Thames Valley Rodents

The persian jird is a graceful, close relative of the mis-named mongolian gerbil (which is infact a jird).

Originating from Turkey, Afganistan, Iran etc, this stunning species is a sandy buff colour with a pale belly. A furred tail longer than the length of the animals body end in a tuft. The hind feet are large and give the jird its ability to jump and run at speed.

It never fails to amaze me that persian jirds are not more commonly seen as pets. They are smaller than the average fancy rat but considerably larger than a gerbil making them easy to handle and they do not have any of the strong odours so often associated with rodents in general. They are clean, social and active and take well to being handled.

These jirds are one of the few rodents I trust not to bite at a finger pushed through the bars of their enclosure. Infact, I can't think of another rodent that is less inclined to bite the handler and this in itself makes them fantastic as a pet species especially for children and I hope to see them gain in popularity in the future.

Whilst many people keep their jirds on a standard rodent mix, I prefere to give mine a mixture of seeds topped up with a small quantity of rodent mix. The mix consists of various millets, groats, clipped oats, a few cat or dog biscuits and home dried pumpkin, squash and melon seeds. To this mix I usually include a wild bird 'crumble' containing oats, dried mealworms, peanuts, sunflower seeds etc.

My jirds will nibble at bits of fresh stuff when it is provided but be careful not to over do it, they are not really designed to consume large quantities of fruit and vegetables. Small amounts of cheese, cooked chicken, baked or toasted bread etc make great additions to the diet.

Jirds are best kept in either a large glass tank (at least three foot) or in a big wire cage with a deep base. Dont try keeping them in a cage with a shallow base as you will spend half of your day hoovering up the substrate that has been unceremoniously kicked between the bars and over your carpet.

My current group are in a large rat cage with several levels (which miraculously they haven't chewed!) and a nice deep base and even then I still have to sweep up piles of Aubious ever day. Whilst I have no doubt that if they wished the jirds could easily gnaw out of the bottom of their cage, they have made no attempts to nibble at the plastic and choose instead to twang the bars of their cage at three in the morning when I would rather like them to be asleep...

Glass tanks save on the mess and provide great digging opportunities but these jirds could easily be considered semi arboreal and really do like to climb. In an ideal world, provide a glass tank with a wire 'cage topper'. If (like me) you are less than skilled with a pair of wire cutters, Pets at Home sell ready made ones in standard sizes. Whilst these are rather pricey, they are better than anything I could make myself and will with stand an unrelenting attack from jird teeth if need be.

These gregarious animals have never given me any problems regarding introductions or dominance  struggles and I have been able to simply throw new individuals together and let them get on with it with absolutely no worries. Some stern tail wagging and a bit of rolling around seems to be about as violent as they get. My current group consists of two males and two females... A bit of an experiment but so far so good. We wait with baited breath to see if and how it affects breeding behaviour.

Regarding breeding, gestation period is around 28 - 30 days and average litter size is 6 - 8 although bigger litters are not unusual. Two to three litters can be produced during the year and they generally seem disinclined to breed during the winter months. The babies eyes open after two and a half weeks and by five weeks they can be seperated from their parents if required although babies can be left in the colony with no problems so long as too much inbreeding is avoided.

Five or six years is an average lifespan for a persian jird although there are several reports of rather older animals so do be prepared to have these guys for a while.