Gerbils are small, typically white bellied, agouti colored rodents which are found in Central Asia, India, the Middle East, and Africa. They inhabit savanna, steppe, hot desert and semi-desert regions of these countries.
They live in a large burrow which extends about 20 inches underground and consists of various chambers for nesting and storing food.
Their diet consists mainly of seeds, roots and leaves. Although mainly vegetarian gerbils will supplement their diet with insects.
The gerbil habitat is dry and can get very cold. This is why gerbils have evolved to conserve moisture by producing little urine and sweat, and conserve heat by having a stocky build, hairy tail and small external ears.
In contrast their middle and inner ears are very large and have adapted to provide excellent hearing of very low frequency sounds such as those generated by an owl's wing beat. Gerbils rarely vocalize and mainly communicate with scent. Most aural communication takes place at times of danger, with a thumping sound. They thump their back feed to signal fear.
The full scientific classification is as follows:
- Kingdom - Animale - Animals
- Phylum - Cordata - Animals with at least a primitive spine
- Subphylum - Vertebrata - Animals with backbones
- Class - Mammalia - Mammals
- Order - Rodentia - Rodents
- Subfamily - Gerbillinae - Gerbils
Toilet paper tubes make a fun toy and are good chewing exercise. Small boxes work the same way. You can also make lego buildings, or buy small buildings and nests and things, or even construct a maze to put them in.
Cardboard or store bought chew sticks are OK, but the cheapest and best thing to do is to use branches and bark from trees in your area. Pine cones are a great hit too.
The best way is to make a little cave of with your two hands and scoop up the little guy. Let him or her poke his nose around in your hands for a minute, then when he calms down, open your hands and let him walk over your palms.
- Kingdom - Animale - Animals
- Phylum - Cordata - Animals with at least a primitive spine
- Subphylum - Vertebrata - Animals with backbones
- Class - Mammalia - Mammals
- Order - Rodentia - Rodents
- Subfamily - Gerbillinae - Gerbils