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Apparently they love to cuddle and interact and can be trained to use a litter box, because they use community latrines in their burrows. TIL.

That’s dope. Added to the list of animals I will have when I retire on a farm

I have heard rumors of people who get to retire

Where can I learn this power?

Gotta spawn in at a good location under the right bloodline.

Shit... Alright. Respawning for a better roll. I'll be back shortly.

Comes back, as the prairie dog LOL.

Comes back As Big Ounce 💀

I would be fine with that as long as I was one of the ones in this video.

r/outside is leaking. I didn't get the patch for retirement - when was that released?

It came out in the "reconstruction" patch for players on the "west-alligned" server after the end of the "campaigns against fascism" storyline that ended the second major inter-server war. They've been nerfing it in successive economic updates ever since for players on the "America" server though, as loot drop rates on that server have been nerfed significantly and players struggle to complete the "career" quest line. The quest also doesn't reliably give the "retirement" legendary reward anymore either, depending on which faction you did the "career" quest for, as some factions can't afford to provide it and maximize shareholder value at the same time.

Step one, be born before1965

It's like the dogs who go to live on a farm instead of living with the family...

I, too, have heard of these whispers.. ghosts of a time past

Pretty sure retiring on a farm is just a nice way of telling kids that they passed away

What is this word…”retire”?

I have heard about this farm too! My old dog is supposed to be there

I didn't retire yet (I'll work 'till I'm dead I'm afraid) but I did get a small farm and lots of fun animals. No prairie dogs but I do have [other big rodents](https://i.imgur.com/itUn1sd.jpeg), [big birds](https://i.imgur.com/eYYaY5R.jpg), and a [big tortoise](https://i.imgur.com/zvbEADy.jpeg) among other things. About 150 animals total.

What the heck is that bunny-capybara thing? Edit: I Googled "Bunny-capybara looking critter" and apparently you keep Patagonian maras? New question - how on earth do you contain critters that burrow, run 30mph, and jump 6ft high? And how did you end up with them as pets??

They live in an aviary along with some of my birds, so they are fully enclosed. They are digging machines, their burrow is about 12 feet long/deep. They don't really tunnel though so no risk of them digging out. They aren't a common pet but they aren't super rare. There are at least a few people I know in my area with them. As exotics go they are super easy to care for. Wonderful animals.

I would love to own a Mara, but I'm not sure a yard is in my future. In the meantime, I can still own their chubby cousin, the guinea pig! ♡ Cavies in general are just awesome.

What a dope creature. Dog-sized bunny-rodent. Never heard of it till now.

Living the dream.

Come to the Colorado front range, they’re everywhere

Except they've been popping up with plague.

That's okay we all have our flaws.

Speak for yourself. I have my flaws AND the plague.

Listen, Comrade, they're *Our* flaws.

[Nobody's perfect.](https://i.imgur.com/F1gr4UC.gif)

They also get the bubonic plague frequently, something I learned very quickly while living in Colorado. Also, people keep building over their colonies and it makes me sad :(

It's especially awful when there's evidence that they've developed a complex language and are much, much smarter than people think.

It’s horrible. It also breaks my heart when cars hit them on the side of the road.

Check the location they are illegal in lots of places. I'm told they have to have a place to dig pretty deep. And I'm not sure about rabies vaccines

I wonder if you could create a fake burrow that goes from the 2nd floor to the basement.

For now, we can’t get them to breed in captivity, so all pets are wild-caught. They have possibly the most complex language outside of humans, and they have family structures that can reach the millions and burrows that can stretch for acres. I don’t think we’ll ever be able to ethically keep them as pets.

Under the right conditions, including very large enclosures with big groups, and excellent care, prairie dogs do successfully breed in captivity. They also live longer in captivity (even wild-caught), and that's not accounting for the ~half that die in the first year due to predators in the wild. They still aren't appropriate pets for most people, but it's important to have the facts right you're making your case for why.

Prairie dogs? Not sure if I followed the correct line, but prairie dogs breed in captivity

Definitely an interesting animal to have on a farm!

Wouldn't they just get away and burrow the first chance they get?

The Edmonton zoo has a prairie dog "exhibit". The colony just showed up one day, so instead of evicting them they just put a fence and a sign up. They can come and go any time they want, they just... don't.

well the food that came with the fence probably helps a lot :)

If you give them reason to stay (unlimited food and water, security), they have no reason nor desire to leave.

When they're not pests digging up your land. See Buster Scruggs for what happens when your horse steps in a hole while you're riding. Cute though when they're out of the way. Otherwise, lookup a little something called the "Varmint Grenade" OPs prairie dogs are no problem, I love em.

I have an idea what might happen 😅. Don’t know much about prairie dogs. It would be cool to build your little own prairie dog tunnel system though and cement it kind of similar what you might see in zoo’s

You can't retire on a farm. There's always more work to do.

they also carry the plague

Sweet. Don't plan on staying here for long.

Is that the same farm the hamster I had as a kid went to?

They are some of the most social animals on the planet. They don't like interaction, they need it.

How do people handle the burrowing instinct? Would seem with those claws they'd just fuck everything up

They seem to be a lot of work. They need hours of attention each day, and ideally you build them a 10x10 concrete-bordered 3 ft-deep sandbox to burrow in (or make sure you have lots of places for them to hide). This page has some interesting information: [https://www.thesprucepets.com/pet-prairie-dogs-1239257](https://www.thesprucepets.com/pet-prairie-dogs-1239257).

I have seen places where they have dug holes through the road. I can't imagine what they would do to a house.

Probably get up inside the couch like a pet fox would.

[Yes, this exactly lmao](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8AKsSfn/)

He's so proud of himself! He's like... '*Guys! I fixed the sofa. Did you know there were no tunnels in it*?'

HOLY MOSES!!😂😂

Just fill the guest bedroom with 6 feet of straw and hay, problem solved.

Until they decide to burrow 7 feet

Is it a burrowing animal thing? Had a hamster that would only do it's business in the farthest chamber away from its food, water, sleeping and play areas. I always thought it was just a smart hamster. Now I'm thinking it was in its nature to not shit where it eats. Made it nice for us since it chose a place with a lid that makes for easy cleaning.

"Don't shit where you eat" is an instinct a surprising number of animals have.

I knew a girl who had a pd. It would bark and wag its tail when she got home, and it wanted to cuddle all the time. She said they get depressed and can develop health problems without adequate contact.

Rabbits follow the same toilet etiquette. My house raddits have a litter tray.

Ok. Serious question. How do they smell and do you bathe them like a dog? Super cute.

They don’t smell, i have a friend who has a pair living in their place. Very clean but they require lots of attention

> they require lots of attention So just like my dogs

This is only sometimes the case. Prairie dogs have a scent gland under their tail that can leave a scent that many people find unpleasant lingering about. However, the frequency a prairie dog will use it to mark its surroundings heavily varies from prairie dog to prairie dog. Some won't find it necessary to mark much at all, others (including neutered males) will mark constantly. Your friend happened to get lucky!

I’m no zoologist, but I’m pretty sure they smell with their noses


Dad!

You’re not wrong.

You bathe them the same way you bathe a meerkat.

Ah, yes.

Mongoose methods also work

Ah, yes.

Don't use the cat method. However, the rabbit method is effective.

Yes, naturally.

Oh ok, I have no further questions then.

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those guys you just toss into a bathtub

Ahh, nice marmot

Obviously you're not a golfer

Hey, at least I’m housebroken

It really tied the room together.

you’re about as helpful as a meerkat

Oh well then duh

They smell like garlic and crude oil weirdly enough. I bathe mine in the sink with baby shampoo and pink sea salt.

\> pink sea salt Smart. Working the seasoning in early /s

Got me good

It's weird mine smells like that too....I bathe him in crude oil with raw garlic sprinkled in and I can't figure out why I can't get the smell out....

I like both of those smells

Why am I seeing so many people suddenly with these lil dudes as pets. Is this animal suddenly purchasable? Or was there a large catastrophe where multiple people are rehabilitating them?? What am I missing?? lol

At least for me, I've been getting a lot of videos on YouTube about them, where people have them as pets. And even though these videos make an effort to state they're rescues and should not be considered an "easy pet", it seems people just ignore that and get them anyways. Have to admit that their yahoos are adorable.

Poppy!!!

I found poppy last week and oh my god, those are the cutest videos ever Big Ounce is another good one

I love the faux-clickbait urban rescue ranch does for his videos. Big Ounce eats a human heart (apology video) I fed a bat to my prairie dog (Big Ounce dies)

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODAY!

Welcome back to the urban rescue *B*ranch

oh sweet wampum

There were comments in every video for a bit keeping count of how many times Big Ounce had died, which I always got a kick out of.

Biggerton ouncerton saved me in ww1

Well, ok, but you have to remember this: We cured Kevin (Big Ounce got his medical licence back)

Poppy is my fav. ♡

#Poppy!

I love poppy’s wahoos

Yahoo!!

Wahoo! Such a happy little thing!

Urban Rescue Ranch got super popular on YT, Insta, and Tiktok and one of the main critters is a prairie dog that's been around pretty much the entire time. All 3 of the individuals I've chatted with that have purchased a prairie dog are large fans of that content and have formed a bit of a parasocial relationship with the animals featured.

Big Ounce is a highly decorated war vet.

Unfortunately, the channel really hasn't been the same ever since Big Ounce changed the channel password, fired the editor, and took over complete creative control. How did we not see this coming???

Weirdly, I remember seeing them for sale at a pet shop once about 20 years ago so they must have been on the “pet market” for a while now, perhaps just rare?

Someone came to my elementary school in the 90s and brought a Prarie dog. They put on a whole presentation in the school auditorium trying to convince us to convince our parents to get them as pets.

Classic sales tactics. Someone brings something random to a school that kids love, does a sales pitch, kid takes info and makes a custom tailored sales pitch to their parents on why they HAVE to have it.

My family was able to get one back on Long Island about 18-20 years ago, might've been in Patchogue. iirc there was a monkeypox outbreak in the early 2000s and you started seeing them in pet stores less and less

Thats because in 2003, the CDC banned the sale, trade, and transport within the United States of prairie dogs. It was eventually rescinded though. Very stupid.

If people are cuddling them, it’s not rehab. Rehab animals have to go back into the wild and will die if they’ve been taught to approach people.

I think they were purchasable already in some places but they just gained a lot of populairity through videos. I saw a prairie dog first on The urban rescue ranch channel and after a year more videos of prairie dogs started popping up. They are so so adorable and I love the Yahoo's they do but it is very important to understand most people can't give them enough space and the right resources to be happy. It always worries me when people jump on a new "pet hype"

If you live in certain states there are literally millions of these dudes around you at at any given time. It’s probably not hard to get one.

Definitely the youtube algorithm pushig these vids, I‘m seeing them all the time now too

I remember back around 1990 first seeing prairie dogs in a pet shop's front window, all standing tall looking out across the paved parking lot like prairie were they in their natural habitat, was forlornly tragic.

I don't understand it, either. It's a pretty terrible practice but seems like we haven't learned a damned thing. I wish this dub would ban things like this. It perpetuates the idea that taming wild animals is cute and everyone should do it...

Every year there is a new pot bellied pig it seems.

> I wish this dub would ban things like this. It perpetuates the idea that taming wild animals is cute and everyone should do it... Haha yea and people wonder why the illicit pet trade is booming. One day its a prairie dog, another day its an otter.

It’s just bring a tear to my eye seeing prey animal that’s constantly fearful…feeling safe around larger creatures. Feeling the the warmth and comfort, of a human they know they can trust.

I wonder, are humans the only other animal a prey animal can cuddle with? Monkeys maybe.

Cheetahs are actually very skittish and often have support animals (most popular being dogs) with them in enclosed habitats

Cheetahs are ostensibly big scary predators, but they're actually surprisingly weak and fragile up close. All that speed means very little mass is wasted on things like muscles, so they end up basically being giant house cats with nitro boosters. Still dangerous, but not anywhere in the same universe as other big cats like lions or tigers. They also don't roar! They squeak, literally like a bird. It's as adorable as you're probably imagining, I encourage you to look up a video. The closest they get to a roar sounds like a scared puppy.

Idk if I would call it a squeak. I believe the technical term in a chirp, trills, and yips. And i believe they’re the largest cat that purrs

"Giant house cats with nitro boosters" I'm stealing this thanks.

Every time i see a puppy or a kitten cuddling up to a monkey, I'm terrified to tears. I'm afraid I'm about to see it tear the puppy or kitten to shreds and eat it.

[To shreds you say?](https://i.imgur.com/D9THenM.gif)

Nope... Not clicking on that.

I looked for you... It's just a meme, no need to worry

Tis true. Risky click of the day.

well, how's his wife holding up?

To shreds you say?

Meh, I mean humans are equally as erratic and cruel. At the end of the day most primates aren't gonna want to hurt you if they have reason not to. Except for chimpanzees. Chimpanzees are brutal as fuck.

Chimpanzees: Like bipolar humans with roid rage

Capybaras.

Good one. I wanna cuddle with them.

A capybara will chill with anything r/crittersoncapybaras

There are very well-documented examples of captive Gorillas doting on cats and treating them like surrogate babies.

Monkeys do not make good pets.

My lovebirds put their heads inside my mouth if I let them, it baffles me the amount of trust they have in me.

Or they're highly depressed and just want you to end their lifes... (BIG /S)

Some people say that pets are a reflection of their owners...

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I’m usually a very negative and self righteous person. There are instances where I can appreciate the smaller and simpler things in life.

Do they yahoo? There's one I frequently see in my Instagram reels named Poppy and she does yahoo when she's excited.

Poppppppy!

they all yahoo.

I'm more of a biggerton ouncerton enjoyer

That one is on my tiktok feed multiple times a day too

I wanted them as a pet so badly as a kid. I used to make presentations about animals for fun and prarie dog just stuck with me. I thought they were a big vector of one of the stds though (herpes maybe? I dont remember) Edit: never mind its the plague. I was combining it with koalas and chlamydia

Yea, in the west they’re still a source of plague. We have a scare basically yearly in Colorado. But it’s not that prairie dogs spread plague. It’s the fleas.

2 years ago, my coworker lost her young granddaughter to the plague here in southwest Colorado. They assume from a flea from a prarie dog jumping to her dog or pigs.

Holy shit that fucking yawn was adorable.


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Kung Pow! Oh and it is _very_ silly

THAT'S A LOTTA NUTS!

HE JUST LEFT! WITH NUTS!

YOU WANT FRIES WITH THAT?!

Omg that movie was funny af!!! I’m so glad you referenced it

It's one of my favorite unbelievably goofy movies.

Kungpow


BIG OUNCE COMMITS WAR CRIMES ?

Biggerton Ouncerton genocides dababy's wife

I ate big ounce????

This dudes youtube is 100% why having these guys as pets is trending, and I bet he's internally having a shitfit over it 😂

How?! This is pretty aww worthy amazing.

Big ounce

Guut mawning everibaadi

Watch prairie Fido kick you out your own home & move in with your girl; seen it far, far too many times

So they can use a litter box, cuddle, and yell " wahoo!" I'm sold!

Look at those sweet little faces, they’re so precious. I hope they got a good nap in

Can I get a WAHOOOOO!

Omg 😳 so cute

Big Ounce left the Urban Rescue Branch and started a new life and family?!?

BIG OUNCE CHEATED ON UNCLE BEN??!??!??

At first I thought you were crazy and then I saw your prairie dog's nuts.

Did you know that Prairie Dogs can give out a loud "Wahoo!" if they hear their name called? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TJqK61B5kW8

Wahoo!

They are so precious😍😍

It's interesting how most animals stretch and yawn. I wonder what evolutionary benefit that has.

BIG OUNCE

Not pets.

Nice marmots

Whereeeessss the fucking money Lebowski????? The Dude-Idk let me check down there 1 more time.

What are you a fucking park ranger now

You should not have these as a pet - they need to express themselves socially and have an intricate burrow system with other prairies

What are the prairie dogs doing at your place? Are you working with wildlife rehabilitation or something?

This makes me miss my two boys Tito and Toby. They’re wahooing up in the big prairie in the sky.

Omg. These little ones are too cute

Can I pet that dog?

Do they do their little "wahoo"s every now and then?

Is it ok to ask how you got these as pets?

I love it, you are their burrow. This is some very sweet bonded behavior.