# Jerry my Jerboa !



## slimeysnail (Jan 29, 2009)

Well, after all of the posting and searching I have done online.. my search finally paid off, when I found a Jerboa being advertised down in Essex.

So Wednesday evening, we set off on the long drive to pick up this amazing creature!.. Edinburgh- Lincolnshire, then Lincolnshire to Exeter.. and back..

We got back to Edinburgh today, so Jerry as we have called him, has had a long, stressful journey. I have been leaving him alone as much as possible, but just before he goes into his new enclosure, I took a quick pic of him. 

So here he is... I am so pleased to introduce.. Jerry .... 













The poor little guy is very quiet and stressed, which is understandable, so no more bugging him tonight. Watch this space for more pictures, and stories of what he gets up to in the coming weeks/months/years hehe! 

He is a little on the scrawny side- thin etc.. but hopefully now he is in his forever home, I will make him comfy and allow him to thrive (my aim anyway!)

Dare I even mention, if anyone knows of any Jerboas available in the future- to please let me know, as I do intend on getting him a friend or two in the future. 

I am in love already.. I was the second I saw him... Hehe :flrt:


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## kelsey7692 (Jul 28, 2010)

He's lovely 

I adore small exotic furries


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## photographymatt (Mar 6, 2006)

awww.I love these lil guys. My friend had a few. they are very wierd

I mean this next bit in a nice way.....if theres a god, she/she was reaaaaaallllllyyy stoned when they thought up the jerboas:-D

I would love one in the future myself. how did the drive go? 

more pics when he/she is settled btw:-D hehe


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## photographymatt (Mar 6, 2006)

ps.......

Two Greater Egyptian Jerboa in my kitchen - www.petsugargliders.eu/other-pets/greater-egyptian-jerboa | Flickr - Photo Sharing!


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## Kaouthia (Sep 30, 2010)

Hey! Somebody cut the back end off your hamster! :gasp:

Seriously, it looks like a head on stilts. Awesome.


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## Kaouthia (Sep 30, 2010)

photographymatt said:


> ps.


ooooh, I was just showing that video to the wife earlier today on Youtube.


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## alpacasoflewis (Jun 13, 2010)

Aww congrats - he's so cute...look at those little legs!
Look forward to more photos!


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## hippyhaplos (Jan 12, 2010)

He's beautiful!

I'm not jealous... not jealous at all


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## Ruffun (Apr 22, 2010)

I absolutely love Jerboa. I rememebr doing a report on it when i was 8 and i fell in love with them 

Very jealous.


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## daikenkai (May 24, 2007)

Oh my Lord he is just gorgeous! This is making me want one even more! Congrats on your hugely cute new arrival and also...GIMME!:flrt:


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## slimeysnail (Jan 29, 2009)

Hehe thankyou for the comments. :2thumb:Yes he is a crazy looking guy, but so adorable!! I cant help but sneak into my animal room to keep checking on him.. but he is wrapped up in his bed at the minute. :whip:


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## slimeysnail (Jan 29, 2009)

Lmao, Jerry has honestly turned my brain to mush.. The first post about getting him, and I couldnt even add 9+9.. and now I am saying he was from Essex.. it was Exeter, Devon! 

The drive was not too bad.. on the way there it was fine.. the excitement kept me going lol, but on the way home.. the drive got boring..very boring :bash: 

But so totally worth it :no1::flrt:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

Wow he is sooooooo cute:flrt:They remind me of wingless birds:lol2:


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## xvickyx (Jul 21, 2009)

awwwwww so cute! live their little legs 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Pouchie (Feb 9, 2008)

I don't want to take the shine off it but as I said on the other thread when you asked about these I really do feel that we shouldn't be promoting Jerboas as pets when they cannot be bred in captivity. All it does is fuel the trade of wild caught Jerboas and drive them to becoming endangered.

They are adorably cute but its just not worth it in my opinion. It would be heart breaking if they became extinct.

This is an extreme opinion and you could say lets keep trying to breed them but I've known loads of attempts and nobody seems able to crack it.

It only takes one thread like this for dozens more people to search for a pet Jerboa - all most likely wild caught. So many will have died just to get one survive for the pet trade.


Also - if you found any more it is not easy to introduce these fragile creatures. They may well kill each other even if your enclosure is massive.

If you do try to breed and find a female I'd be happy to try to help with getting them introduced and sorry to be so doom and gloom but I really do think if we cannot conserve a species in captivity we should boycott the wild trapping of them.

That said, you've got Jerry now and I'm sure you will enjoy him very much. 

It might be worth you mentioning to other people who ask you about him that they tend to be wild caught so that the next person can also make an informed decision about whether to get one.

______________________

on another note - just a tip really. I can't tell from the photo what Jerry is housed in but is he in his enclosure? If so the hard surface will eventually cause him some painful leg/ joint problems. he needs a deep substrate of a few inches preferably sand so that when he hops along, the landing is a cushioned one and takes some of the impact if that makes sense? I could pm you all this but put it here to help others thinking of keeping Jerboa.
Hope this helps.


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## Zoo-Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Pouchie said:


> I don't want to take the shine off it but as I said on the other thread when you asked about these I really do feel that we shouldn't be promoting Jerboas as pets *when they cannot be bred in captivity*. All it does is fuel the trade of wild caught Jerboas and drive them to becoming endangered.
> 
> They are adorably cute but its just not worth it in my opinion. It would be heart breaking if they became extinct.
> 
> ...


Wow, I didn't know this Pouchie! Thats pretty bad actually! I think people just tend to think as it's a rodent, it will breed like a rodent, often & without assistance. Thats a real shame! 

Im with you on this! People need educating on this, & if Jerboas cannot be bred in captivity, then the trade in them should be tightly regulated & keeping of them restricted.


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## vogelport (Feb 4, 2008)

*Aww*

hes gorgeous,looks like he needs a good dust bath after the long trip home! :lol2:


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## Cookaaaaay (Mar 8, 2009)

Aw, Jerry is beautiful! :mf_dribble::mf_dribble::mf_dribble:


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## Shell195 (May 31, 2007)

I never knew this either, they do look very delicate little critters so no wonder so many die when wild caught


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## slimeysnail (Jan 29, 2009)

Pouchie said:


> I don't want to take the shine off it but as I said on the other thread when you asked about these I really do feel that we shouldn't be promoting Jerboas as pets when they cannot be bred in captivity. All it does is fuel the trade of wild caught Jerboas and drive them to becoming endangered.
> 
> They are adorably cute but its just not worth it in my opinion. It would be heart breaking if they became extinct.
> 
> ...


I guess I feel now, I shouldnt have even posted the picture of Jerry... so I apologise..

I apologise in advance if the person I got him from is on this forum and reads this, but I dont really believe that he has been on the best diet- as he is extremely thin. He is greasy, was offered water etc etc. But that said, I aim to give him the very best in life now that I have him..

I was told he was originally from a petshop- whom had three. One unfortunately broke his leg in transit, and the other died shortly after.. which proves just how delicate they are.. and that they are not a ''pet'' to handle and ''cuddle'' no matter how cute they are. 

Taking Jerry on, was not a light decision.. and I did know that a huge proportion of Jerboas are wild caught. Though that said, I have been contacted by two people.. one of which has successfully bred a species of Jerboa.. and another, which knows of a captive breeding facility of Jerboas. How true this is, I dont know until I have more information.

Jerry is 9 months old, his previous owner had him since June, and the shop said he was 4-5 months old.

I did say that the cage I had him in was only temporary so I could prepare his enclosure.. but first off I did want to check his poos.. urine etc too- hence the newspaper. He was only on newspaper for a few hours.. and most of that time he was snuggled upon a fleece. He is now in his new enclosure which I have done to try and replicate a desert environment as much as possible.


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