Jird

A Jird is a type of dessert rat that looks like a gerbil, but the size of a rat. They have lovely big eyes and surprisingly soft fur, which when you look at one, the fur looks quite coarse. They are sandy coloured on their backs, faces and tail, whereas their undersides are all white. Jirds are very friendly, and therefore do not bite, but they are quite nervous animals, and taming them takes a while and plenty of patience. They are very fast, strong and agile, and when choosing one, it is best to buy a large aquarium and make a wooden framed wire mesh for the lid. Plus, like other rodents, they also need plenty of toys to chew on. I use thick large cardboard tubes. You can hang these from the wire mesh lid using either a chain or an old wire coat hanger. Also, rat toys are very good for play, such as ladders with dangling wooden chews, and also a couple of stale hard crusted ends of a baguette makes excellent gnawing for teeth. For treats, they love pieces of apple, carrot, cucumber, broccoli and courgette. In the wild these animals eat insects, as well as nuts and seeds. I give mine a couple of mealworms or some small pieces of crispy bacon, and for food, it has gerbil & mouse muesli mix. When choosing a Jird; if you only want one, then it is best to get a female, as females can only live on their own as they can become aggressive towards other Jirds as they get older, but if you decide to get two, then you would need two males, as they cannot live alone, and males like to scent mark. Jirds like to burrow, therefore it is best to put plenty of wood shavings at the bottom of the tank. An aquarium is more suited because Jirds like to try and kick wood shavings around as far as possible. And when choosing a wheel, it has to be tail friendly, such as a gerbil or rat wheel, and an exercise ball has to be a larger one for a rat.

If you like rats and gerbils, then you will love Jirds.