With all the questions about what prairie dogs should/can eat lately, both asked here and in private messages, I wanted to share this heartbreaking video with the group to show what can happen when you dont follow the Captive Prairie Dog Nutrition document that Gena Seaberg spent years of research on to create and has generously shared with PD owners all over the world. This video has never been shared publicly before, only privately with Gena and veterinarians. This video is of Teddy Bear, a PD I took in from someone who was moving to an illegal state, along with his best buddy, Jack. I got Jack and Teddy on March 2013. Although I knew about prairie dog nutrition, I over did it with the quantities of the treats by giving them an enormous amount of oats, dog kibble, sweet potato and dandelion greens on a daily basis. Suffice it to say, I came home from work one day in June of 2013 and noticed Teddy stumbling about, obviously off balanced, uncoordinated and in distress. I sent Gena a video and she called me almost immediately. It was her feeling that Teddy had a stroke. At our appointment with the vet the next day, it was determined that Genas suspicion was very likely. As the weeks went on, Teddy was not improving and was in fact declining. His breathing became worse, he was losing weight, and peeing excessive amounts. After trying several different treatments, x-rays and blood work were performed and we found out Teddy was diabetic. I switched to a vet who had more experience with prairie dogs, and immediately changed his diet. The other vet tried a different treatment which required me to inject Teddy twice a day with medication. This treatment helped with his breathing but he still was losing weight, stumbling around, and falling over. This video was made three weeks before I decided to humanely put him down. During that 3 weeks, Teddy stopped eating, was down to just over a pound in weight, and could barely walk.The morning of November 7, 2013, he could not even walk. That was the day I said goodbye to this sweet little angel. I only knew him for just over 8 months but this little guy stole my heart. He was only 3 and a half years old. This shows you what a bad diet can do in a short amount of time. The results of a long term bad diet are just as devastating. So, please keep this video in mind the next time you want to give your prairie dogs food that are not listed in the Captive Nutrition Document and the Recommended Treats for Prairie Dogs documents both located under the Files tab on this page.
Posted on: Sun, 25 Jan 2015 23:33:12 +0000
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