Steppe Lemmings

Not exactly. They're not lemmings, those arctic critters that supposedly practice ritual mass suicide. Steppe lemmings are actually voles. Like voles, they are very small, similar to dwarf hamsters in size. And "steppe" is pronounced "step" except that it's spelled differently.

The Eurasian steppe is a huge semiarid region of grassy plains. The prairies where we live in Canada is also technically steppe, except we call it prairie. In addition to steppe, steppe lemmings also live in semi-desert areas and cultivated fields in Western Mongolia and Northwest China, Southern Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

They are apparently a popular pet in parts of Europe, but decidedly exotic in North America.

We are a mother and adult daughter team of pet lovers living in Saskatchewan, a province in the western half of Canada.

We have had quite a variety of critters over the years. Our most recent love is steppe lemmings. We had ordered some gerbils from Europe and Quebec, and to save on shipping, a group of us flew our various new pets in as a group in the fall of 2009. In the shipment was a pair of steppe lemmings we were fortunate enough to babysit briefly as their new owner, Mike Carbno of Diognoir, was unable to meet them at the airport. We fell in love. Soon enough, we exchanged our gerbils for a pair of male baby steppe lemmings from Mike. So began our journey.

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Steppe lemmings live in colonies in the wild, and prefer to have company regardless of their current domicile. That being said, they are also prone to aggression in many circumstances. The best bet, apparently, is one male and as many females as you like, assuming you give them enough room to feel comfy. If they feel crowded, they'll set about driving away or killing the excess population. Not good news if they live in an enclosed area the way most people keep pets.

The good news about their social lives is that they can become quite attached and social with humans. They recognize "mommy" or "daddy", climb excitedly onto your hand, and may gaze lovingly into your eyes. That's what I like to think anyway. What they're really thinking is beyond me, but they do look at me with great interest. Social animals like steppe lemmings are wonderful this way, as compared with solitary animals like hamsters who are mainly concerned that you deliver dinner on time.

Tiny though they are, they need more space than you think they do to be happy. A large tank with deep substrate (shavings plus lots of hay) is generally recommended. They construct a network of runways in the substrate.

An alternative we are experimenting with is building multi-level houses out of scrap lumber and held together with white glue. This expands the usable square footage of an aquarium and is a huge hit with our boys. They seem to enjoy climbing about the various levels, and build a cozy bedroom nest in one of the "rooms".

Did you know steppe lemmings like to use a litter box? We gave them dishes full of sand, in case they might like a sand bath. They passed on the sand bath idea, but they were delighted with their new litter boxes! They may not be meticulous in using them, but we can go longer between bedding changes. The litter box does need to be placed according to their preference, of course. The trick is to keep track of where that location is, lol.

Steppe lemmings come from steppes and semi-desert areas where quality food is limited. They evolved to survive on a virtually sugar-free diet that is low in nutrients. It is tempting to feed them well, but this can doom them to an early death. Their diet should be based on hay, lots of it. And some more still.

Budgie seed and foods suitable for degus (also sugar-intolerant), and the occasional low sugar vegetable rounds out their diet. Water should be available at all times, of course.