Care Guide Reference

Steppe Lemmings
Lagurus lagurus
Eastern European

The Steppe Lemming (Lagurus lagurus) is a small, social rodent who’s wild distribution covers much of Southern Russia, the Ukraine, Western Mongolia and surrounding areas. As the name suggests they inhabit mainly steppe areas and Semi-deserts. They naturally live in large colonies and migrate to some extent, with populations building up to the extent where all food supplies are exhausted and the animals literally starve to death, causing the population to crash again over a number of years.

In Captivity

Steppe Lemmings are relatively easy to care for in captivity and are a very rewarding species to keep. They are social by nature so should never be kept singly. The best combination is either a single or opposite sex pair or a small colony with a low male to female ratio. More instances of fighting are likely to occur in a tank where the number of males outnumbers that of the females.

Average lifespan is around 2 years, I have been told of animals living longer than this but the majority of keepers all agree that 24 months is a normal average for this species.

They are a rather easy species to handle and rarely bite, where bites do occur they are so insignificant that they rarely even pierce the skin.

Housing

The only real suitable accommodation for these animals is a glass aquarium with or without small solid levels and easy to climb ramps. They love to burrow so a deep substrate is highly recommended, something which cannot be achieved in a wire cage or plastic tank. The minimum recommended housing for a pair is a 24 inch long aquarium, however the more animals there are the bigger the housing will need to be.

Substrate can be any of those frequently available on the market but ensure that the substrate which is used isn’t too fine otherwise it will be difficult for animals to make suitable burrows underneath. I find using alternate layers of hay, shavings and a product called Megazorb (wood pulp based litter) works well and have at least a 6 inch depth to allow the animals to make suitable burrows. A good few handfuls of hay on the ‘top’ layer of substrate is also recommended as the animals will eat small amounts of it, as well as bed inside it.

Steppe Lemmings are particularly prone to respiratory infections and should not be allowed to be in a damp environment for this reason. Nest boxes or houses are best not used as even the humidity which builds up inside from their bodies can cause infection. Also unlike Jird and Gerbil species who urinate very little because of their specialisation’s for living in a desert environment the Lemmings urinate frequently thus needing frequent clean outs to keep their cages clean and free from damp spots.

Feeding and watering

Food and water should be available at all times and changed on a regular basis. Some keepers use ceramic bowls or dishes to provide water however with the Lemmings burrowing around a lot and throwing substrate into the bowl water will quickly become soiled, for this reason a water bottle is much better ensuring that the animals always have access to fresh, clean drinking water. Because of being fed on a rather dry diet they consume quite copious amounts of water in comparison to other species so it is important to ensure water bottles or bowls are full at all times.

Food on the other hand can be given in a ceramic bowl or scatter-fed to the animals. Steppe Lemmings, like Degu, can suffer from sugar-intolerance’s so all high fructose feeds and fruits should be avoided for optimum success. A simple rodent or guinea pig mix should be used with extra’s such as millet spray, rolled oats, fresh grass and of course hay added into the diet. For their size they also do consume rather larger amounts of food, they do not store food away so bowls should be topped up

Regularly.

Breeding

Steppe Lemmings are rather easy to breed and providing the conditions are right it doesn’t take long for a pair to become a small colony. To sex them the animals should be lifted up and checked underneath, females have a row of nipples which can be seen running down either side of the chest, the males by the presence of testes which appear by the tail. They can sometimes be difficult to sex at very young ages but a practised eye should easily tell them apart.

Breeding is at it’s most successful where just a pair is present and even at a young age males soon show an active interest in their female counterparts.

Their gestation period is about three weeks (20 – 22 days) and young are fully weaned by the time they are 21 days. Sexual maturity is reached at a mere 4 – 6 weeks of age.

In colonies breeding tends to slow down depending on the ratio of females to males and the actual amount of animals in each tank. They should not be overcrowded by any means and outbreaks of fighting and actual deaths will occur if animals are overcrowded or the ratio of males exceeds the number of females to any extent.