# Greater Jerboa Diet



## PPVallhunds (May 23, 2010)

Can anyone who has kept or keep the greater jerboas tell me what they fed theres on?
Have got a pair recently and had read befor getting them they can be fed seeds, rodent mix and veg but not fruit and insects. 
One of them its tail is not looking as good as the other ones tail.
When trying to find info on diet I couldn't realy find much at all so Ive tried to offer them a bit of every thing I can think of to see what they want. So far ive offered a mix of seeds finch/parakeet (they seem to like the seeds), rodent food, veg like carrot, parsnip and spring greens so far (they seem to like the greens and carrot). Tried mealworms and crickets. millit. also giving hay and alpha hay as I saw someone say the lesser ones like them and they do seem to like them too and have also offered a bit of chinchilla food which they seem to like as well.


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## mrcriss (Nov 2, 2010)

Just google "greater jerboa care" and it comes up with a few websites that have diet plans for them.

They may have a longer acclimatising period than most mammals, because they're likely to be wild caught animals. :/


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## PPVallhunds (May 23, 2010)

yeah thanks I had already tried google before getting them, can only find a handful of ones, so was wondering what others here offer to see if anyone was doing something different. There just doesn't seem to be much info on them about.


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## duffey1 (Aug 24, 2012)

My group used to thrive on a diet of finch mix (foreign finch), gerbil mix, thinly sliced carrot, cucumber & sweet potato. 

As a desert species their liquid intake is via food - hence the carrot, cucumber & sweet potato. Hay was supplied, but only used for bedding. 

If they escape, they are capable of very long jumps! And the hind claws can inflict a painful scratch!

I found that supplying water - either in bowls or bottles - to be a waste of time. The required liquid intake is supplied by use of moist vegetable matter - Jerboas, Bushy-Tails & Prairie Dogs (and other desert species) have all thrived on this regime. In fact, when the first Mongolian Gerbils were brought into captivity, their liquid intake was supplied via food, with no water being offered!


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## PPVallhunds (May 23, 2010)

thank you, so im offering them all there need it seems. These two seem to like eating the hay. One is more layed back and the other is a bit more highly strung.
The plan is to have them in a walk in enclosure with sand and rock once they settle in and get use to people being about.


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

I used to feed mine a foreign finch diet as a staple. I also used to offer leafy veg and nasturtiums, which they seemed to love. Once a week I also offered mealies in a bowl. They would take some, but only when the female was pregnant. Another pair I had would take mealies quite regularly. They all had hay to use as bedding, I only noticed little being consumed.


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## PPVallhunds (May 23, 2010)

Thank you Matt. The one with the thinner tail is looking better already so good news. Ive also found it likes to sleep upside down normaly with the other sleeping on top of it. One came over to see what was going on today befor going back to bed. Im quite taken with these little freaks, its as if nothing on there body matches like they were made up of odd spair parts lol


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## Matt Lusty (Aug 20, 2008)

Haha. Yes they look like pygmy furry t-rexes! Lol The ones I had didn't mind handling in moderation and never attempted to bite or kick slice me. I've heard of others leaving a nasty slice wound on their owners when being handled. Mine used to look like they enjoyed a tickle (whether they actually did or not is another matter).


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## PPVallhunds (May 23, 2010)

ooo id not hurd about kick slicing! thanks for the warning. So far they just hop about and sometimes stamp there little feet. One is more intrested than the other.


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