Great question – we have always wondered how many are out there (and I think it is over 50 if you count everything in the genetic class of Gerbillinae).
We regularly hear of a new one in the pet trade (some interchangably called gerbils/jirds) and want to find out more.
However, this one is just a quickie to whet your appetite of those most likely found in the pet trade right now (alphabetically on common name):
Bushy-tailed jird (Sekeetamys calurus)
Beautiful and human-friendly jirds – with amazing tails – who are in our category of rock-hopper. These jirds are very acrobatic and love living in small groups
Cheesman’s gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani)
Very smooth, delicate-looking human-friendly gerbils who are in our category of underground and surface dwellers. Their coat is amazing.
Clawed jird (Meriones unguiculatus)
Our typical adorable Mongolian gerbils – or just ‘gerbil’ to most are infact a jird. They are very human friendly and fit defintely into the underground-dwelling category.
Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillis gerbillis)
Easy-going attractive gerbils with very long tails and big old eyes! They live in large colonies and are underground to surface-dwelling. Maybe not so cuddly as other gerbils.
Fat Sand Rat (Psammomys obesus)
The most chunky of the gerbil family (like a small prarie dog) in the pet trade isn’t easy to keep at all – even though after looking at them your wouldn’t want 20! They have very special dietary requirements and high mortality rates, but are super friendly. Incase you were wondering – there is a Thin Sand Rat too, but not yet in the pet trade…
Fat-tailed gerbil (Pachyuromys duprasi)
Extremely human-friendly adorable pancakes of gerbils with a giant fat tail and are usually wider than they are long! They tend to live singly in our care, although they can live with relatives – although it can be tense…
Libyan jird (Meriones libycus)
Very gerbil-like jirds with great burrows and communal living in the wild – but very very unusual in the pet trade – so very little is know generally about their care (or how to get hold of them!) that they aren’t often seen – but fit into the underground and surface dwelling group
Moroccan jird (Meriones grandis)
This jirds is almost identical to Shaw’s jirds (quite chunky) and was once thought to be the same thing – so their care was thought to be the same – however the Shaw’s turned out to be much more human-friendly and do better in captivity for sure
Pallid gerbil (Gerbillis perpallidus)
Also called the Pale gerbil – these delicate little gerbils used to be much more common than they are now. They are a great first step away from Mongolian gerbils as they prefer a slightly different set up (less tunneling and more rocky) but are very friendly – just with bigger eyes, a long naked tail and giant eyes!
Persian jird (Meriones persicus)
The most elegant of the large jirds and very much in the rock-hopper group – they are so acrobatic we could watch them for hours! They love other Persians and bond well with almost every other Persian (if done when young) and live together virtually without issue (unless you have a breeding colony where the males might kick up a fuss)
Shaw’s jird (Meriones shawi)
Hugely popular in the past and again now as they are just so darn human-friendly – but not so much jird-friendly. Females are best kept alone – well you won’t have a choice in that to be honest, but males can co-habit – and defo the underground/suface-dwelling types. Just like ordinary gerbils doubled in size
Sundervall’s jird (Meriones crassus)
We can’t find much on these jirds in captivity – but they are very mouse-like jirds and run low to the ground like mice rather than appearing mainly on their back legs like other jirds. They are a decent size though – but I am afraid that is all I can say right now…