Info needed. :)

[Wendy]

Can anybody point me too a really good website about the proper care for a pet prairie dog -- diet mainly?

What does everybody here feed their pd's?

Is Prairie dog delight a good choice, there seems to be conflicting information. I read you should not feed stuff like this and stick with grass type hays, roots and forbs?

Thank you

Wendy

[Wendy]

Ok LOL..well pd delight ya can't get in the UK but I can get Bunny basics T -- further reading tells me, I don't really need either?

I also read, wild berries and mushrooms is a good choice?

Wendy

[Scarlette]

I fed my girls pd delight and they hated it! I have heard from someone that it causes digestive problems but I have no proof to back that one up.....just what I've heard, so take it for what it's worth.

My girls get only Timothy hay and water, shredded wheat for treats, and I have given them very small pieces of apple and carrots. I really don't know about Bunny basics T. I believe they sell that at oxbowhay.com and advertise it for pd's also.

[babypd]

Hello!!

I feed my girls Prairie Delight, they loved it!!, but prairie dogs are very fussy, so there are some that won't eat it. To start out, like Scarlette said, and I also feed my girls besides Prairie Delight, Timothy hay with fresh water, you can also give them sparingly sweet potatoes without the skins, shredded wheat for treats. I would not feed them Bunny Basics, becuase I'm am sure that there is alfalfa in that, I was told that alfalfa is NOT recommended for prairie dogs. I also feed my girls KALE, it's a type of green lettece. Prairie dogs need leafy greens as well.

[Catherine]

Mine get free feed on grass hay, fresh cut grass and sweet potato on alternate days, and carrot or shredded wheat as treats. This was the diet Lynda Watson told us to feed. Oh and they are getting dog kibble and lamb's milk replacer at the moment so they don't get dehydrated . Skeezer drinks from the bottle fine but Snickers is a bit hit and miss I think.

Dog Kibble ? Thats ok for them. I am always so nerves of what Oddie eats . I don't want to give him anything that will hurt him. Connie

[Scarlette]

I was told by Karen to give them a Light dog food (Like purina fit and trim) or that vegetable made dog food (the name eludes me at the moment) only when they are babies, like CatP is doing. They really shouldn't have dog food as adults, especially the kind that has a high content of corn because that can make them fat which leads to other health issues, plus I have heard of pd's developing kidney stones from a high protein diet.

[Catherine]

ewwweee I forgot to add until 6 months old! Lynda told us senior dog food too. The extra calories are good for the PDS when they are younger.

I will have to see if I can find this veggie dog food I have seen people talking about it on one of the yahoo groups.

[Mia]

Wendy I am back on line after all the puter trouble.Do you still need info?I have a few sites if you need them

[Wendy]

Hi Nico,

I've got quite a lot of sites booked mark which I've collected over the past couple of years...nothing like be prepared. LOL

Wendy

[Catherine]

You are going to be a great PD mommy Wendy!

[EyesOfTXChins]

There are two types of Bunny Basics... There is Bunny-T, and Bunny 15/23. Bunny-T is safe and what I recommend for prairie dogs over the Prairie Delight. Bunny T is Timothy based, and is a pretty natural diet. Bunny 15/23 is alfalfa based. Prairie Delight used to be pellets but now it's in the forum of a compressed hay cube. It is held together with molasses. I have heard of the high sugar content causing food aggression.

Dog Kibble should only be given from baby to 6 mos. old. It is to give them the proteins their body needs. After 6mos, it just starts adding weight, and you don't want an overweight PD. Give a higher quality dog kibble such as Science diet, etc. I give my baby pd a dog food I special order for my soon to be dog, called Precise. It has NO CORN, and no BHT, Ethoytoxin (sp?), etc.

Not only corn, but you HAVE to watch out for corn content of any kind in small animal feeds. I believe the recipe may have been changed. But when I got my baby pd, I was recommended to Brisky's by Lynda Watson.
I am so sorry, but I will never TOUCH Brisky's feeds again. I had a PD that got VERY ill from the pellets due to the high corn content. He had chronic bladder stones. At the speed his stones were producing there was no way his body was creating them. He had to have surgery for one that was the size of a pea! It tested non-organic, so it was something he ingested causing it. $1000 later, he continued developing stones. The only thing I didn't change was his food cause I had been told it was so good. We nearly lost him cause I had no more money. We would have to manually massage his bladder and urethra with every new stone to try and work it out. He lived in severe pain. I finally found Bunny-T. I was pleased that it had no corn in it. That was a year ago. The DAY after I put Pooder on the new diet, he had a stone massaged out the night before. He NEVER had another bladder stone again since.

[Wendy]

Ok, I have Timothy Hay, which I always have anyway and I've got Oxbow Bunny Basics/T (a balanced Timothy Feed for Adult Rabbits).


Wendy
*grinning*

[Dallas]

Wendy - are you finally getting your PD? Bunny Basics T is great. The Trio grew up on it. I also give them the new Priairie Delight once or twice a week. The old one created aggression problems - this version must have happy juice in it - because Dallas keeps jumping into my arms for hugs! Tons and tons of Oxbow Hays. Sweet potato, or carrot, tiny piece of corn, or green bean for a special treat. Once a month they get an almond or a parrot biscuit. That's their super treat.

[Wendy]

Bunny Basics T I can get, haven't bought a massive bag in case it's not liked but I can't get p/delight in the UK.

Wendy
*grinning* hehe