Other
common English names: Duprasi Gerbil, Fat-tailed Jird, Fat-tailed Rat, Beer Mat
Gerbil.
Names
in other languages: Abu Lya (Arabic), Souris à
grosse queue (French), Fettschwanzmaus
(German),
Fedthale Mus (Danish), Rasvahäntägerbiili (Finnish),Dikstaartgerbil (Dutch).
This
page contains some information about the fat-tailed gerbil, the most docile of
all gerbils. They almost never bite, make no effort to escape when handled, and
have a fluffy and soft fur. Fat-tailed gerbils are very new on the pet market.
Therefore, there is as yet little information available on keeping them as pets,
and that’s why I’ve made this page. Do you have any further information,
comments, pictures, or anything else on the fat-tailed gerbil? Please e-mail
me!
The Fat-tailed gerbil is a medium sized gerbil. Their body length
is about 10 cm (4”) with a tail length of about 5 cm (2”). This gerbil has a
thick, soft, fluffy coat. The hairs at the back and the head are yellow coloured
with a dark grey basis and a small black tip. The belly is clear white.
Fat-tailed gerbils weigh about 40 grams. Their body is round, somewhat flattened.
They have no clear neck and a very sharp face with big oval shaped black eyes.
The ears of this species are low positioned which gives this species a fox like
head. The legs are rather short for a gerbil. They looks somewhat like a
hamster, but unlike a hamster it has a pointed snout and a fat, almost bald,
club-shaped tail from which it gets its common name of fat-tailed gerbil. The
fat-tailed gerbil stores fat and water in its tail in the same way that the
camel stores fat and water in its hump. Therefore, a healthy fat-tailed gerbil
should have a nicely rounded tail. Due to this tail they are easy to distinguish
from all other gerbil species.
Origin
Fat-tailed gerbils are originally found
in the Northern Sahara (North-western Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria). There
they live in sparsely vegetated sand sheets or rocky deserts. Fat-tailed gerbil
live in the wild in simple burrows about 1 meter deep in hard sandy soil. They
may also occupy burrows of other species.
Food
The Fat-tailed gerbils are, as their
pointed snout would suggest, mostly insectivorous in the wild, but will eat also
a variety of plants. In captivity you can give them the same normal basic rodent
mix as we can give to for example the Mongolian gerbil or hamsters. They really
like mealworms, crickets, moths, and almost any other insect, even beetles. But
when you don’t want to feed them insects you can also give them some dry cat
food. Besides all this you can also give them some vegetables and fruit like
carrots, cauliflower, chicory, apples, etc. But be aware that you don't give too
much, because fat-tailed gerbils originated in dry areas and aren't used to eat
much food that has high moisture content. They can even get diarrhoea after
eating too much fruit and vegetables. Branches and twigs are rich in vitamins
and very suitable to give your gerbils besides their basic food, especially in
winter. It is also good for their teeth, because they keep growing their whole
life and by gnawing they keep their incisors at the right length. Give your
gerbils only branches from fruit trees, willow, birch, hazel, beech, and maple
tree.
Hay is also very good for your fat-tailed
gerbils, because they contain lots of fibres. Besides that it is an excellent
nesting and gnawing material
You need to provide your gerbils always
with fresh water. This can be done by a water bottle. A water bowl can also be
given to them, but place it on a higher place, because otherwise they will bury
it under with bedding material.
Housing
The best way to keep fat-tailed gerbils
is in a tank (aquarium / terrarium). It has to measure at least 60x40 cm (24”
x 16”) for 2-4 gerbils. At the right-hand picture you see the cage I use for
my fat-tailed gerbils at this moment. Fat-tailed gerbils really like to dig, so you need to
provide them a thick layer of bedding. You can use wood shavings, but do not use
Pine or Cedar wood shavings; many rodents can react allergic to it and your
gerbils can get respiratory problems. Aspen wood shavings are considered to be
the best. They also need to take a sand bath regularly to keep their fur from
getting greasy. So you will need to provide them with a sand bowl or use sand as
bedding in their cage. Fat-tailed gerbils will make a nest, which can be
underground in their burrow or on the surface in the bedding or in a nesting
box. To keep your fat-tailed gerbils occupied you can give them some gerbil
toys, like an exercise wheel.
Keeping a breeding pair can be somewhat
difficult, but it is no problem to keep fat-tailed gerbils in male or female
groups. It is also possible to keep fat-tailed gerbils singly, like Syrian
hamsters.
Behaviour
Fat-tailed gerbils are sociable animals, and sometimes live in colonies, but can
also live solitary (alone). In the wild fat-tailed gerbils become active at dusk.
In captivity fat-tailed gerbils seem to be diurnal, although they sleep a lot!
This gerbil species is active for some very short periods in between longer
periods of sleep, and they are very deep sleepers. They sometimes go into a
state similar to hibernation, but not true hibernation. Fat-tailed gerbils are
very docile and almost never bite (sometimes they do!). People say even that wild fat-tailed gerbils that are trapped can
even be handled right away without being bitten (but I think they will bite). Unlike most other gerbil
species, it is possible to put the fat-tailed gerbil in the palm of your hand
and they will just sit their, taking no interest in their new surroundings and
making no attempt to run away. They seem to lack the curiosity of for example
the Mongolian gerbil, and behave more like a Syrian hamster than a gerbil.
Fat-tailed gerbils spend a lot of time grooming their fur and washing their
face. And they like to dig a lot and taking a sand bath.
What they also like very much is to run in an exercise wheel! Sometimes even
with more than one at the same time!
Females can be aggressive towards males,
but it is no problem to keep fat-tailed gerbils in male or female groups.
Sometimes they will fight and argue about some things, for example which gerbil
may use the exercise wheel. When they argue they shriek very loudly and bite in
each other’s tail (see Ailments). The mating ritual of the fat-tailed gerbil may also be
confused with fighting.
Male fat-tailed gerbils, like most other
rodents, have scent glands on their stomach and engage in scenting their
territory by stretching out and rubbing their bellies on the ground and
furnishings. Their scent markings don’t seem to be discernable to people and
there is no noticeable odour from their cage like you will have with hamsters or
mice.
Breeding
Fat-tailed gerbils are sexually mature
when they are 2 months old, and in captivity they reproduce the whole year round.
The gestation period of the fat-tailed gerbil is 19 days. Their average litter
size is 3 to 6, and the pups are weaned at 3-4 weeks.
Breeding fat-tailed gerbils in captivity
can be hard, as the females can be very aggressive when they are pregnant or
nursing pups. They will attack the male, and even kill her mate if he is not
housed separately after mating has taken place. The chance of a female housed
with a male becoming pregnant is much less than it is with Mongolian gerbils. A
proven method to breed fat-tailed gerbils it putting a male and a female
together in a rather small tank with nothing else in it than some bedding
material. No nesting box, nothing to play with, no food dish (you can just
spread the food on the bedding). So that there is really nothing the animals can
fight about. They can’t become territorial because of the small space and
because there are no points to use as demarcation. With this method you need to
keep the male and female together for one week and then separate them and put
them in a nice big tank with all kind of furnishings, most likely the female is
already pregnant.
The mating ritual of the fat-tailed
gerbil is rather unusual. Both male and female stand on their hind legs and
wrestle, making squeaking noise. They never seem to actually bite each other,
but they get rather rowdy. If the female is not receptive and the male doesn’t
give up, the female will turn and kick bedding at the male. The female will make
a nest and get a little nippy when she will be ready to have her litter. They
are good mothers. It is the best to remove the male, not because a problem with
the male, but because the female get stressed and may attack the male.
After
the litter is weaned, its best to let mum rest and recuperate for at least a
month before re- introducing the male. Let their tail be a general guide too!
Make sure that both the male and female have nice plump tails again before
re-introducing once more.
The
development of the pups
Newborn
pups (a couple of hours old)
1
week old
2
weeks old
3
weeks old
4
weeks old
Around this age they
start to walk around and to play. They will also eat solid food.
Sexing
The difference between a male and a female fat-tailed gerbil is the same
as with other small rodents. You can see it at the distance between
the urinary and anal openings. The distance between these
openings in male
fat-tailed
gerbils is much larger than it is in females.
Adult
males have a large bulge at the base of the tail that is their scrotum. So their
testicles are clearly visible. This is totally absent from females. When the
pups have an age of about 2 weeks the hairs on the belly start to grow and you
will see bald spots on the belly of the females. These are her nipples. These
bald spots are absent in males.
Below
here you will see pictures of a male and two pictures of a female fat-tailed gerbil. For more
information on sexing gerbils and pictures of the male and female Mongolian
gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus
), you can visit the Sexing
Mongolian Gerbils page at The Mongolian Gerbil Website.
Male
Female
Female (2 weeks)
Males don't have these bald spots on their
belly.
Colour
Mutations
It appears that in Japan and other places
either a grey (g)
or chinchilla (cch)
mutation has appeared. This fat-tailed gerbil is greyer in colour.Click
here to see a picture of a gerbil with this colour mutation and a normal
fat-tailed gerbil from the Gerbil
Information Page.
But not everyone is sure that it is a colour mutation. It is also possible that
these grey fat-tailed gerbils are from the Egyptian subspecies Pachyuromys
duprasi natronensis. The juvenile coat of these gerbils is very grey but
faded with age to a much more sandy colour. Some hybrids of the Egyptian and the
Algerian subspecies have this grey coat as well, although it does lighten with
age but is still greyish.
Nothing else is known at this time.
Purchase
Fat-tailed gerbils are very new to the
pet market, so they are not available on many places. I breed fat-tailed
gerbils, but I don't ship them, so if you want to purchase them at my place you
need to come to the Netherlands. Occasionally they can be
found in a pet shop, but most don’t have them. You can search the internet,
papers, etc for ads about fat-tailed gerbils. And of course you can also place
an ad yourself. Or you can contact societies for rodents or exotic animals. If
you know where they are available or when you have breeding-pair, please let
me know so I can help the visitors of this page.
Ailments
A healthy
fat-tailed gerbil
has bright eyes, is lively, and has a soft coat. Their behind is dry and
clean. Sick fat-tailed gerbils get lethargic and are not lively.
Preventing is always better
than curing, especially for small rodents, such as the fat-tailed gerbil. It's
not always easy to cure a fat-tailed gerbil. Fat-tailed gerbils are so small that even a vet
won't always know how he must treat the animal. That's why you should go to vets
that are familiar with small rodents and other special pets. For fat-tailed gerbils can catching a cold be very dangerous and even fatal. The biggest
threats for your fat-tailed gerbil are draught and moisture, but also too high temperatures,
wrong or bad food, and stress can lead to health problems.
There
is not much known about diseases of fat-tailed gerbils, because this small
rodent has not been kept as a pet that long and often. But small rodents have
generally the same ailments, so you can visit the Health
& Diseases page of The Mongolian Gerbil Website.
An
ailment that you will relatively see with fat-tailed gerbils are bite wounds at
their tail, because fighting fat-tailed gerbils try to bite in each others thick
tail.
Do you know more links or do you have a
website about Fat-tailed gerbils yourself? Please e-mail
me!
When your visiting this page outside the
framed website of The Mongolian Gerbil Website you can click
here to visit the whole website.
Please
note that copyright law covers the material on these webpages. If you wish to
use any pictures etc. for anything other than your personal private use, such as
publishing material on a website, then please contact
me to negotiate
conditions of use. The
Mongolian Gerbil Website -Peter
Maas
The Fat-tailed gerbil is a medium sized gerbil. Their body length
is about 10 cm (4”) with a tail length of about 5 cm (2”). This gerbil has a
thick, soft, fluffy coat. The hairs at the back and the head are yellow coloured
with a dark grey basis and a small black tip. The belly is clear white.
Fat-tailed gerbils weigh about 40 grams. Their body is round, somewhat flattened.
They have no clear neck and a very sharp face with big oval shaped black eyes.
The ears of this species are low positioned which gives this species a fox like
head. The legs are rather short for a gerbil. They looks somewhat like a
hamster, but unlike a hamster it has a pointed snout and a fat, almost bald,
club-shaped tail from which it gets its common name of fat-tailed gerbil. The
fat-tailed gerbil stores fat and water in its tail in the same way that the
camel stores fat and water in its hump. Therefore, a healthy fat-tailed gerbil
should have a nicely rounded tail. Due to this tail they are easy to distinguish
from all other gerbil species.
The mating ritual of the fat-tailed
gerbil is rather unusual. Both male and female stand on their hind legs and
wrestle, making squeaking noise. They never seem to actually bite each other,
but they get rather rowdy. If the female is not receptive and the male doesn’t
give up, the female will turn and kick bedding at the male. The female will make
a nest and get a little nippy when she will be ready to have her litter. They
are good mothers. It is the best to remove the male, not because a problem with
the male, but because the female get stressed and may attack the male. 
