Marmot

1 Marmot Breed Overview

The marmot is an expert digger; its coat color is very similar to the color of soil, giving a very clever first impression. As the name suggests, this rodent is good at digging burrows. The marmot belongs to the order Rodentia, family Sciuridae. They do not store food and have the habit of hibernating, so in summer they store fat in their bodies to hibernate in the burrow in winter.

Most marmots are active during the day, live in groups, and are good at digging; the burrows they dig are several meters deep, with grass-lined bedrooms inside, very comfortable. The marmot is not a vole. One difference from other rodents is that the marmot’s burrow entrance is larger, and there are traces of paths commonly used by marmots outside the entrance.

Chinese Name: Marmot

Alias: Groundhog

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Class: Mammalia

Subclass: Eutheria

Order: Rodentia

Suborder: Sciuromorpha

Family: Sciuridae

Distribution: Mainly distributed from the North American prairies to Canada and other regions

2 Marmot Physical Characteristics

The most typical feature of the marmot is a pair of long front incisors and cute short hands and feet, with a silly look that is very endearing. Its lifespan is about 10 years.

Marmots are very alert; not only do they constantly check their surroundings, they also have dedicated sentries. When first kept at home they are rather timid, so it is best not to disturb or scare them.

Teeth: There are two teeth (incisors) on the top and bottom front of the mouth, mainly used to cut food. The front teeth grow very fast, so they must constantly chew high-fiber food, otherwise they may be unable to eat because the front teeth grow too long.

3 Marmot Living Environment

Although the marmot looks fat and silly, giving the impression of a foodie, in fact the marmot is a vegetarian. When arranging the living environment for the marmot, make sure the cage, food bowl, water bowl, bedding, and other consumables are all complete.

Cage: If you haven’t prepared a den for it when buying, you can first find a box (wooden, plastic, or even cardboard) and lay some clean shredded cloth inside. Because newspaper ink is bad for small animals, it is best not to use it. This box is only temporary, because once it adapts to the environment and becomes bolder, it will start using the box to grind its teeth and may secretly slip out. So you must prepare a suitable sturdy box as its den. You can buy a market animal cage or a marmot-specific cage. The former cage is divided into two layers inside, with a tray at the bottom and wire mesh in the middle. The advantage is easy cleaning, but the disadvantage is that the marmot’s feet can get trapped between the wires and be injured. The marmot-specific cage has only one layer, slightly larger, with the opening on top. When keeping it, the inside must be laid with wood shavings and sawdust, convenient for the marmot to move. The disadvantage is that waste is hard to clean and bedding must be changed frequently. Note that the cage should be as large as possible, otherwise it will become fat from lack of exercise, and even cause mental stress and other problems. This is especially true when keeping multiple. Keep it away from cats and dogs, avoid direct sunlight and rain, and pay attention to ventilation.

Food bowl: Avoid plastic or other materials that can be chewed. Choose ceramic or stainless steel, with some weight so it is not easily knocked over.

Drinking water: To keep the cage dry, a lick-type waterer is recommended.

Bedding: The role of bedding is to absorb the moisture and odor of excrement and make the marmot feel comfortable. You can use wood shavings, sawdust, hay, shredded cloth, etc. Cat litter is also a good choice, as are shreds from a shredder.

For marmots under two months old before early June, keep them warm at night, especially in the north where temperatures are low and a cold easily causes colds; add more bedding at night and change bedding in the morning, and ensure air circulation during the day. For mice after late June, pay attention to heat prevention and cooling during the day; heat stroke from high temperatures is also fatal to marmots. You can keep indoor air circulating, place a few bottles of cool water in the cage during the day, or put a ceramic tile; when it feels too hot it will lie on it to cool down. These can prevent heat stroke.

4 Marmot Care & Keeping

The marmot has no special requirements for food; the important thing is that it prefers vegetarian food, an advantage that saves the owner money on buying meat. Of course, preferring vegetarian food does not mean feeding only vegetarian food every day; that is an unhealthy diet. What needs attention is providing fresh water and food every day.

The marmot’s lifespan can be as long as 10 years; water and food must be supplied every day. Its excrement has an odor and it sometimes makes sounds and chews things. You must be mentally prepared before keeping one. In addition, make sure there are no cats, dogs, or other animals at home that could harm it.

The marmot’s gestation period is about 60–70 days. The young are born with teeth and fur, eyes already open, and can start eating immediately. But it is recommended not to keep the young separately within 2 weeks of birth; it is better for the mother to care for them. The young reach maturity at about 3 months. It is moderately sized—not as tiny as a mouse, nor growing as large as a rabbit—more suitable to hold and play with (about 15–20 cm). It moves clumsily and cutely, and unlike mice or squirrels that once escaped are hard to catch, it is very suitable for children or the elderly to keep.

The most common disease of marmots is scurvy. Because marmots cannot synthesize vitamin C in their bodies, a lack of vitamin C in food causes this disease. Symptoms are joint swelling, along with pain, lameness, etc.; if ignored, there is a risk of death. The best treatment is oral vitamin C until symptoms disappear. Adding vitamin C to drinking water has a good preventive effect.

5 Marmot Feeding Guidelines

The marmot gives a very clumsy and cute impression; in fact it is also very smart. As long as you take good care of it, it will recognize you, be willing to play with you, and will not run away at the sight of people like a mouse. The market price is not high, and keeping it does not require professional equipment, making it very suitable for the elderly and children. As long as you prepare a suitably sized cage, supply fresh water and food daily, play with it often, and clean the nest regularly, it will grow up healthy and happy. Once tamed, it will come out to greet you when you get home from work and run to you asking for food.

Beethoven wrote a song about the marmot with the lyrics ‘I have wandered through many lands, with the marmot by my side,’ which is enough to prove how harmoniously marmots get along with people; marmots are willing to interact with humans.

The marmot mainly eats vegetarian food, liking vegetables, alfalfa, lettuce, apples, peas, corn, and other fruits and vegetables. The marmot has a very good appetite and can eat up to ten jin (5 kg) of fruits and vegetables a day. Now people also like to keep marmots at home; domestic marmots can be fed with rabbit feed rather than rat feed, to avoid reducing the marmot’s risk of cardiovascular disease, endocrine disorders, and severe obesity.

The owner should choose a stainless steel, somewhat heavy food bowl for the domestic marmot, to avoid the marmot biting up the bowl or frequently knocking it over.