What Are Jerboas
By:Charlotte Wells Liddy
About Jerboas
What are jerboas? Jerboas are a type of mamal. In a smaller group they are a rodent. A jerboas habitat is in dry places in Asia, Africa and deserts. They eat seeds, insects and plants. Jerboas body length is two to six inches long. This is an amazing creature to know and I hope you enjoy my poster.
Appearance
Jerboas are a type of rodent.They grow up to be two to six inches long.Jerboas have four legs, a very long tail and huge ears. Their hind legs are about four times longer than the front legs.Jerboas long hind legs are used to jump.Their strong and long legs will get them to jump up to three meters high.Jerboas will have three to five toes on the hind legs. A jerboas tail will grow up to be eight inches long. Jerboas have a long tail for balance. With those extremly two long legs and tiny feet it will be hard to balance while jumping and landing. The jerboa has big ears. They are not always like that. Some jerboas have ears that are extreamly big,some have long slender ears and some are small and round.
Lastly, jerboas are a light brown colour. This helps them blend in.
Diagram af a Jerboa Wild jerboa Captive Jerboa
What do Jerboas Eat?
Jerboas are omnivors. Their usual diet is eating insects, plants and seeds. They eat mostly flying insects, desert grass and no specific type of seeds. Wild jerboas get their water from the insects and the juicy parts of plants. Jerboas that are pets are given water that is seperate from the food.
Food Web
Jerboas are known to be prey to a lot of animals. The most common predators to a jerboa are the animals that are nocturnal. For example the owl, snakes, foxes, jackels, wolves and if in a busy place then house cats. The preys of a jerboa are insects and desert grass.
Life Cycle
A jerboa`s usual life span is 4 to 6 years. They start off as a baby. The female breeds about two or three times a year.The mother jerboa will usually have about two to six babies in each litter When a jerboa is born the eyes and ears are closed. The long hind legs are not yet developed until they are about eight weeks old. That means that they do not learn how to jump at about 11 weeks old.
They also start off with no fur. The tail is very short and a lot of the body parts are the same length.
Barrowing
Barrowing is very important to a small animal like a jerboa. It`s actually so important to a jerboa that they have 4 different barrows. Summer barrow, a winter barrow, a day one and the night barrow. The summer barrow is used when estivating. Estivating is when it is too hot.The winter barrow is used to hibernate. The day barrow is used to hide from the predators of the jerboa. The night barrow is used to store. The winter and summer barrows are used permanently.
Intresting Facts
- When a jerboa is walking slowly it will either walk on a four legs or jump.
- Jerboas only weigh an ounce or a couple more.
- Those little front legs are used to dig and to handle food.
- A bear is not the only animal that hibernates. Most jerboas hibernate through winter too.
- Jerboas don`t just jump for fun: they jump to get away from predators.