My son is done with school for the year. So now we work on some trouble areas. Things like grammar. If you have read my blog for long you know this is an issue with his momma. So this summer he is working on grammar and spelling and typing. Today he chose to write about gerbils since we have one.
We had two gerbils until a couple of months ago when one ate the other. He was not neglected and they had been together for a long time. Last night we had to buy a new glass cage. He had eaten his plastic one. First the slide disappeared then the food bowl.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Today I will talk about behavior of gerbils. I will also talk about Gerbils as pets and the housing of captive gerbils. I also want to talk about reasons for the popularity of gerbils and captive-breed of gerbils.
The gerbil is a small mammal or as it is sometimes known as the desert rats. there are about 110 species of gerbil. The word gerbil is a diminutive from of jerboa. Gerbils grow about six to twelve inches {150 to 300 mm} including the tail which makes up one half of their total length. One species however the great gerbil can grow about 16 inches [400 mm}. It is originally native to Turkmenistan. The average adult gerbil weighs about 2 ½ ounces.
Gerbils are social animals and live in groups in the wild. They rely on their sense of smell to identify other members of their clan. This is why it is important to use the split tank method when introducing gerbils from separate litters. Gerbils from different litters are known to attack each other and often kill them who do not have the same scent.
Gerbils were first introduced to the pet industry in 1967. The Mongolia gerbils where the first in the U.S.A and U.K. later on due to the threat they pose to indigenous ecosystems and existing agricultural operations it was illegal to purchase, import, or keep a gerbil as a pet in the U.S state of California.
A common misunderstanding when buying a home for your pet gerbil is buying a plastic cage they can destroy it very easily. Plastic can cause serious health issues for the animal if ingested. It’s better to have something like a fish tank or a glass tank for your gerbil {or gerbils}.
Gerbils are very non-aggressive and rarely bite without reason or without stress. Their kidneys are adapted to produce a minimum of waste and body fluids.
The most common problem of health is neglect. It can cause eating of bedding stomach ulcers and cannibalism starvation and dehydration.
There are many colors of gerbils available at your pet shops today result of selective breeding . there are over 20 different coat colors in the gerbils. The newest gerbils are the fat tailed gerbil they have soft fur and very fat tails.
Gerbils are very good pets to have so have a fun time with your new friend {or friends}.
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