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Scientific Name: |
Meriones persicus
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A beautiful picture made by Wim Duran.
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The Persian jird lives from eastern Turkey to Pakistan.
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The Persian jird lives in rocky environments. Rocky mountain area's, up to a height of 3250 m. and the rock fences between the high agricultural grounds are their favorite habitat.
They build their nests mainly between the boulders. If they need to burrow in an open landscape, their burrow is rather simple. They do make several entrances though. Those burrows are not deeper than 1 m.
Persian jirds live in small family groups.
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The gestation period of Persian jirds is about 28 days. They become up to 10 young. Most litters are born in spring or summer.
The mother will make a nest which will not be shared with the other jirds in the tank. Persians are good mothers, normally all pups will survive.
If Persian jirds don't reproduce, you might want to change their environment. Off course they need enough space! Otherwise they won't breed, unlike other gerbil species, when the tank is too crowdy, no pups will be born at all.
Persian jirds can reach an age of 6-7 years.
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Maintenance and behaviour in captivity:
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A nice Persians enclosure.
Picture by Wim Duran.
The most important thing is the space you give your Persian jirds. A pair or three jirds need at least 1/2 square meter surface. If they have less space they won't reproduce.
Persian jirds are very peaceful, fights almost never occur. But a female jird with pups will defend her nest with all her power!
These jirds are excellent climbers and jumpers, thus need enough space and material to climb and jump on and off. They move very elegant! Almost like a cat.
As bedding you can use wood shavings or corn cob bedding, they don't need sand.
Make sure you give them a nest box. Some hay or tissues serves as nesting material.
You can feed your Persian jirds with the same food as the other gerbil species; a good hamster mix or laboratory blocks. They appreciate some meal worms or dry cat food on a regular basis. Persians don't drink much, but provide fresh water always and give them some fruit or vegetables once in a while.
One typical characteristic these jirds have is gathering food, as much as they can. They will tuck it away firmly in a corner or pot. Be aware of this, they might stock ounces of food this way. And still they will keep begging for more!
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A great Persians enclosure!
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