Fat-tailed gerbil

Pachyuromys duprasi
Order: Rodentia
Husbandry Information
Housing Requirements
- Possibility of aggression between individuals. Be prepared to house them separately
Diet Requirements
Veterinary Concerns
Notes on Enrichment & Training
Other
Colony or Breeding Management
Individual Identification
Programmatic Information
Transportation
Temperature Guidelines
Crating:
Tips on Presentation
Touching Techniques
Tips on Handling
- One facility reported having issues handling them. They would bite and sometimes jump out of hand.
Potential Messaging
Acquisition Information
Comments from the Rating System
Natural History Information
Range and Habitat
Widespread distribution in northern Africa, encompassing parts of Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, northern Mali, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.
Found in deserts and semi-deserts with a solid, non-sandy, substrate.
Physical Description
- General Description: a stocky, short-legged rodent, with no clear necks and very sharp snouts.
- Size: head/body length, 3.75”- 5”; tail, 1.5”-2.5”. Weight averages 1.28 oz.
- The main color of their fur varies between gray and tan with dorsal hairs sometimes tipped with black. The color of their fur varies with subspecies in different ranges.
- Pelage: long and fluffy.
- Eyes: black, large and oval shaped.
- Ears: pink, short, small (0.5”), sparsely haired and positioned low on the head.
- Feet: long rear feet are partially furred for protection from the hot desert sand. The palms and soles are partly haired.
- Claws: well developed and long; used for digging.
- Dentition: comprised of upper incisors, which are grooved on the anterior surface, and 4 molars in the upper and lower jaws.
Life Cycle
Behavior
Threats and Conservation Status
- Least concern
Did you know…
- When resources are plentiful, their tails swell up from fat storage, which it utilized during times of scarce resources. Must like a camel uses its hump.
Photographs
Documents
Contributors and Citations
Top Photo: By P.H.J. (Peter) Maas / http://www.petermaas.nl – Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=364983