Common gerbil. What is the recommended food for your gerbil? Feeding the Mongolian gerbil

Advantages of gerbils
- cleanliness
- unpretentious
- easily tamed
- breed well
- friendly to other small animals
- content with small space

Difficulties:
- can be carriers of tularemia

Dimensions. Body length up to 18 cm, the tail is covered with short hair with a tassel at the end.

Homeland of origin. These small rodents are inhabitants of deserts and semi-deserts. Live in extreme conditions taught them to be content with little. For example, they have enough water in succulent feed. Most gerbils are not pests Agriculture, but they have long been the object of close attention of physicians, because, like humans, they suffer from tularemia and plague.

Conditions of detention. Gerbils are unpretentious and therefore take root well at home. If the animals are regularly released to run, then a small metal cage, 40–50 cm in size, is quite enough for them. It is advisable to put a running wheel in the cage, as for squirrels and chipmunks. Unlike hamsters and chipmunks, gerbils do not tend to hide. In the corners and looking for dark corners, eh for the most part are in sight and easily make contact with people: they come to the call, take food from their hands.

In nature and in captivity, animals tend to stock up on food, they like to pull hay and grass into piles. They carry this forage in bundles, holding the load captured by their teeth with their front paws. Their front legs are mobile, with dexterous fingers. Life expectancy is three to four years.

Feeding. Like all rodents, gerbils are willing to eat bread. They consume legumes, hay and green grass. They like to gnaw branches of soft tree species: willows, lindens, poplars. From grain feeds, gerbils prefer germinated or water-soaked seeds of cultivated cereals. With pleasure, gerbils eat sunflowers, beets, carrots and berries.

Conditions of detention. At home, the range of food for animals can be significantly expanded, since young animals tend to try a wide variety of foods, up to sausages. As a mineral supplement, gerbils should be given chalk, eggshells and glycerophosphate.

Reproduction. The breeding season for gerbils starts at early spring and ends in late autumn. During this time, the female brings up to five litters, each of which has 4 - 5 cubs. Pregnancy lasts about 23 days.

Males can be kept with a female and a brood.

The eyes and ears of babies open at the age of two weeks, and they begin to eat themselves at the age of 12 days.

Diseases. Same as other rodents.

Little tricks
- Gerbils will quickly get used to you and will be tamed if you give them delicious food from your hand: mealworms, sunflowers, raisins.
- When capturing and transplanting gerbils, it is convenient to take the tail and, lifting it up, substitute the sleeve of the other hand as a support.
- Animals need sand baths to feel good, so be sure to place a container of sand in the cage.

The gerbil is a small animal, similar to a mouse. It has a thick, short coat, a long tail, an elongated muzzle, small pubescent ears. Body color is different (depending on the breed). The weight of rodents should not exceed one hundred and twenty grams. Mongolian gerbils first appeared in Africa and Asia. Later spread to all continents. Now animals are found in every country. AT wild nature the animals live up to four years, in captivity life expectancy increases several times. This is due to the fact that it is difficult for small animals to survive among predators, another danger. Loneliness can often be detrimental. In captivity at good care gerbils will live a long time. It is important to remember a few key points, which we will now discuss.

First, most important rule- do not buy one animal! As described above, rodents terribly endure loneliness. Buy a couple.

The second rule is that the cage should be spacious, have many different carousels. The fact is that gerbils are active animals, they require constant movement, they cannot sit still. If you stick to this recommendation, your pet will feel much better. It is advisable to let the mouse run around the house. So they can run enough, play enough. But do not forget about their safety. The animal is curious, so it can run into a hard-to-reach place (under the sofa, behind the closet), not get out of there. In unfamiliar places, far from the wild, gerbils are poorly oriented. At first, be especially careful. If you have other pets living in your house (cat, dog), do not leave the gerbil alone while she walks. They may not like the arrival of a new little friend. There are no problems with birds and other rodents.

The third rule is nutrition. It must be varied. You can feed the animals daily with ordinary rodent food. Highlight the days of the week when you give them vegetables (carrots, cabbage), fruits, grass. Do not abuse this. Feed the animals green food once every two weeks. In the wild, they do not need water, because they saturate the body with moisture, which is taken from fruits and greens. In captivity, this is not possible, so put a drinker nearby. Change water daily.

If gerbils show interest in each other, then expect a quick offspring. Females bear cubs for a month. Interestingly, during this process, males spend all their time expectant mother. They clean them, feed them, protect them from dangers. Gerbils are monogamous, therefore, in the absence of the second half, the animals suffer. At the end of the term, the female gives birth to two or three babies. The couple at this time takes special care. The animals do not leave the babies a single step. When they grow up, the upbringing of the future generation is exclusively done by the father. He teaches children everything that he knows himself.
Gerbils love to dig. It is advised to cover the bottom with a thick ball of wood shavings. Also sketch a few sticks of fruit trees in the cage. Rodents will grind their teeth.

If you really want to start pet, but you are afraid of the responsibility that will fall on your shoulders, then get a small and unpretentious animal - a gerbil. But first, learn how to care for her.

What is this animal?

The gerbil is a small rodent that looks like a rat. Basically, it's cute. house mouse. The body length of an adult animal can vary from 5 to 20 centimeters. The length of the tail is usually 6-24 centimeters, at the end of it there may be a small tassel.

The muzzle of the gerbil is pointed, the auricles are small but well developed, the eyes are rather large and protruding. The color on the back is darker and can vary from gray to brown. The abdomen is usually light. There may be light spots on the head. The hind legs are more developed than the front ones, so sometimes these rodents move on them.

Gerbils are ubiquitous. They are found in semi-deserts, deserts and steppes. Such animals can be found in Asia, Africa, China, Mongolia, as well as in the regions of Transbaikalia, Kazakhstan and Ciscaucasia.

The life expectancy of a gerbil at home ranges from two to three years. And in natural environment such rodents usually live no more than six months.

Lifestyle

Gerbils are burrowing animals. But they all lead a predominantly terrestrial lifestyle, and climb into holes only when necessary. Most of these rodents form colonies. Many gerbils are diurnal animals, meaning they are active during the day. But they can't sleep at night either.

At the same time, in hibernation gerbils do not fall, they continue to live in winter familiar life, but in severe frosts they can sink into a state of stupor.

In the wild, these rodents feed on plants as well as various seeds. Gerbils are very thrifty, sometimes the food supply in the hole by weight reaches 60 kilograms!

It is worth noting that gerbils have a special gland in the abdomen, which is used to mark the territory. But the smell of the secreted liquid is not sharp and almost imperceptible, so gerbils cannot be called bad-smelling animals.

These rodents are very active. They are constantly digging, nibbling, looking for, storing and so on. And if the rodent does not have the opportunity to do all this, then he can get sick and even die. Consider this and by all means provide your pet with all the conditions necessary for a full life.

Although gerbils are relatively unpretentious animals, still providing optimal living conditions will prolong the life of the pet and make it healthy and active. Let's list a few key points.

One or two gerbils?

The gerbil is a rodent that needs constant communication, so it's best to get a pair at once. But remember that unfamiliar rodents can fight, so at first, keep a close eye on them.

The optimum air temperature is 20-25 degrees. In any case, it should not fall below 15 degrees, in a cool place the rodent will be less active. Gerbils do not tolerate moisture, so the room must be dry. Do not place your pet's home in drafts, near air conditioners or heaters.

Housing

The best housing for such a rodent will be a cage with metal bars. But remember that the gap between the bars must be small, otherwise the pet may escape or get seriously injured. Also, choose a deep-bottomed cage.

Instead of a cage, you can also use an aquarium, but always with a breathable lid (a gerbil can jump out and travel around the house, which can be unsafe). In any case, housing should be quite spacious, otherwise the animal will feel cramped.

Home Improvement

How to properly care for a gerbil rodent? It is extremely important to properly equip her housing. Be sure to pour a fairly large (about 10 centimeters) layer of sawdust into the cage tray, their pet will dig. But such a rodent also needs sand, so pour it into a small bath and place it in the corner of the cage so that the gerbil bathes and cleans its coat.

You can put a house in a cage in which the rodent will hide. But remember that it will have to be changed, as the gerbil will periodically gnaw and destroy its homes. Instead of a house, a pet can use a nest. Hay is most often used to create it, so be sure to put it in a cage.

Since gerbils need to grind down their teeth, offer them twigs, tree bark. Otherwise, the pet will use the cage for grinding and damage the teeth or soft tissues.

Since these rodents do not tolerate moisture, the sawdust must remain dry. That is why you should purchase a special non-spillable drinker for rodents. And be sure to keep the water clean! It is best to hang the feeder or place it on the second floor of the cage, otherwise the pet will constantly turn it over or bury food, making supplies.

The sawdust in the cage should be changed regularly, but not too often. 1 time in two weeks is enough.

Since gerbils are active and like to move a lot, then either periodically let them out of the cage, or place a special wheel in the dwelling (preferably metal and mesh).

Be sure to offer your little pet toys. These can be cardboard boxes, toilet paper sleeves, baskets, and so on. Games have a positive effect on mental development gerbils, so they are necessary.

Food

What to feed a gerbil? The diet should be quite varied. Its main part will be made up of grain mixtures. Also, be sure to give your pet vegetables (carrots, lettuce,), fruits (apples, bananas). You can buy a special ready-made food at the pet store.

If you preferred natural nutrition, then by all means give the rodent vitamins. To avoid a lack of salts, attach a mineral-salt stone to the bars of the cage or hang it on a wire (it can be purchased at a specialized store).

reproduction

Puberty occurs in gerbils at the age of 3-4 months. One female can bring from 1 to 10 litters per year. In one litter, as a rule, 5-6 cubs. They are born naked and blind and become independent only after a month. The duration of pregnancy is 3-5 weeks. The lactation period lasts approximately three weeks.

Possible problems

Gerbils practically do not get sick, but still some problems can arise. Among them are loss of the tail, swelling of the secretion gland, diseases of the ears, digestive disorders, diseases of the teeth, eyes, respiratory and cardiovascular systems, as well as injuries.

Taming

It is better to tame a pet from the very beginning. early age(from about three weeks). First, feed him with your hand, pet him, talk to him, be around more often. Then pick up the animal. As a rule, gerbils are non-aggressive and do not bite for no reason.

Let your pet be healthy and active!

The gerbil mouse is diverse in nature, there are 87 species, it belongs to the hamster family. The rodent can often be found in the semi-desert and desert regions of Asia and Africa, on the Mediterranean islands. The gerbil lives in a colony, loves areas with gravelly, clay and sandy soils, but where there is vegetation that it eats. A small mouse lives in minks, which can sometimes reach up to three meters in depth, they are connected to each other by branched passages.

Diet

The animal feeds on cereals: oats, wheat, barley and corn, greens and grass, hay, fruits and vegetables. He likes to eat boiled egg whites or cottage cheese. If you have such a rodent at home, in no case do not give them citrus fruits (they cannot tolerate them). For them, in pet stores you can buy ready-made grain mixtures. Such mixtures are divided into categories.

Mice should not be overfed, for one adult one tablespoon of food will be enough for one day, the water poured into the bowl should always be filtered and fresh.

In order for the animal to live comfortably at home, he will need a ventilated terrarium with a lid or
special cage for keeping. Mice perfectly jump in height, they can easily leave the terrarium (therefore, you need to remember to close it from above).

Rodents do not like drafts as well as direct sunlight, the temperature in their home should be about 22 degrees Celsius, this temperature is optimal for keeping, and the minimum should not be lower than 15 degrees Celsius. It is necessary to lay a litter about 15 centimeters thick in a cage, because mice love to rummage, it is better to take coniferous sawdust as a litter.

Hay can be put in for her to create a nest for herself, you can also use toilet paper(not colored) napkins or landscape clean paper. Do not put cotton or cloth in the cage as this may damage and injure the animal.

Put several small wooden houses in the dwelling, the food bowl should be heavy so that the rodent does not knock it over. Place the bowl on a shelf or stand because the animal may bury it in the sawdust. Be sure to fix a mineral-salt stone on the grate or wall of the rodent dwelling, it can be purchased at a pet store.

Animals love to lead a mobile lifestyle, run through tunnels, ladders. To do this, fix ladders, tunnels or a wheel along which the mouse will run.

What are the diseases of mice

These animals have good immunity, they rarely have health problems. In order to determine whether a rodent is healthy or not, look at its activity, stroke its fur (in a healthy animal it will be smooth and soft). Patients are always motionless and sleepy, their hair grows dull. If the pet is sick, do not self-medicate, seek the help of a ratologist who will prescribe the necessary medications.

Animal training

Many experts believe that rats and mice are the most intelligent of all rodents. The animal can be taught to respond correctly to some sounds about commands, it quickly gets used to its name, to which it responds. An animal can be taught to jump from ladder to ladder and "serve".

The nature of the rodent

The animal is very affectionate, sociable, friendly and curious, it can be tamed. Keep these animals away from dogs, birds and cats as they may eat or harm them. If you decide to have a small mouse at home, you won’t need special care for it, it will always delight its owners with its habits and spontaneity.