Overview

Gerbils are native to many parts of the world, but the type of gerbil commonly kept as a pet is the Mongolian. These busy little rodents generally grow to about four inches, with a tail of the same length.

Details

Meriones unguiculatus, the Mongolian Jird or Mongolian Gerbil is a rodent belonging to subfamily Gerbillinae. It is the most widely known species of the Gerbil subfamily, and is the usual gerbil species to be kept as a pet or experimental animal, when it is known as the Domesticated Gerbil. Like the Syrian Hamster (Golden Hamster), it was first brought to the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker for use in research. There were 44 pairs caught originally from Mongolia and brought to England. They were described as "squirrel colors... with long furry tails." The Mongolian gerbil is classed as a "prohibited new organism" under New Zealand's Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 preventing it from being imported into the country. Meriones unguiculatus evolved on the semi-deserts and steppes of Mongolia. There, they developed long legs for jumping and running from predators, teeth to deal with hard seeds and plant matter, and water conservation techniques that allow them to survive in the arid climate, such as the ability to use dry food or stores of fat to generate metabolic water. Mongolian gerbils do not have many natural enemies due to the harsh climate. Most predators are birds-of-prey or snakes. Mongolian gerbils are diurnal, but return to their burrows for the coldest and hottest parts of the day. The species Meriones unguiculatus came originally from Mongolia. Its habitat in Mongolia is mainly semi-deserts and steppes. Soil on the steppes is sandy and is covered with grasses, herbs, and shrubs. The steppes have cool, dry winters and hot summers. The temperature can get up to 50 °C (122 °F), but the average temperature for most of the year is around 20 °C (68 °F). In the wild these gerbils live in groups generally consisting of one parental pair the recent litter and a few older pups. Only the dominant female will produce pups, but she will mate with multiple males while in heat. One group of gerbils generally ranges over 325–1,550 square metres (0.08–0.38 acre). A group lives in a central burrow with 10–20 exits. Some deeper burrows with only 1–3 exits in their territory may exist. These deeper burrows are used to escape from predators when they are too far from the central burrow. A groups burrows often interconnect with other groups. The first known mention of gerbils came in 1866, by Father Armand David, who sent "yellow rats" to the Museum of Natural History (Musée d'Histoire Naturelle) in Paris, from northern China. They were named Meriones unguiculatus by the scientist Milne-Edwards in 1867. This Latin name means "clawed warrior" in English, partly from the Greek warrior Meriones in Homer's Iliad. Gerbils only became popular pets after 1954, when twenty breeding pairs of gerbils were brought to the United States from eastern Mongolia for scientific testing. Almost all pet gerbils today are descended from these forty. Gerbils were brought to the United Kingdom in 1964 from the United States. The Mongolian gerbil is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet. It was first brought from China to Paris, France in the nineteenth century, and became a popular house pet. It was then brought to the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker for use in research