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Duprasi
The
Duprasi, or Fat-tailed Gerbil, is a small insectivorous
rodent from the northern Sahara desert. They are usually
3" to 4" inches in length and have a 2"
thick tai which they store excess fat and water. Their
tail is mostly bare with a few guard hairs. Duprasi
are not closely related to the Mongolian Gerbils. They
have very thick soft fur and a fluffy coat very simular
to a Chinchilla. They are tan to grey with black ticking
and a white underbelly. They are chunky in build with
alot of fat on the body. This makes them appear larger
than they are. Duprasis have a pointed snout with cat-like
whiskers.
Duprasi
are still quite rare in the pet trade. When purchasing
your Duprasi, you want to ake sure it is alert, pleasant
looking, in clean surroundings and have soft fluffy
fur. An article, written by, Dennis Quinter, published
in "Exotic Market Review" and "Animal
Finder's Guide" back in the early 90', provides
some added information.
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Housing
They
are sociable animals and sometimes live in colonies.
It's best to keep your Duprasi in an aquarium. We house
our Duprasi with lots of bedding, about 3" to 4"
inches, with 3" pvc pipe to burrow in and provide
them with a nesting house. We only use Aspen or Walnut
bedding. Wheels are a favorite of Duprasi.We use a Wodent
Wheel to avoid injury. We also provide them with a dust
bath about every other day. Other toys are also highly
recommended because Duprasi can become bored and sleep
their day away.
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Feeding
In
the wild, the north Sahara Dessert, they are mostly
insectivorous and live in gravely plains with patches
of bushy vegetation. Keep fresh water at all times.
We feed our Durprasi a mixture of rodent mix, mealworms,
crickets and some fruits and vegetables but at limited
amounts. A crock should be used for a food dish. Duprasis
love to kick and jump in their food while they eat.
The weight of the crock should help to keep some of
the food in the dish. We also provide them with a cuddle
bone for calcium and a mineral block that you can buy
from any petstore or feedstore. They
eat rodent blocks, raw peanuts, and Deluxe Hamster and
Gerbil Mix but pick through it and eat certain seeds.
They will also eat spinach, Romaine lettuce, and most
any greens including most weeds. They love mealworms,
crickets, moths and almost any other insect, even beetles.
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Fat-Tailed
Duprasi
Fat-tailed
Duprasi-Rodentia; Genus PACHYUROMYS (Fat-tailed Gerbil)
is new to the U.S. market. The body length is 4"-5"
with a tail length of 2". The tail is the unusual
part of this animal. It is used to store fat and water.
In most cases the bigger the tail the healthier the
animal. They are Diurnal (active day and night) and
normally very docile. The gestation period is 19-23
days with litter of size 3-6 young. The eyes are
and they are on there own at 3-4 weeks. They will
breed all year round. They are of chunky build with
Chinchilla-like fur of some length. The tips of the
fur is light colored and the base dark. They sometimes
go into a state similar to hibernation, but not true
hibernation, for periods of time. The
mating ritual is rather unusual. They stand on their
hind legs and wrestle, making squeaking noise. They
never seem to actually bite each other but they get
rather rowdy. If she is not receptive and he don't
give up, she will turn and kick bedding at him. When
the female is ready to have her litter, she will make
a nest and get a little nippy. It is probably best
to remove the male, but there is not a problem with
the male, the female gets stressed out in small cages.
They are good mothers. They are very docile and have
never try to bite when being handled. There is no
noticeable odor from their cage like you have with
Hamsters and Gerbils. They spend a lot of time grooming
their fur and washing their face. They like a sand
bath and it is good for their fur. They alternate
between napping and activity all day and night. They
like a wheel to run in but sometimes they may fight
over who gets to use it.
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