Another picture of Moth. Unfortunately I haven't got many, she's been in hiding for a week and I didn't go and dig her out when I should have. We are now getting back on track with taming her, but it is going to be tricky. Unfortunately an importance difference between hamsters and dupraisi seems to be the duprasi love of insects. The only treat I have found to tempt Moth so far is live waxworms. As I'm rather phobic about wriggly things, this is proving difficult.......... However a move into a slightly smaller cage for a bit so she has to engage more, whilst I simplify her big one, and a concerted effort from me and we should soon be back on track. I've also got perspex for the doors of her big cage, as I suspect the cat might have distressed her a bit. My hamsters and gerbils never bothered about the cat, but they were in a tank. I hate drilling ventilation holes in perspex, but needs must.
Anyway, a bit more info about the Duprasi - also known as fat-tailed gerbils or 'doops'. There are a couple of slightly different variations, although I'm not sure exactly what the differences are. They come from the Sahara region, and are desert, burrowing rodents. The fat tail that gives them their name is used to store fluid and fat - like a mini camel hump!
Duprasi are actually part of the gerbil family, but aren't as agile as the usual mongolian gerbil that is usually seen in pet shops. In fact the advice on cage set up is similar to that of hamsters - no high ledges that they can fall off (apparently they are even more clumsy than hamsters) and be careful with ramps. It appears they can start going up a ramp, change their mind, try to turn round and fall off. Although they are actually quite good at climbing up, they ain't good at getting down. I do sometimes wonder if Darwin really got his theory right - you wonder how some species made it this far!
They are very active and love running. A suggested cage layout is to have most stuff away from the walls, so they can get all around the outside of the cage and do loops. With this in mind, I have one house at the edge of my set up, but it has holes in both sides so Moth can just run through it. A wheel is also a must. Most things I've read recommend a 20cm minimum, but others suggest 28cm. Moth currently has the 21cm Buccastate wheel, but I'll see how we go on and size up if needed as she gets older.
As mentioned above duprasi are insect lovers. The elongated nose is apparently a sign of an insectivore, so whilst hamsters might like the odd mealworm etc. duprasi need plenty of insects in their diet. They can have just dried, and I initially bought dried mealworms and crickets. Or they can have pellets for insectivores, such as hedgehogs, mixed in with seeds and fresh greens. However they also like fresh, and waxworms are a particular fav. I am feeding them to Moth by tweezers, as there is no way I can manage to touch them. She goes crazy as soon as she smells them and snatches them off me. It's fine at the moment as she is still growing, but waxworms are high in fat, so I will need to be careful not to over feed them unless I want an obese duprasi on my hands!
Like gerbils, and in contrast to hamsters, duprasi don't have pouches, and don't make food stores. They also don't seem to be potty trainable, so cleaning is more difficult. Duprasi need sand baths to help themselves keep clean. They seem to get quite greasy looking, although there is some debate on whether this is a genetic trait, as some are more greasy than others. Getting them to rummage through hay is another way of reducing the grease in the coat apparently. Moth hasn't looked greasy to me yet, although I can see she seems to have some hint of it in the photo above.
As with the majority of small rodents, duprasi are mostly crepuscular, so active at dawn and dusk. Moth has really only been coming out at night, which is a bit unusual as far as I can make out. What drew me to duprasi was their ability to adapt and become more day loving. They are supposed to be laid back, and have a habit of 'pancaking' - they just form a puddle in your hand. Moth is being very grumpy with me at the moment, so we are working. Again, this may be due to the smell of cat, or may be because she is a girl, and they can be a bit more territorial. I know she was well handled, she sat quite happily in my hand when I got her, but leaving her for a week was a mistake. I should have maintained contact.
The final thing I can think of is the issue of keeping multiples or solos. The admittedly small community still doesn't have much of a consensus on this. Some say they can live together, but sibling or mother - daughter pairings are best. For some they may live happily to start, but then fall out and need to be separated, as they can kill each other when they fight. It's also recognised that they can live quite happily alone. The most sensible advice I saw, was that if you don't have space or cash for 2 large set ups, it's best to have just one. If you are going to have multiple, ensure the cage has at least 2 of everything, preferably 3. Even if duprasi live together happily, they may prefer to sleep separately.
That's all I can think of for now. If you can think of anything I've missed, just ask
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