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Four Toed Jerboa Breeders

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Four Toed Jerboa
(Allactaga tetradactyla)

Article By Jim Collins

Range: restricted to the coastal plains of Libya & Egypt

Habitat: Coastal salt & clay deserts

Natural history:
In the wild state these jerboas construct simple burrows between 2-5 feet in length. Although they can walk at a leisurely pace they can also leap up to a meter when the necessity arises. Unlike most jerboas, the four -Toed often forages during the later part of the day as well as at night. Hibernation does not occur in this species. In common with most jerboa species, the Four-toed is a primarily solitary animal in nature. Water is rarely drank in the wild, with water requirements drawn from their diet and the licking of morning dew. Diet is comprised of seeds, roots, weeds and occasional insects.

The breeding season extends from February through to August with 1-2 litters per year. Litter size is usually 2-5. the gestation period is around a month in duration and the young stay with the mother for around 5 to 6 weeks after birth.

The highly restricted range of this species and the fact that the habitat is susceptible to agricultural conversion and tourism has caused this species to be considered as endangered and is officially listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of endangered Wildlife as being of vulnerable status to extinction.

Captive care:
This species can be kept singularly or in pairs if the accommodation is large enough and contains several pipes, nest boxes,etc. where the pair can keep separated when they so choose. Accommodation for four-toed Jerboas should either be in a very large converted aquaria or, more preferably, in self-made purpose built accommodation with high sides and a roof- allowing natural movement of this species. Substrate can be low-dust wood shavings or sand and a bath with chinchilla sand should always be provided. Rocks should be included in the accommodation, together with nest boxes and pipes (board, plastic or ceramic) buried into the substrate. shredded paper nesting material and/or hay should be provided - hay will also be eaten by jerboas.

The temperature should ideally be in the 70's and 80's during the day but can be allowed to drop significantly during the night. The accommodation should always be kept dry.

Captive diet should be concentrated on a quality dry rodent mixture and a foreign finch seed mixture, millet sprays and regular but small quantities of plant material - cultivated vegetables, weeds such as chickweed, dock, plantains, shepherd purse, persicaria, seeding grasses, dandelion etc. mini mealworms should be provided once or twice a week. A salt lick and mineral block should be provided and at least once a week the vegetation fed to this species should be soaked in a salt and mineral solution and the surplus moisture shaken-off, this is important for a species that feeds largely on saline plants in the wild.