Destruction at It's Finest

The destruction has escalated quite a bit, and frankly it's scaring me. Field Notes 11/4. The chewing has gone from what's expected from animals to complete reconstruction of their hut. The hut doesn't even look like a hut anymore, and don't even get me started on the wheel. The wheel has been removed from the tank and stays on the floor for it's own safety. Why do they obsess over chewing on everything? I ask myself this everyday that I see more and more of the hut being gnawed away. That can't be good for their teeth nor their health. In fact, it isn't because when I researched it I found out that it can cause mouth sores and internal damage. (Resources)

"Do not provide branches, wood, or plastic items for chewing to wear down their teeth."(Resources) I read this just after adding apple tree branches, and letting them chew on their hut and wheel. Now I'm very confused on what to give them to chew on. My mom said that giving them more Timothy hay as their diet will help. Well our fingers are crossed with this one.





               

Picture of hut after immense amount of chewing by Kayla Polley









 On a lighter note, my prairie dogs are more playful than ever before, yet I'm not sure why. They push and shove, pin down, chase each other, and roll and tumble around. Field Notes 11/6. They have never played this hard before, and it's absolutely hilarious to watch. Plus, I caught them on camera playing like little kids. It was perfect timing. They make me think of little kids on a play ground, and just playing until their heart is content. Never running out of energy, and making me wish I was a kid again so I could have that kind of fun just once more. They really are quite amazing creatures in my opinion.

 

Video of them playing by Kayla Polley

 

Even after watching this video a million times it still makes me laugh so hard!

 

 

Works Cited

"Resources." We Love Prairie Dogs. N.p. 2006. Web. 8 November 2014. 

 

Water. What Water?

Never in the six months have I had my two prairie dogs have I seen them drink water. This really started to bug me because I feel like they are thirsty all the time. However, they are perfectly healthy which wouldn't add up due to the lack of water. Come to found out that they very rarely drink water, and this is especially true with the wild ones. According to Bill Rogers, wild prairie dogs don't drink water because they get it from the vegetables they eat, but as pets a supply of water is needed. ( General Care and Feeding)

Everyday my mother puts a bowl of water in their tank, but everyday they either dump it or fill it full of bedding. Not once have they even remotely considered drinking out of the bowl. However, this week I was proven wrong. Guss ( the female) actually attempted to drink, and drank lot of it at that. My mom and I just stared with our mouths open in shock that they actually consumed water after six months. This made me think if they have ever drank before this occurrence, and if so are they doing it secretly? This is still a mystery to me.

Fun Fact: The scientific term for black-tailed prairie dogs is Cynomys Ludovicianus

Another bizarre thing that has been going on with Guss is that she has started to pee on top of the hut, yet she has never done this before. My thought was that she was marking her territory like a dog. However, they are not potty trained so I guess she decided to use that as a bathroom. (We tried to potty train them, but they didn't understand the concept of a toilet.) I even researched it and I found nothing on marking territory that involves peeing. So, it as well remains a mystery.

Picture of soiled hut by Kayla Polley
 

Before I end this blog, I wanted to add a picture that relates back to my blog "Coasting." I had mentioned that we finally got the wheel mounted and sturdy so that the dogs couldn't flip it over. I was finally able to take a picture of it without being interrupted by prairie dogs trying to bite my camera.

Mounted wheel picture by Kayla Polley
 

Work cited

Rogers, Bill. "Prairie Dogs: General care and Feeding." Hobbyist's corner. N.p. n.d. Web. 1

      November 2014. 

Coasting

To start off, my title "Coasting" represents the repetitive, and sometimes boring intervention between the beginning of winter and end of spring. At the moment, my prairie dogs have calmed down slightly, and have been acting more normal. However, they are just coasting on the line between aggressive and loving.

Since my last blog, my family and I have finally got the time and tools to be able to mount the stationary wheel to the tank, so they can't flip it over onto each other. They are still trying to flip it, yet now they're unsuccessful. Today, P. Diddy was attempting to do this and reminded me of a mechanic because he was on his back under the wheel scratching at it.

So, the other day I stumbled across a song while I was doing some research. The song is called "Prairie Dog Town" by Bruce Hornsby. This song is based off the saying "don't judge a book by its cover." Hornsby states that: "You see these prairie dog towns riding in the Dakotas, and they look so cute and loveable and pet-able but in reality they're nasty-ass creatures." This quote made me stop and think for a minute. Why is he describing these creatures as terrible things? Are my prairie dogs different than the ones he is used to? These are the questions that ran through brain all day.


Poppin′ up, poppin′ down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

1. Teddy Roosevelt said come quick
There′s a phenomenon and I′m in the thick of it
Riding around the badlands range
They came upon those creatures so strange
They′re so small they couldn′t hurt you
Just like they said about Napoleon too
Oh so cute they′re sneaking around
Hiding the crimes ′round the Prairie Dog Town
They lay in wait ′neath the Dakota moon
For the chance to make you their next victim soon

Poppin′ up, poppin′ down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

2. Went to a party at the Prairie Dog Town
Hills and holes and manicured grounds
Gaiety and chattering was in the air
While grinning teeth waited to bite you there
Small of mind better watch your back
Need rapid-moving eyes just to keep track
Behind the Bush he makes the gut strings wail
You can′t judge a dog by the wag of its tail

Poppin′ up, poppin′ down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

Don′t put your trust in a prairie dog
They′ll rob you back and steal your drawers
Stay in your car behind the glass
Or you might get some big sharp teeth in that ass

Disregard the great ethical truths
It′s the collective life of the herd for you
Closed society, no open door policy
Collectivist secretive ideology
Utilitarian
Sublimation of individual identities
Suppression of dissidents
Communal living country club victory
For him and her and she and he

Poppin′ up, poppin′ down
Burrowing, making their funny little sounds
Guarding the ground and rooting all around
Watch your dry bones in the prairie dog town

The rose grows sick from the dark love of the worm
That finds its way to her crimson bed
And twists and turns
And burrows and burns
- "Prairie Dog Town" by Bruce Hornsby

This song talks about the ravage, human-eating creatures that Hornsby claims them to be. On the website Song Lyrics, Hornsby compares these animals to Napoleon by saying "They're so small they couldn't hurt you." He also describes their mysterious ways through an analogy of going to a prairie dog party. He then states that "They′ll rob you back and steal your drawers
Stay in your car behind the glass
Or you might get some big sharp teeth in that ass."
He presents these animals as thieves and untrustworthy beings, which gives me a different perspective on my own pets. However, I completely disagree with Bruce Hornsby's opinion of these innocent and loving creatures.

Here is the link to the song on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EVWxOMI6q4

Works Cited

Hornsby, Bruce. "Prairie Dog Town." Songlyrics. N.p. n.d. Web. 23 October 2014

 

Hornsby, Bruce. "Song Facts." Songfacts. N.p. 2009. Web. 25 October 2014

 





Mood Swingings due to Weather Change.

Ever since fall break ended and the weather had some weird fluctuations, the prairie dogs have been acting odd. There was an incident with my sister a few nights ago on October 13th where P. Diddy bit her harder than usual. This caught my attention because they never do that, especially that hard. At first I thought it was their territorial attitude towards their wheel, but I then tried to pet them away from the wheel and they still reacted aggressively. After quite awhile of research I found that these prairie dogs do react to weather change because of winter mating season. Both males and females get aggressive when winter hits due to hormone increase. This is also why my prairie dogs chatter their teeth. They do this because they are experiencing protective instincts. This bizarre act has been going on all week since break. They have also been doing other odd things like messing with each other. They are constantly flipping the wheel over onto the other one and then sitting on top of it to trap them in. They have also been chewing on the wooden hunt obsessively and we have had to take it out most of the time. We have also had to take the wheel away due to them trapping each other.

The hunt after being chewed on for a few days. Picture taken by Kayla Polley.



While I was researching the weird behaviors of my prairie dogs I found a Youtube video of someone else's prairie dog doing exactly what mine are doing. This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl1XyKIGdTc
In this video, the hair on the prairie dogs tail is standing up like the hair on the lower back of dogs and cats when they're scared. Another thing, is the sound that it was making which is apart of their complex language. This sound is showing anger or maybe even fear which is what mine sounded like at one point. However, the sound that mine made just today was a chattering noise, in which their teeth actually chattered. I looked it up, but all I found was that they do it when they are angry. So, until winter is over I am going to be a lot more cautious around them because I don't want to lose a finger anytime soon!

The Big Change

So, before I begin this weeks blog I would like to add on to my last weeks blog on language. I found out through my mother that the reason the prairie dogs language is so complicated is because they have the ability to learn and adapt to other animal languages. For example, a prairie dog could learn the language of a guinea pig and be able to communicate with them. I thought this was quite amazing.

Anyways, this weeks blog will be about the exciting tank change from a 55 gallon to a 135 gallon tank( or cage in this sense.) At the beginning of the week my mom went to the storage building, got her 135 gallon tank, and brought it home. However, it was going to need a lot of maintenance to get ready for the prairie dogs. My mom spent all day scooping out the left over gravel, taking out the under gravel filter, and removing all the dust build-up. After, she put the bending, the wheel, and the sleeping hut in the tank. Now, it was finally ready to receive its new live in guests.

(The tank before the remodel) Picture taken by Kayla Polley

(After the remodel) Picture taken by Kayla Polley

 

 

 

 

 



 

 The minute we put them in they were instantly more active than usual. They explored all round and checked everything out. Then, they really started enjoying the extra space. They ran in their wheel for hours, walked back and forth, climbed all over their hut (falling off occasionally) and just loving the amount of room they were able to use.
I'm really glad they like their new home, and are using it to their advantage. They do need the extra exercise considering the weight that the two of them put on recently.

 

This is a picture that I took of my prairie dogs

kissing because I didn't have one in my first blog.

(My two prairie dogs kissing) Picture taken by Kayla Polley

The Many Sounds of a Prairie Dog

I know a lot of people have been wondering about the odd sounds that these animals make, so I have dedicated this blog to just that. Therefore, I did some more research on these sounds, and I found out that prairie dog language is almost as difficult as human language. They have specific words for different events to keep their town safe from harm. However, there are also different sounds for each of these events. Some sound like an alarm clock, and some sound like a squeaky toy. And then there are some that sound like dogs barking. It all depends on what's going on. The alarm clock sound is for wide spread alerts of danger near by. The squeaky toy sound is used mostly for social communications within the towns. And the barking sound is used for both alerts and just a way of making themselves heard from a far. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAkLJbK5JlE This is a link to a Youtube video of Prairie dogs barking.

Another thing that I find very amusing is that they sometimes fall over while barking. Mine have done this multiple times, and it is the funniest thing ever. This is also shown in the video link above.

Unfortunately, I can't get my own prairie dogs to bark anymore, and when they do I can't tape it quick enough. I think they have a bit of stage fright in front of a camera.

I also wanted to add on to my last post about them kissing. While I was researching their sounds I came across more information about the kissing thing. I found that the taste of each others saliva is what they use to identify one another.

Here is another Youtube video that goes into more detail on the prairie dogs language. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcB5kySUxWA

Personally I had no idea how amazing these creatures were until now!

The Kiss of Yin and Yang

I've been around these amazing creatures for five months now, and never truly knew why they barked like a dog. All I knew was that it was the cutest thing I had ever heard, and couldn't wait to hear it again. However, after doing some research I found that they bark as a warning signal for outside threats. http://www.defenders.org/prairie-dog/basic-facts This got me thinking about the first week my family had P. Diddy, and Guss. It made me realize how scared they were around us because of how often they barked. We all thought wrong, I guess. And now, this fact becomes clearer to me because the two of them have yet to bark more than once in the past few months. They finally aren't scared, and are comfortable with the presence of humans.




Another thing that caught my attention was the way these animals greet one another. It is the most beautiful and fascinating thing I've seen. They look as if they are kissing or doing the French "la bise" which in this case fits perfectly because this is how they would greet another prairie dog.

Picture from "Prairie Dog" on Wikipedia

Picture from "Prairie Dog" on Humane Society- Wildlife Land Trust 

                 



I love the way these two sleep. They express such love and affection towards each other. "Taking turns using each other as pillows and snuggling closer and closer. Almost as if they were a ying-yang symbol." Field notes 9/17

Picture taken by Kayla Polley

Picture taken by Kayla Polley