Gerbils, Hamsters, Rats, and Mice

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Gerbils, Hamsters, Rats, and Mice

• Ms. Cichon
• Rosholt High School

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Gerbils
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Facts

• Known as the sand rat
• 14 species
• Active in the day and night
• Easy to work with, gentle
• Has no special food or housing requirements
• Drinks little water
• Virtually odorless
• Seldom will bite

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What does it look like?

• Approximately 6-8 inches from nose to tail.
• It has a short body and medium-long tail
• Hind legs are similar to those of a kangaroo
• Walk on all four
• Stands on hind legs
• The color is used to camouflage against sand and
  rock
• Now can be found in blacks and whites also

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Characteristics

• Scent gland on its stomach
• Communicates through drumming
• Life expectancy is 2-4 years

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Housing

• Gerbils should have more cage space than hamsters
• Same cage equipment
• Needs to be chew proof

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Feeding

• Common grains corn, oats, wheat, and barely
• Although gerbils love sunflower seeds they lead
  to obesity
• Green foods such as cabbage, carrots, turnips,
  and beets also add variety and are rich in
  minerals. (Use sparingly-leads to diarrhea)
• Water should always be available.

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Handling

• Gerbil should be picked up by placing your hand
  over the back of the gerbil and encircling his
  body with your thumb and forefinger
• It should NEVER be picked up by the tail. The
  skin can break and pull off, leaving the tailbone
  exposed.

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Diseases

• Respiratory infections are most common
• Symptoms loss of appetite, constant sneezing,
  runny eyes and nose
• Nasal dermatitis, known as red nose
• Symptoms hair loss or red, swollen areas of
  skin around the nose and muzzle
• Tyzzers disease

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• Quiz Time

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Hamsters
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Facts

• Golden hamster is the most abundant
• In 1931, young hamsters were shipped to the US
  Public Health Service Research Center in Carvill,
  Louisiana
• The true hamster has large black eyes and erect
  ears

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What does it look like?

• Adult hamsters are 5-6 inches long with short
  stump of a tail
• Today the Golden hamster can be found in many
  different colors
• Long-haired or teddy bear
• Two colors or piebald
• Regular or satin fur
• Dwarf Hamsters

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Characteristics

• Male hamsters have sweat glands on their flanks
• Hamsters are nocturnal
• Protective of their territory
• Hoarder of food
• More friendly when they are out of their cage
• After five weeks of age they should not have
  friends in their cage of they will fight
• If the temperature drops below 50 degree F they
  will go into hibernations

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Housing

• Gnaw proof
• Aquariums
• Wire cages
• Water bottle most be able to hang
• Wheels are good for mental and physical health

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Feeding

• Diet should contain corn, millet, wheat, oats,
  sorghum, and rape seed
• Dont feed soft-types of food
• May eat dog food

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Handling

• Do not disturb when sleeping
• If you must wake it tap the cage first
• Young hamsters should not be handled until their
  eyes are open
• Eye sight is not good

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Diseases

• Wet Tail
• Symptoms wetness around tail and rear areas
  caused by runny diarrhea, become weak, redness
  around anus
• Tyzzers disease, causes high death rates
  highly contagious
• Symptoms rough coats, diarrhea, lose weight,
  appear listless and inactive

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Quiz Time
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Rats
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Facts

• They are apart of the Murinae family
• True rats form the genus Rattus
• Rattus contains 78-570 species
• Believed to originate from Southern Asia
• Established in England in the 1200 and was the
  major reservoir for the Black Plague which killed
  more than ¼ of the population in the 1300s.
• Wild rats cause damage to eggs, fruit, stored
  grain, and vegetables, and they attack other
  animals.

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What does it look like?

• The Black Rat
• 7-8 inches long including head and body
• Tail is longer then the head and body
• Color is black or dark gray with brown on its
  belly
• Excellent jumper
• The Brown Rat
• 7-10 inches long head and body
• Tail is always shorter than the body
• Thicker and ears are shorter
• Not a climber and lives in tunnels, burrows,
  sewers, and basements
• Varieties
• Caused by mutations and selective breeding

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Characteristics

• Use their scaly tail for balance
• Excellent swimmers
• Submerge for 2-3 minutes
• Can jump up to 2 feet
• Very curious
• Clean and odor-free, clean groom themselves or
  each other
• Domesticated seldom bite
• When they become upset they stiffen their body
  and arch their back
• They do best when they have other rat friends
• Primarily nocturnal
• In the wild they rarely live up to a year-
  Domesticated live up to 3 years

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Housing

• 2 cubic feet per rat
• Very active and need large cage ability
• Gnaw on material
• Water bottle must be hung
• Bedding
• Watch out for phenol, which can be toxic

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Feeding

• Pellets are easy
• Treats should make up less than 10 of diet
• Vitamin and mineral supplements are available
• At risk if it intakes too much when drinking
  water it could refuse to drink any more water
  because of the taste difference
• Consume an ounce of water or more per day

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Handling

• Grasp around the body behind the front legs
• May be picked up by the tail if close to the body
• Be careful of older rats
• Be careful if they are not tame- go slow
• NEVER be grasped at the tip of the tail- it WILL
  twist and squirm and the tail or skin can break
  loose

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Diseases

• Respiratory infections are most common
• Symptoms loss of appetite, constant sneezing,
  runny eyes and nose
• Pneumonia, Pasteurella, Bordetella, Mycoplasma,
  and Pseudomonas
• Symptoms pneumonia like symptoms, respiratory
• Mites
• Symptoms hair loss, skin irrigation, itching

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• Quiz Time

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Mice
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Facts

• 36 species
• Best known is the house mouse
• Mouse comes from an old Sanskrit word meaning
  theif
• From Asia- but now are around the world
• Claim to fame- reproduction (Greek)
• Its raining mice mice are made of raindrops
• Through careful breeding mice are now gentler and
  less timid than their ancestors

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What does it look like?

• 2.5 to 3.5 inches including the tail
• 50 different fancy varieties
• Self colors or mice of one color
• Tans
• Piebald (spots, patches, broken patterns)
• Satin coat
• More

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Characteristics

• Eyes are very large but they can not see well
• They can hear VERY well
• Primarily nocturnal
• Prefer company of other mice
• Members of a colony leave urine markings
• Males produce more odor than females

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Housing

• 72 square inches and 8 inches of height
• Same bedding as rats
• Bedding should be changed once a week
• Water bottle hung

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Feeding

• Pellets are easy
• Needs corn, oats, wheat
• Mice love sunflower seeds but should be added
  sparingly
• Veggies are great
• Dandelions, carrots, apples, date, raisins
• Mice will not over eat

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Handling

• Can climb ropes climb ladders, run on wheels
• Should not be picked up at the end of the tail or
  napped at the neck
• When brought home they should be left alone from
  two days
• Stroke the mouse by its head and ears

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Diseases

• Respiratory infections are most common
• Symptoms loss of appetite, squeeking, rattling
  breath, running nose
• Pneumonia, Pasteurella, Bordetella, Mycoplasma,
  and Pseudomonas
• Symptoms pneumonia like symptoms, respiratory
• Mites
• Symptoms hair loss, skin irrigation, itching

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• Quiz Time