Handling Duprasi
Duprasi are generally very docile in nature, especially the males, and make an excellent first pet for someone who is interested in more exotic species but hasn't got the experience or confidence to deal with the faster rodents. Since Fat-tailed gerbils don't have complicated dietary requirements, are slow moving and unlikely to bite, they may also make a good alternative for a child who wants something slightly more unusual than a hamster.
Fat-tailed gerbils do have a keen sense of smell so if you have recently handled other pets or food, you may want to wash your hands before picking them up. Unless woken from a deep sleep, Duprasi are very unlikely to bite and are quite content to sit on your hand unlike their more active cousins, the Mongolian Gerbils. Fat-tailed Gerbils can be cage-defensive and it's best not to wake them up abruptly or disturb their nest, especially during the day when they are less active.
To pick a Duprasi up you can either place your hand palm up and wait for them to come to you, or you can gently scoop it up from its sides using both hands. You may also want to place a toilet roll or similar in and simply pick this up once your Duprasi has climbed inside.
An agitated Duprasi may vibrate in your hand, and one way to soothe them is to gently turn upside and stroke their tummy. This may calm them down and could even soothe them to sleep!
Duprasi Environment
Duprasi can be kept in a vivarium or tank providing adequate ventilation is given. They are not good climbers so it is important to give them plenty of floorspace, a good minimum is the 60x45cm Exo-Terra or a two foot tank. Gently sloped playstix or other climbing material can be used to provide climbing to wooden ledges or structures.
They must have items to hide and nest in, toilet tubes, cork tubes, coconut hides and other items are suitable. Duprasi do like to chew so plastic should be avoided. Tree branches provide valuable chewing material for ever-growing teeth, although first check it is safe wood for rodents.
Duprasi do like to dig so a good quality substrate needs to be at least 2 inches deep. A layer of hay provides good chewing and aids their digestion.
A rodent-safe bedding should be given to allow your Duprasi to construct a decent nest. You can also offer cotton pods to allow your Duprasi to chew open and then distribute his own bedding.
Duprasi must have a sandbath to allow them to clean themselves. This prevents their fur from getting greasy and can be left in permanently although may need changing every few days.
A solid-based wheel at least 6.5 inches gives them great exercise and live insects can be given for enrichment.
Duprasi Diet
Fat-tailed gerbils do not have a complicated diet for an exotic rodent, and in fact does not differ that much from a Mongolian gerbils. As with any animal, preferences will not be the same for each individual so it is important to ensure you are offering your Duprasi a variety of foods.
Water
Duprasi do not drink a great deal, but water must be constantly available. Bottle or bowl is fine for this although the later should be checked and changed frequently as it may well get buried.
Seeds
A normal hamster or gerbil mix forms a good base mix for a Duprasi's diet. Gerri Gerbil is a good mix we use for both Mongolian and Duprasi. Alfalfa pellets can also be given.
Insects
Duprasi's natural diet would include a sizeable array of insects so a captive diet should do their best to include this. Crickets and mealworms are a good inclusion, either live or dried. Another good addition is an insectivore mix such as Bogena Universal.
Protein
Scrambled egg is a good fresh source of this. Dry cat food is another option and some keepers also supply rodent blocks.
Fresh
Your Duprasi will appreciate small offerings of most fruit or vegetables. These should not be given daily and care should be taken to ensure your Duprasi does not have large amounts of water in their diet since they are not naturally equipped to process a lot of watery foods.
Duprasi Behaviour
Fat-tailed gerbils are less active than Mongolian Gerbils and are generally not as fast. This makes them a lot easier to handle and in fact, they can seem quite docile. A good way to calm down a nervous Duprasi can be to turn them over and gently stroke their stomach until they fall asleep! They do tend to sleep on their back with paws in their air and are very deep sleepers.
Speed and temperament wise Duprasi seem to bear more relation to hamsters than gerbils. Although their activity level isn't that high, they do benefit from some time free-ranging and will love the opportunity to run on their wheel and will appreciate the opportunity to burrow, though they seem to do this more for the joy of it than creating complex burrows.
Like most gerbil species they can also drum their hind feet to indicate alarm or sexual excitement. They don't appear to have the same strong sense of curiosity as Mongolians, and so can be quite content to sit on your hand.
Fat-tailed gerbils are very clean and will take frequent breaks from exploring to sit and wash their face and tail. They have a scent gland located on their stomach and so may stretch across items in their territory and use this to mark them. This scent isn't something humans appear to be able to pick up on and they do not tend to smell.
Although Duprasi males can be sociable, fallouts appear to be quite common and so it is recommended for beginners to keep them alone. Females appear to be more territorial so it is recommended to house them separately. Males can be kept in groups, although can be perfectly happy housed alone. Care should be taken to observe your Duprasi if housed in pairs or groups and spare tanks to hand in case of fallouts. In the wild, they would come together only to breed.