Mongolian gerbils make great pets and out of all the gerbils and jird species out there – they hold the single name ‘gerbil’ very proudly. All other gerbils or jirds need their full name to show how different they are to ‘gerbils’ 1: Gerbils are really Jirds? Gerbils – as we know them from … Read more
Absolutely it is. Gerbils belong to the same giant family (well Order) as hamsters, mice, squirrels, beavers and even giant capybara – however, they are not that closely related to get excited about. Rodents are so named from the Latin word ‘to gnaw’ which gerbils do very well indeed. Who hasn’t had their gerbils gnaw … Read more
We all know gerbils are great – but there is an eponymous gerbil which is actually known as a Great Gerbil – and he is great in both name and size. Rhombomys opimus, as he is known to his friends, is a gerbil of such proportions that your 10″ Silent Spinner would quake in its … Read more
Gerbils are originally from central Asia – mainly Mongolia – which is where they get their full name from: Mongolian Gerbils (or Mongolian Jirds – but either way, Mongolia is the place to be). They are found across a wide area of Asia around Mongolia along with all their relatives, including the Shaw’s Jirds, Tamarisk … Read more