In a message dated 9/11/00 6:57:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << Absolutely useless fact (and maybe untrue, if I got my facts all wrong, but you're going to hear it anyway!): Last year, I read parts of a book called "Diseases of Leisure." Just the perfect book for anyone who never wants to go to a public pool again! Or garden again, or go to the beach or the local waterpark or have pets. In the section all about diseases you can get from your pet, the book mentions that prairie dogs are known to carry the Plague or maybe fleas that carry the Plague. I can't remember the details. Good luck with your new venture! Deb Adams _____________ >> And here's another (: I was once considering purchasing (not breeding) a praire dog, but being the little internet super-geek that I am, decided it would be best to check out a lot of webpages before letting the thought cross my mind again. You'd be surprised how few pages on care and breeding there are specifically contributed to praire dogs.. anyhu.. I found out that there's something called 'rut' that the 'dogs go through. This starts in middle/late october and doesn't end until spring, and it's a period of detachment and sometimes viscous acts your praire dog exhibits. It's a horridly long cycle of depressed praire dog, upset because he/she doesn't have a mate during their mating season. Again, since you'll be breeding, this shouldn't be a problem.. but beware of single-caged 'dogs! They'll have no problem sending you to the emergency room for stiches from a nasty nip they gave you for 'getting a wee-bit too close' (;. Again, I'm just repeating what I read on webpages. Well, now that i've completely outwinded myself about praire dogs on a *Gerbil* mailing list.. onward with some OT ramblings. Today I gave Thyme (male agouti) a new paper towel roll.. he ran to the door of his larger than necessary (; cage in hopes I had something yummy or fun to play with. (it seems us humans are only good for those 2 things.. hehe). He's shy, because he wasn't played with as a pup, and doesn't like being handled.. I took him in from a friend of mine who's gerbils 'accidently started having babies'.. and being one of six in the litter, was about to sent away to a pet store. Needless to say, I took him in.. what can I say.. I'm a softie. =P. I think with time he'll get used to the big hand that's always straightening up his cage and making it clean and such.. it's just always more difficult when you haven't had them since they were a pup. Whew.. I better end this now. -[..Kay..]- -[..Gerbils from The Choirgirl Hotel..]- -[..'N Crew..]-
