Gerbil or Desert Rat

Gerbil is look like rat, some of them look like hamster rat. Gerbil is small mammal of the order Redentia, people called this animal as “desert rats”. Subfamily of this rodent about 110 species, exist in African, Indian and Asian rodent, including sand rats and jirds.

Gerbils, family Cricetidae, are soft furred, burrowing rodents inhabiting and regions in Africa and Asia. They have elongated hind legs, with which they can make kangroolike leaps, and, usually, long tails. The 100 or more species are grouped into 10 or 12 genera. The fur is usually of sand or earth colors, and the larger species, Rhomborrys, may reach 200 mm (nearly 8 in) in body length. The popular American pet is the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus. Some species are called jirds, and one species, Pachyromys duprasi, with a short, thick tail, is also called the fat tailed mouse.


The large, naked-soled gerbil, like other gerbils, is adapted to life in arid regions all of the water it requires from the foods that make up its diet.