As very social creatures, prairie dogs will become depressed or sick if not given enough attention. If you don't have at least six hours per day to spend with your prairie dog, then plan on having a full colony of prairie dogs or none at all. With the right training, pet prairie dogs can be leash trained (using a special prairie dog harness) and even learn to come when they hear their name.
>Once they are bonded to you, they expect you to spend at least an hour or two with them per day or they will get lonely and act out.
>>4799839Cool another animal to neglect, abuse and breed into torturous forms
>>4799839How much area would I need to maintain a colony?
>>4799839Where do you even get some? They look like giant chipmunks/squirrels
>Prairie dogs may have a vocal communication system more complex than that of dolphins, whales and non-human primates.>These squeaks and yips make up the most elaborate animal vocalizations we humans have yet translated. Indeed, the prairie dogs’ communication system is so detailed and specific that some researchers are “comfortable calling it a language,” says Con Slobodchikoff, the animal behaviorist who introduced this concept after studying prairie dogs for decades.>A given call might contain information about a suspicious figure’s identity (“hawk!” “coyote!”), speed of approach, and size—or, if they happen to be a nosy researcher, their height and the color of their shirt. These messages are responded to with the appropriate behavior—craning a neck for a wheeling falcon, diving into a burrow for a close-by dog. By hanging cutout shapes above a prairie dog colony, UFO-style, Slobodchikoff and his colleagues learned that the rodents can even differentiate between circles and triangles (although not, for whatever reason, between circles and squares).
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nOMKQtZC0TUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJwCH_2c8Xc
>>4799843Not sure about colony but the way I've seen as many as 5 kept is a big cage in the middle of a lively area with a high vintage point over the room.Or maybe in your bedroom. They are diurnal like us so they won't be waking you in the middle of the night.
Why is nobody actively domesticating these dudes?Seems like they'd make much better pets than retarded hamsters.
>>4799856Keyword there being “may”
>>4799878Hamsters are fairly easy to take care of whereas these guys are somewhat difficult.
Big Ounce Rest in Peace
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Jj7X0VKBwg
>>4799854>They look like giant chipmunks/squirrelsBecause they are.
