[tylerNbrittany]

Me and my girlfriend have 2 pds we got them this year so they are maybe around 6 months we just recently found out they are both females. I have some questions and if you can answer them it would help tremendously cause we really wanna be able to care for them.

1. ODOR no matter if i give them a bath (which is a death wish on myself) or what they have a terrible odor on them. i have to wash my hands after touching them every time.

2. Aggression one has recently become very aggressive towards us. she will be sweet when you pet her and give her attention but once she gets fed up she will bite. and has bit me numerous times taking chunks of me along with her.

3. while one has become aggressive the other has been extremely docile and loves attention. but has lost a decent amount of weight and doesnt seem to wanna eat. she has been also biting or chewing at the bars of their cage constantly. even though they have to hanging ropes of wood blocks and other loose blocks inside the cage.

 

[tylerNbrittany]

Also one of the babies was walking on its knuckles. the pads on his feet looked pretty worn, they were dry and cracked

 

[Kendalle]

what set up do you have?
whats their diet?
how much time do you spend with them every day?
are they fighting each other?
what is the bottom of the cage made up of?

 

[tylerNbrittany]

currently we have a ferret cage that has multiple levels-
super multi level ferret cage ( its on petco and its plastic purple cant post links yet)

also we have a 12" wodent wheel that we need to find a better replacement for. Their bedding consists of aspen wood bedding and the bottom is all plastic but they do climb up and down the sides of the cage. As for time we just started college back this fall and got a lil short on time but we've changed that and probably 2-3 hours 2 days a week and the possibly more time the other days. they dont ever seem to fight each other and diet was lacking some timothy hay for a little while because my girlfriend is allergic to it but we decided its too important to them.

 

[klsydavis]

Do you let them out of the cage daily? Do they eat anything other than timothy hay? Do they fight each other for food or fight each other at all?

My pup smelled awful and I tried to give her a bath (which was an awful idea) so I went out and bought those bath wipes for puppies. They work great and you can get them at any pet store. You can use them daily or howevever often you need them.

 

[kes88]

They will ALWAYS bite the cage. Ive had 4 prairie dogs and all of them bit their cage. Its just a PD's nature to dig and burrow to expand their territory.
For the biter, when she bites, say NO! very loudly (or another noise that startles them) and immediately put her into a small solitary cage for about 10 minutes. (I use a carrier cage) The cage should have no food, water or blanket. DONT put her in if she is only being mad. Put her there ONLY if she tries to act on her anger (scratching and biting). They HATE being in isolation more than anything. Do this every time and hopefully she will learn. It worked for mine.
I dont have much knowledge on the other issues.
Good luck!