 month prairie dogs and will usually self-heal if the animal restrained in a container in which they cannot climb such as an aquarium or another type of container with smooth sides of restrictive height

A prairie dog is susceptible to a number of diseases, the most notable being plague. Plague is an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of an infected flea. Plague can be devastating to prairie dog populations, wiping out entire colonies in some areas. This disease was known as "black death" in the 1 300s when about one-third of Europe's human population was lost. Although it can be transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected flea, plague has not been found in prairie dogs in Nebraska and is now treatable in humans.

Intestinal Disorders: Symptomatic dietary diarrhea can be the result of overeating or rapid diet change. The owner must identify and correct the eating habits. Discomfort may be relieved by orally administering bismuth subsalicylate liquid (Pepto Bismol) at the rate of 0.2 to .5 ml/LB every 6 to 8 hours. Coccidia has been treated in prairie dogs with sulfadimethoxine. During surgical recovery or after antibiotic therapy, lactobacillus acidophilus and other beneficial microorganisms should be reintroduced to the gastrointestinal system to reestablish microflora that may have been affected. (Bene-bac, pet gels, yogurt, etc.)

Common Respiratory Disorder: Nasal discharge or blockage may be the result of inhalation of foreign materials into the nasal passages or dental problems. Foreign materials include terry cloth fragments, lint and dust from cat litter. Volatile oils in cedar bedding can cause respiratory difficulty and allergies. Non-infectious Rhinitis or other allergic discharges have responded to oral Orange Triaminicr 2/10 cc/lb. 2-3 times daily.

Prepuce Blockage: Captive adult males that have not been castrated and are not mating may develop an accumulation of urine, secretions and debris in the prepuce. This material can concentrate and harden causing discomfort, bacterial infection and/or necrosis of the penis. This is most common during and after the annual reproductive season - October through January. Symptoms are a purulent discharge at the preputial orifice and a variable degree of urinary incontinence. Sedation is necessary to manually remove the preputial debris followed with thorough cleansing and douche of 10% providine-iodine. Culture and sensitivity testing may be indicated to determine treatment of bacterial infection if any.

Malocclusion: Can occur by excessive or mal-positioned growth of the incisors and occasionally the molars. The prairie dog with this problem may eat less or be unable to eat at all. Indications may be weight loss, moist muzzle and chest, and partially eaten food. Incorrectly growing incisors can cause trauma to tissues they contact. Overgrown teeth should be clipped back to normal length or less if necessary. Sedation is recommended. Bone forceps or nail trimmers have worked. Dietary inadequacies may precipitate tooth fractures during clipping. In this case, a high-speed hand tool with a flat cutting head may prove satisfactory. Mouth should be held open with a speculum and will provide access to cheek teeth. Malocclusion from hereditary causes may be impossible to correct. Those teeth may need to be clipped very short and need regular follow-up care to check regrowth patterns.

Alopecia: The most frequent origin of hair loss in prairie dogs that have been treated has been caused by frantic and repeated rubbing on cage wires, unsanitary cage conditions, poor diet, ectoparasites and dermatophytes. Usual diagnostic procedures are used.

Obesity: The prairie dog's diet should be high fiber but not high in fat. Prairie dogs should not be fed diets or treats like high-fat cookies, peanuts, dog foods, buttered popcorn and crackers. Gall bladder disease has been diagnosed in some prairie dogs that have consumed high-fat diets. Grossly overweight prairie dogs are at health risk and may develop other secondary health problems. However, healthy prairie dogs often have moderate natural weight gain prior to winter but return to normal body weight by spring.

Grasses are the preferred food of the prairie dog, and generally makes up about three quarters of its diet. In the fall, broadleaf forbs become more important as green grass is less available. In winter, any available green vegetation is consumed. In the spring and summer, each prairie dog consumes up to two pounds of vegetation per week. The prairie dog eats a simple vegetarian diet of fresh hay, grasses, fresh fruits and vegetables, seeds and nuts, and fresh water. The prairie dog is also not what anyone would call a fussy eater.

A prairie dog reaches sexual maturity after its first winter and has one litter per year. Breeding takes place in March and early April, and a litter of usually four to six young is born 30 to 35 days later. Young prairie dogs are born hairless, helpless, and with their eyes closed. They remain underground for about six weeks and first emerge from the den in May or June. They are weaned at this time and begin feeding on green vegetation. They reach adult size by fall.

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Note: The information above was reproduced from the book “Avian-Exotic Animal Care Guides” by Richard W. Woerpel, MS, DVM and Walter J. Rosskopf, Jr, DVM, a American Veterinary publication.