Prairie Dogs as pets????

I was watching a program called The Pet Shop on a Fox Channel and this man had a bunch of prairie dogs and he said that they make great pets. I have no intention of buying one because they look like they need a lot of attention. He said that they can and should be spayed or neutered and they have a special food for them. What do you guys think? Personally, I see more and more wildlife being turned into pets. Why can't people be happy with the animals already domesticated?

prarie dogs!?! I've never heard of them being pets. I wouldn't buy one b/c I think that they should stay in the wild. And it sounds like they need alot of attention.

Very loving and sweet! Definitely need to be neutered though.
Almost nobody breeds them in captivity. Most of the PDs that are pets are captured as babies in the wild. This is done usually under contract with a farmer (i.e. "If you promise not to poison the prairie dogs on your land, I will catch them all for you"). Most PDs lives are saved this way. They are considered pests just about everywhere, and methods of extermination vary from poison to shooting to simply bulldozing over the land and waiting for them to suffocate, trapped in their burrows.
They bond quickly, and for life, so if you have one, don't expect to give it up easily. It will die searching for you.
They are clean, talkative, and live in cages (but most people just let them run around).
For more info, see www.betsycc.com

Lindsey,

I tried that link but it wouldn't load for me! (love that guy!)

I'm very intrigued by these little critters! I want to hear more!

Do a web search for Betsy's Custom Creations. You should come up with the page.

I've seen the same show, about the prarie dogs, and I think it's a sad idea. It seems that, as with everything else, there are fashions in pet ownership. I remember when chinchillas were popular, then ferrets. Now it's sugar gliders and prarie dogs. I think that reading any of the forums on this site would show although cats may have been domesticated for thousands of years, there are still issues that exist in the relationship between humans and cats that makes having a cat as a companion animal a tricky thing sometimes. What do people think when they have animals that have never been domesticated?

Think I'll stick with the old tried-and-true: cats and dogs. Bill is fond of snakes and has kept them, in the past. I, on the other hand, am ophidiophobic and cannot even view snakes, behind glass. Bill has decided that my charms outweigh those of a snake and will stick to warm-blooded pets. I guess, owning a prairie dog isn't that much different from owning any other kind of rodent. One should stick with captive-bred, though. Their fleas can transmit bubonic plague and other nasty diseases.

My friend had a pair of them. Neat little buggers but I think it's pretty cruel to keep them caged up. Not saying they should roam your house but I think that's an animal best left in the wild.

His smelled too. I guess it's the whole rodent factor, they all seem to smell. That's a big reason why I didn't want to keep out snakes anymore, I couldn't stand the smell of mice we kept as breeders and feeders.

I went to that website, and I would LOVE to have one as a pet, but the total cost would be about $365 if I am reading it right...$150 for the praire dog pup, $50 for the crate to ship it in and the health certificate, and then another $165 for the airfare to ship it to you. I don't know about you guys, but I just can't justify spending that kind of money on one!!!