The Mongolian Gerbil is usually known as a house pet. But they also live in some harsh areas of the world. They live in the Mongolian Desert which is in Northern China and Russia. The Mongolian Desert is a cold Desert. They eat different parts of plants for their diet. Their predators are mostly birds. They dig burrow as their homes. Their burrow has many openings so they can escape when a predator comes into their burrow. They also live in groups for protection. When a gerbil sees a predator, it will warn the others by stomping on their feet.
Gerbils are warm blooded and are mammals. They have thin ears and red eyes. The front leg is shorter than the back leg. Their tail is long and thin. They live for about 3 years. The longest that they live is 5 years. When they are born, their size is about that of a peanut. Their parent will care for the young. The pup can have other pups when they are 14-20 months old.
When they live in the classroom or your house, you will need a glass water bottle, a food bowl, and a glass cage with wire frame on top. They could have some toys and something to chew on because their teeth keep growing all their lives. Soft bedding would be good and a wheel for their exercise. Their food source can be dog food, veggi, carrots, and sunflower seed. Their favorite food would be sunflower seeds, but you shouldn't feed them sunflower seed all the time because they will get very fat.
You should play with you gerbil often. When you pick them up, lay your hand down and they will come up to you. Beware, if you are not used to it, you can always wear gloves.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetida
Genus: Meriones
Species: unguiculatus