Greeting.

I apologize for interoducing myself with a problem but
I have a sweet 3 year old male prairie dog I was given (AKA Crumb, the Superhero PD.) He's a doll and I had him neutered. I was about to say he was no trouble until i realized the sound of him scratching relentlessly at the door had ceased. Little bugger got it open and is loose in the house. This is the third time. The first time he got into the attic and the end result was a chewed wire, an electric bill for "$200 - repairing Prairie Dog Damage" and 3 hang ups from less generous electricians who were uninterested in assisting once I mentioned Crumb was still wandering around in the attic and if they found him would they mind returning him to his cage? I can hear the little sucker rattling around in the walls right now....I'll just have to wait him out. sigh.

Prairie dog two, gofer, is a young female...still looks like a baby and acts like the same. Should I get her neutered to avoid rut?


Third prairie dog is the problem. I got her two months ago from an apathetic teenager who doesn't seem to have played/interacted with her at all. The PD, Lucy, didn't want to be held, or come of the cage. She was in her own separate cage but I brought her out to play with the other two everyday. It seemed to be doing some good...I was scratching her and she was enjoying it. Then this week I had to leave for work and was reaching in to get her and she nailed me on the wrist. My fault. I shouldn't have pushed her when she was cornered. Next night She stood up like she wanted to be petted and when I reached over to do so she got me again. (personal note: Do you guys have any idea how HARD those buggers can bite? Where she got me on my wrist it made a bruise that went five inches up my arm and interfered with my ability to flex it for a few days. When she got my finger the next night..same thing. Bled like a son of a gun and bruised it enough to I still can't close it all the way)

Not happy but Fine. Message received....Lucy is in a cranky mood and if I want to reach out to pet or pick her up I'd better bloody well have gloves on.

Then last night I'm sitting on the bed, watching TV and she CRAWLS UP ONTO THE BED and attacks! She bit my finger and hung on so hand that i was trying to shake her off with her feet dangling 6 inches in the air. Then when she let go of the finger she grabbed the palm of my hand and we repeated the same dance. At this point i leaped off the bed, pulled on my gloves and firmly, but as gently as I could ....hauled the spitting, cursing, chattering little shark into her old cage and left her there to cool down.

I brought her out again today, though I've yet to try to pet her (yeah right) and I'm lost. I don't mind wearing gloves to pet or pick her up, but I object to be attacked when we aren't even interacting and she's just PMSing. Is this a rut thing? Do females go through a rut? Did being left alone and ignored for months at a time create an emotionally damaged and psychotic Prairie Dog?
Would it help if I got her neutered too?

I could really use some knowledgeable advice.

Thanks,

Jelpy

First welcome to Paw talk, jelpy.
What a disturbing story. I'm sorry to hear your pd is giving you so much trouble. I must say though you have an amazing amount of patience!!
Unfortunately, I don't have any knowledge of prairie dogs. I will check around the forums though, because it seems I have run into some folks who do.
Hopefully you will get the answers you are looking for soon!!

Animal Family.

I appreciate your response, even if you couldn't give any specific advice.

It's a bit disconcerting to introduce yourself with a message that gets 147 views and only one return hello.

What kind of fids do you have?

Jelpy

Unfortunately there's not a lot of activity here these days. A few of the older members seem to be returning though.
Some of the views I believe are from "guests"?????
I'm not sure if it's a typo or not but what is a "fid", so I'll know how to answer your question?

A FID is a Feathered or furry kid. It's my term for the fuzzies. I'm pretty sure that behind my back they refer to us humans with the derogatory term of 'two leggers"

Jelpy

LOL! I wonder if my chickens use that same term for us, ???

At the moment we have 1 awesome dog, 1 special kitty [9 years old but still a kitty at heart], 7 goofy goats [with more on the way, I think], and 5 very cheeky chickens!!

BTW, I have put out the word on our website regarding your pd issues. I don't know if it will help, but it never hurts to ask. You're more than welcome to check the place out if you'd like. We're still a fairly young website, but we have an incredibly friendly/helpful group of folks!!
We're still working on building our member base. So far it's going pretty well. I think you would make a nice addition to our little group.
The URL is in my signature below.>>>>

I discovered the problem. I took Lucy in to be fixed and discovered The proper name would have been Louis. Ergo, the problem.....and the prairie dog....have been fixed.