The gerbil

Species: Gerbil

Family (group): Rodent / Meriones unguiculatus

Standards:
Weight: 60 to 80 grams
Longevity: 2-4 years

Accepted colors:
- Solid
- Pied (spotted)

Personality: Lively and agile, the gerbil is docile and relatively easy to tame. This is an animal that likes to move and has a lot of energy. If you have a room to let it roam in, it will provide excellent exercise for it, but make sure there isn’t anything dangerous around such as, electric cables, heaters, etc... Also, it must be held without frightening it, which may prove to be a more difficult task! In this case, you could leave it with a little house/shelter for it to hide in and then pick that up and return it to its cage. The gerbil is diurnal, but its peak of activity is especially at dusk.

Reproduction:
Sexual maturity: 12 weeks
Number of young per litter: 1 to 14 (average 7 to 10)
Gestation: 24 to 26 days
Weaning: 3 weeks

Health issues:
- Respiratory
- Tumor
- Parasitism
- Diarrhea / digestive problems

Note: Never handle a gerbil by its tail because the surrounding skin may slough off (defense mechanism). It is very painful to the animal and the risk of infection is high.