Information about Gerbils in the Gerbil Webshop

The Gerbil

There are multiple types of Gerbils; in addition to the Mongolian Gerbil, there are 86 other species, all of which mainly live in the arid, barren and sandy steppe regions of North Africa, Russia, Iran, Turkey, Sri Lanka, India, northern China and Mongolia.

The Mongolian Gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus, Meriones in Greek means "warrior" and "unguis" is the Latin word for "claw". The Mongolian Gerbil is thus "the warrior with the claws".

This Mongolian Gerbil is the most popular Gerbil species and is also the most commonly kept as a pet in the Netherlands. These cheerful animals belong to the Gerbillinae family. But their nickname is "Desert Rat", although they are not related to the rat.

In terms of physique you can compare the Gerbil with a small kangaroo. Especially the hind legs of the Gerbil are very well developed, it is a real jumper! The tail is also striking. Gerbils have a long tail with a cute tuft at the end.

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