# Gopher



## Gopher Girl (Apr 28, 2012)

I went to the pet store because one of the people there knows a lot about rodents and she said to take care of a Gopher the same way as a hamster but to feed it rat food for the higher protein levels. I am thinking that a bin cage would be my best bet on housing it. I have it in a 58-Quart bin that I used for Dwarf Hamsters but am planing on going with a 50 Gallon bin or a ferret cage as soon as I can.


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Sorry I cant be any help, we dont have gophers in the UK so I dont really know anything about how to keep them. Are they kept as pets in the US? If they are digging animals then a bin cage with a lot of substrate would probably be the way to go.


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## blade100 (Aug 24, 2009)

do gophers have real long sharp teeth?
if they do i'd go with a metal barred cage.

you may want to try the exotic keepers forum.


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## EllesBelles (May 14, 2010)

Did you have it checked out by the vet?

Most gophers are fast, and the fact that you caught yours suggested that it isn't well. A vet will be able to check it over and diagnose problems that may not be immediately visible - they are quite susceptible to injury and disease, and it'd be horrid to wake up and find it dead.

The vet could probably also advise you on feeding. I've only seen Gophers at zoos around here, but my instinct tells me that the advice you've been given isn't entirely correct. Hopefully, your vet will be able to advise you of a more suitable diet. 

Once you've got her checked out, we'd love to see some pictures!


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

Gophers are similar and related to prairie dogs/marmots/ground squirrels. I wouldn't advise you to house a squirrel-type animal in a plastic bin cage. It will almost certainly chew its way out very quickly. Also they live in tunnels underground and like to dig, so I think youd need quite a deep base in the cage. There is a pet store I go to that have ground squirrels in, and they are kept in a huge sturdy metal cage - having seen them I will say that they need it. Their teeth are like a squirrel/chinchilla, and would make short work of a 'flimsy' cage, a plastic one, or even a wooden one I doubt would last long. I would also imagine a bite from one would really hurt! As for food I'm guessing you need to feed a squirrel mix bought from specialist stores, along with some fruit/ vegetables.


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## Gopher Girl (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks, I am tiring to find a vet to see it. A lot won't because they are wild. I have only read about a few kept as pets. It is fast but I was able to catch it because it is not afraid of people. The lady I talked to at the pet store was just guessing about how to care for it because there is not much info on them out there. I'll look for a squirrel mix for it.


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## Sarah+Hammies (Jul 20, 2009)

If its wild should it not be put back out in the wild instead of stuck in a cage? :huh: I apologise if I have got the wrong end of the stick...


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## bewitched (Jun 9, 2010)

From what I've seen on the Internet they need a huge metal cage like a rat or ferret one but watch the bar spacing. They need unlimited Timothy hay. They are fed on a diet of hamster food mixed with alfalfa pellets and they need fresh leafy green veg and plants everyday. They are prone to weight gain. They can of handled regularly bond well with their owners. A good exotic vet is necessary. 

If you did catch it as a wild one though it would be best to let it go if an adult. Ones sold for the pet trade are caught as young babies as breeding in captivity has not been successful.

This of course is what I have picked up off the Internet and we all know how unreliable that can be at times


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

Gopher Girl said:


> Thanks, I am tiring to find a vet to see it. A lot won't because they are wild. I have only read about a few kept as pets. It is fast but I was able to catch it because it is not afraid of people. The lady I talked to at the pet store was just guessing about how to care for it because there is not much info on them out there. I'll look for a squirrel mix for it.


if its wild then you need to release it back where you got it from!
it is incredibly cruel to keep wild animals as pets, they find captive life very stressful which can kill them

dont be selfish


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Reading her previous posts its thought to be a released pet, it was approaching humans in a park apparently. Not sure what I would do personally in a situation like that, ordinarily I would say to release it but if its that tame it could mean sentancing it to a slow death.


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

I was thinking the same TDM. No wild animal would willingly allow itself to be picked up by people unless it was used to them. Therefore I would hazard a guess that it is a pet one somebody has released If so I would keep it as the poor thing won't know where it's bed and food has suddenly gone to or how to get more.


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

but surely that would be like saying all the squirrels in london are released pets, as they will come up to you and sit on your knee and let you stroke them!! 
it could just be, that like the london squirrels, the gopher has gotten used to people in the park feeding it......
gophers are not very common at all and i highly doubt that some one would release such an animal when they could sell it on for money, its not like its something as common as a rabbit or mouse


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Lil Miss said:


> but surely that would be like saying all the squirrels in london are released pets, as they will come up to you and sit on your knee and let you stroke them!!
> it could just be, that like the london squirrels, the gopher has gotten used to people in the park feeding it......
> gophers are not very common at all and i highly doubt that some one would release such an animal when they could sell it on for money, its not like its something as common as a rabbit or mouse


Im not sure hun, I dont know what wild gophers are actually like, I didnt actually know squirrels were like that in London though


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## Wobbles (Jun 2, 2011)

Lil Miss said:


> but surely that would be like saying all the squirrels in london are released pets, as they will come up to you and sit on your knee and let you stroke them!!
> it could just be, that like the london squirrels, the gopher has gotten used to people in the park feeding it......
> gophers are not very common at all and i highly doubt that some one would release such an animal when they could sell it on for money, its not like its something as common as a rabbit or mouse


Cool is that really true about London squirrels??! If so I had no idea they were like that! I live in the countryside and any squirrel or any other wild creature will just dissapear as quick as it can if it's spotted. No way would you be able to pet them!!


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## Lil Miss (Dec 11, 2010)

im a country girl too, but my ex is a londoner so i used to go down there quite often, needless to say i got dispaired at a fair bit for being fascinated by the friendly squirrels, its beacuse people feed them


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## Gopher Girl (Apr 28, 2012)

Thanks everyone, I checked out the area around the park are there are no signs that Gophers live there. I have a Chinchilla cage that is all metal that I am going to set-up for it. I'll let you know what happens at the vet.


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