If you own a prairie dog, you will need to have as much knowledge of them as you can. In this particular case, you might be wondering what kind of food prairie dogs eat, especially when dealing with domesticated ones. You’ve come to the right place, as we will review this question below.
A prairie dog’s diet is mainly composed of whatever native leafy greens they have access to regularly, often complemented with various insects they come across, or even roots and seeds that they might find while foraging for food.
This diet changes slightly when prairie dogs are taken on as domesticated pets, as most owners don’t have access to large amounts of land to let their prairie dogs roam, so you might need to make some adjustments in that regard.
In this article, we will review what prairie dogs eat and examine whether their diets change throughout the seasons. As mentioned previously, it is essential to be aware of all this information if you plan to raise prairie dogs. Without further ado, let us continue below.
Are Prairie Dogs Herbivores, Omnivores, or Carnivores?
By definition, prairie dogs are classified as omnivores because they will occasionally dabble in an insect or two should the mood strike them. However, they are primarily herbivores at the end of the day, as they tend to consume more greens than insects on average.
Assuming, for a moment, that you own a prairie dog, or want to, it is wise to sprinkle various treats throughout your pet’s diet to ensure they enjoy some level of variety throughout the week. Giving them anything from parsley, cilantro, kale, or even dandelions could be considered a welcome change of pace on a stale diet.
Another pivotal point of information comes into play when you think about how much this variety should reflect on their meal time routine, for instance, if you were to consider giving your prairie dog an insect or two as a treat, they should truthfully only have about 5% of their daily food intake as an insect based portion, which would boil down into roughly one or two mealworms per day on average, so remember, all things in moderation!
Do Prairie Dogs in Captivity Eat the Same or Different Food as Wild Prairie Dogs?
No, they don’t, unfortunately, but it isn’t because they can’t; it’s more so because most pet owners don’t have access to the typical flora that the prairie dogs would look to eat if left to their own devices in the wild. As such, their diet would transition from random seeds, flowers, roots, and insects they forage for, into something more streamlined, such as a Timothy hay diet or a balanced pellet meal, with sporadic treats interspersed around central feeding times.
It’s worth noting that in the wild, a prairie dog’s actions and activity are far more vital to them than a domesticated pet, because their survival isn’t something that they often need to take into consideration, so activity, roaming, foraging, and even playing can take a pretty severe hit, leading into medical issues like obesity.
What Is a Prairie Dog’s Diet?
As noted above, a prairie dog’s diet changes largely depending on whether it’s living as a wild animal or has been taken in as a pet. However, we’ll cover the vast majority of what their diets entail in the wild, with special consideration for domesticated diets later on.
1. Insects
While prairie dogs eat insects, they do not do so in large amounts, as their digestive system cannot handle it. They require a high amount of fiber to navigate their high activity levels, due to their unique gut structure. To that end, insects truthfully only account for about 5% of a prairie dog’s daily food intake, and that is at a maximum.
2. Grasses
Tasty greens will help you build up nicely and lean. Still, for the prairie dog, it takes on a special importance, as grasses and hays make up the vast majority of their diet, especially when taking into consideration that it’s what they have the most of at their disposal; these grasses don’t need to be specifically limited to things like timothy hay, for example. Still, they should make up the vast majority. Other options, such as kale, parsley, collard greens, and other green vegetables, can be substituted depending on availability.
3. Roots
More geared towards wild prairie dogs, roots are usually going to need to be foraged to enter your prairie dog’s diet. To that end, it’s hard to imagine people going out of their way to ensure their pet has roots to eat. It is for these reasons alone that roots are usually only found in the diets of wild prairie dogs, but they are incredibly healthy and bolster their activity levels when foraging for them. Introducing them to your prairie dog sanctuary would be a great enrichment activity.
4. Seeds
Granted, obtaining seeds is much easier than roots, but seeds still shouldn’t take up a considerable amount of room in your prairie dog’s diet. This is primarily because seeds are often high in fats, which can lead to obesity and other nutritional problems in your pet. In the wild, prairie dogs usually maintain their diet quite well. When coupled with their survival and increased activity, they can afford to eat more, as their energy expenditure balances out their intake.
5. Forbs
Starting from the top, for those who don’t know, a forb is essentially a flowering plant, more specifically, one that isn’t a type of grass, or bush for example, while these aren’t typically going to be something a pet owner acquires vast quantities of, wild prairie dogs eat them consistently, and acquire a lot of their water intake from them and other similar plants.
Does a Prairie Dog’s Diet Change During the Seasons?
Yes, as with most wild animals, a prairie dog’s diet changes consistently throughout the seasons, focusing on what is readily available and shifting to what is left in less plentiful seasons, with the order being.
- Spring: Brings a wide variety of blossoming plants, grasses in abundance, and even a wide array of herbs to sample for their enjoyment.
- Summer: The increase in heat means grasses will flourish. At the same time, other plants begin to dry and enter different phases of their lifecycle, accompanying the shift to a more seed-based diet as these plants produce them more regularly.
- Fall: When plants, shrubs, and trees begin to wilt and wither, the animal’s diet changes once again, focusing more on the forbs mentioned earlier, and these very plants become a vast majority of their food during these months.
- Winter: The harshest weather to endure for most wild animals, food is incredibly scarce, and prairie dogs will be resorting to eating whatever seed remnants they can find, or resorting to foraging for roots in the earth for nourishment, which isn’t horrible, as this process with usually reveal some delicious insects they can munch on as well.
What Is a Prairie Dog’s Favorite Food?
Unlike most people, a prairie dogs favorite food isn’t some luxury they can rarely have, it’s more what they always have access to, and to that end, they adore eating various grasses and other forbs that are readily available, as they don’t have to struggle to find it, or their owners provide it in vast quantities.
Treats, on the other hand, take on an entirely different meaning, with most prairie dogs immensely enjoying some particularly flavorful seeds, or perhaps a mealworm or two, but this should always be done in moderation.
Should You Give Your Prairie Dog Any Supplements?
No, assuming you’ve been taking good care of your prairie dog, providing for both its nutritional needs, there is no reason to resort to giving out supplements, because in most cases, doing so suggests that something is missing from your pet’s food from a dietary perspective.
Suppose your pet is experiencing a medical issue or is unable to eat their regular diet. In that case, consider giving them supplements, such as those for recovery from a wound, attack, or surgery, for example, which might become necessary. Still, otherwise, if you are balancing their diets carefully, this isn’t something you’ll have to worry about.
Can You Offer Prairie Dog Treats?
Yes, but any treats, regardless of what they are specifically, should be done concerning how much they have already eaten that day, what their daily intake is, and whether or not the food in question will have a lasting impact on their activity for the rest of the day, or dissuade them from going back to their regular diet instead of wanting more of whatever you provided.
In most cases, you won’t have to worry about your pet throwing a bit of a hissy fit and ignoring food for a treat. Still, it isn’t entirely out of the question, and as such, it’s better to be aware of the possibility instead of dealing with the situation as it arises.
How Much Water Should You Provide Your Prairie Dog?
Typically, you can get away with providing a small container of water for them to access occasionally (a rabbit-sized sipping water bottle would be ideal, for example), so they stay hydrated or have access to it when needed.
If your prairie dogs are free-roaming in a large sanctuary-type enclosure, with adequate plants to facilitate their regular water intake, you could consider forgoing the water bottles. Still, in the interest of the animal’s safety and quality of life, it’s better to have them spare than be without them when needed.
What Should You Not Feed a Prairie Dog?
Anything that is rich in fats, sugars, or even dangerous toxins can result in immediate harm to your pet. Still, if you are looking for a broader answer, you shouldn’t feed them your leftovers, scraps, or anything they wouldn’t have access to in the wild, as it may be difficult for them to digest and could ultimately harm them in the long run.
Conclusion
Prairie dogs consume a lot of wild grasses, plants, seeds, roots, and even insects. Still, their diet should not change merely because you opted to take them in as a pet, if anything, it is a pet owners responsibility to aim to get their new pet’s surroundings as close to that of the wild as they can, without obviously hindering their own life by association, in doing so, you can facilitate a healthy diet, and a wonderful lifestyle, even it may be a bit challenging for you at times.
