[Uchuujin]

((FYI if I won I would organize this information in a more logical, orderly way but right now it's all kind of disorganized because I had so many ideas!))

Species Name: Burrowkits
Habitat: Burrowkits live in the ground, where they build massive tunnel systems. They occasionally venture above ground, but usually only in rocky caves.
Diet: Their diet mainly consists of worms and insects. When domesticated, they are found to love berries and candy. They won't eat any meat under any circumstances.
Size: The fully grown adults are about ferret-sized, occasionally a little larger, although when they are born (typically in litters of 1 - 4) they are roughly two inches in length.
Coloration/Markings: Burrowkits are typically "natural" colored - whites, browns, blacks, greys, and tans. Some of them are "blue" (as in the blue that a dog may have, which is really more greyish). Rarely their coloration comes out much bolder though, and these burrowkits are highly valued as trophy pets (like the burrowkit in the headshot with vibrant orange markings - the baby burrowkit with deep red fur is not rare but would likely be seen as "uncommon"). Their markings are pretty "natural" too; they typically boast spots or stripes, some of them are merle or solid colored or pointed. They tend to have pale colored eyes.
Behaviour: Burrowkits are amazing diggers! They love to dig, and have been known to dig up gardens. They enjoy cuddling into hay or grass or blankets, anything really. They pull fluff from other animals, feathers, soft weeds, and other things into their den to create big beds.
They are also incredible climbers! In caves, they will climb stalagtites and stalagmites with no problem. They have tremendous upper body strength and can even climb up completely vertical surfaces if there is enough traction for their paws and claws.
Burrowkits tend to collect pretty rocks and gemstones. Typically they will have massive hoards of stones and precious metals in their den, which they guard very fiercely. They will steal shiny things from humans, so be careful where you put your jewelry, brightly colored buttons, nails, etc.
It is hard to tell a burrowkit's gender when they are born, or in general. Males tend to be lazier and more affectionate. Females tend to be smarter and livelier. There are, of course, exceptions.
Burrowkits enjoy socializing with others and like having many burrowkit friends. However, they are very territorial and will only share their sleeping space or treasure hoard with their mate. While it's not uncommon for burrowkits to have different mates, they tend to pick one that they stay with for life. This is based solely on companionship, not on impressive markings or physical features.
A burrowkit lives with his or her parents until either they are taken away by a human or they are capable of making their own tunnels. Typically they will make tunnels branching out from their parents' tunnels, so technically they do still share living spaces, although they will begin then to create their own hoard and bedding area. If a baby tries to steal from his or her parents hoard, it is common for them to be rejected from the nest.
Burrowkits dislike the water. They hate swimming and hate rain. When they sense rain is coming, they will burrow very deep and not come out again until the ground is dry.
Are they domesticated?: Yes! When domesticated, it is recommended that you keep your burrowkit in a large terrarium filled with soil, rocks, and plants. You could also release them into your yard, and as long as you feed them every day and give them a lot of attention, they will never tunnel too far from your house. If you don't feed them well enough they can destroy gardens or break into trash cans, so be wary! In colder weather or at night, they prefer to be let inside where they can burrow in your bed with you, or you can give them piles of laundry or towels. Most wild burrowkits have insulated, deep tunnels where they can keep warm but it is likely that your yard or terrarium does not have the materials required for this, so it is best to let burrowkits you keep as pets to come indoors in cold weather.
On rainy days, it is highly recommended to bring your burrowkit indoors. They will not leave their burrows until the ground at the surface is dry, so if you experience long periods of bad weather it is possible to not see them for days or weeks. A domestic burrowkit will suffer from separation anxiety in these circumstances, and may starve itself, so this is very dangerous. Storms make them panic and they will require a lot of love and affection to keep them calm in bad weather.
When domesticated, burrowkits enjoyed being dressed up and given accessories. They will allow you to give them piercings (they love shiny things after all!) and they like collars, scarves, bows, jewelry, tail wraps, and other articles of clothing that don't hinder their burrowing. They will hate you if you put gloves on them! They need their paws and claws to burrow. They don't like being too dressed though, usually one or two accessories is all they will stand to wear.
If you are squeamish about feeding your burrowkit insects, then they will gladly eat nuts, fruits, and vegetables, although many of these things that they wouldnt encounter in the wild will require some preparation. (Ex: might have trouble cracking nuts, taking the skin or rind off some fruits or vegetables, biting into harder things like potatoes that have not been cut into smaller sizes) Cooked eggs are also a yummy treat, and occasionally they can be given candy. They have a big sweet tooth and will eat all of the candy they can get their paws on if you don't ration it. Some prefer chocolate, others prefer hard candy or gummies. It is fun to discover their eating preferences!

[wowhow]

Wonderful! A few notes:


1) it would be bad to climb stalagmites and stalactites because they are protected and they have acidic water on hem. It would not harm them terribly but could eventually make them sick. So i would recommend changing this in your post .

2) This might sound dumb but wouldn't they drown if they buried will it was raining? I mean, wouldn't the rain collect into the tunnel and create alot of mud? Kind of create a well-like tunnel that would drown them?

3) So do they have dens, burrows, or tunnels?

4) chocolate and candy is bad for animals!! peppermints, sugar, and such are fine but many candies and all chocolates (that i know of) have stuff in them that is horrible and hard to digest for animals. many people claim that their dogs and cats are fine eating human created food but that is false. A few animals (not individual species! I mean like a dog out of alot) are immune but it is very destructive. You might not notice it but if you feed your pet human made food they have a high chance of being sick.

5) Personally I believe that putting piercings on an animal is cruel. If you think that is fine it is your choice! I would just like to state that it probably isn't a good idea if they like to burrow. Dirt would probably infect the wound created for the piercing.

I am just trying to help!! I hope you can go through your post and maybe change chocolate to something more healthy for them I wish you the best of luck! Just trying to help you perfect it

[Uchuujin]

There are many animals with advanced digestive systems that can eat candy or chocolate without a problem. I used to feed my rats chocolate chips as treats and they loved them. Many rat owners do this. While dogs can get extremely sick from eating large amounts of chocolate, this isn't something that is uniform throughout the entire animal kingdom. Pigs are another animal that can eat chocolate, and bears can eat chocolate - it's all about moderation. I used to work at a vet, and even regarding dogs, chocolate is only toxic in larger amounts (compared to body size I mean - obviously a pound of chocolate could be lethal to a 10 pound dog). Grapes and avocados are far more toxic to dogs in my experience but for some reason no one ever seems to pay attention to them. Anyway since these animals are made-up, it was my choice to have chocolate and candy be edible to them as with my rats This is not their main diet, I am simply saying they can eat it as a snack. If the artist really decides this is an issue I will change it.

I will take number five into consideration, though.

Some of the other points you made makes me feel more like you are attacking me rather than just offering help.

[wowhow]

There are many animals with advanced digestive systems that can eat candy or chocolate without a problem. I used to feed my rats chocolate chips as treats and they loved them. Many rat owners do this. While dogs can get extremely sick from eating large amounts of chocolate, this isn't something that is uniform throughout the entire animal kingdom. Pigs are another animal that can eat chocolate, and bears can eat chocolate - it's all about moderation. I used to work at a vet, and even regarding dogs, chocolate is only toxic in larger amounts (compared to body size I mean - obviously a pound of chocolate could be lethal to a 10 pound dog). Grapes and avocados are far more toxic to dogs in my experience but for some reason no one ever seems to pay attention to them. Anyway since these animals are made-up, it was my choice to have chocolate and candy be edible to them as with my rats This is not their main diet, I am simply saying they can eat it as a snack. If the artist really decides this is an issue I will change it.

I will take number five into consideration, though.

Some of the other points you made makes me feel more like you are attacking me rather than just offering help.

I did know that rats, bears, and pigs ate chocolate but you make a very good point I believe if you are making them eat chocolate just as a snack that should be fine . I know what you feel about grapes and avocados because many people don't believe me when i tell them onions, cranberries, raisins, and rain water are not things they want to give their normal house pets on a regular basis. I was just trying to help and I'm VERY sorry if I made you uncomfortable in any way Have a WONDERFUL day and may luck be with you

[Uchuujin]

Thank you, I suppose I just misunderstood ^^

Good luck to you as well

Yeah those things are also really bad for most pets. Especially onions, my grandma doesn't believe me and tries to give my dogs onions all the time and I have to stop her

[wowhow]

Thank you and I hope that your grandma will figure out that onions are bad for dogs XD (In my opinion onions are bad for everybody if my dog eats some...he will barf and fart all day and neither of those are a joy to smell XD )