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Gerbils (Laboratory) - Pathology (view source)
Revision as of 10:13, 12 August 2011
, 10:13, 12 August 2011→General Behavioural Characteristics
==General Behavioural Characteristics==
==General Behavioural Characteristics==
Gerbils do not have cheek pouches like hamsters but they do exhibit very pronounced hoarding characteristics and it has been found that even under controlled temperature, humidity and day-length conditions gerbils will engage in extensive hoarding behaviours. In their natural habitat, gerbils dig out burrows that can be up to 170cm deep and can extend horizontally for up to 8 metres. These underground complexes often contain nests, hoarding chambers and connecting tunnels. Therefore laboratory housing for gerbils should take both the hoarding and burrowing behaviours into consideration.
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Some laboratory studies have found that under laboratory housing conditions, gerbils may develop a stereotypic digging behaviour. An example of this would be digging at the corner of the plastic housing container despite there being no material to move from the plastic. Changes in the housing parameters such as vastly increasing the housing size or the provision of natural substrates such as sand or soil has been shown to prevent this stereotypic digging behaviour. This behaviour often develops in juveniles. It has been shown that the provision of housing with burrows or a tiered tunnel structure can help to reduce this behaviour.
==Anatomy and Histology==
==Anatomy and Histology==