NOTES ON THE EGYPTIAN JERBOA (DIPUS
JACULUS) IN CAPTIVITY.
By Graham Renshaw, M.B.
The immense number of species of animals which are now kept as pets almost defies enumeration, and it is difficult indeed to select for special notice any single animal; for all the others compete with it in claiming the attention of those zoologists to whom mammal or bird, reptile or fish, is more attractive in the living state than as a stuffed skin or mounted skeleton in a museum case. The furred and feathered captives of to-day range from the schoolboy's Rabbits and White Mice, Pigeons and Canaries, to the Burchell Zebras and White-tailed Gnus, the Kangaroos and Emus of wealthy acclimatisation societies; and half-way between these extremes one may place various "out-of-the-way" pets—by no means ordinary domestic animals, yet also by no means unobtainable—such small specimens as Armadillos, Agoutis, Phalangers, and Wallabies.
Amongst this assemblage of "out-of-the-way" pets is included a pretty little rodent rapidly and deservedly advancing in popularity—the Egyptian Jerboa (Dipus jaculus). Not only does its tiny form interest the scientific naturalist, with its quaint little body perched on an absurd pair of stilt-like legs whose disproportionate size contrasts strangely with the almost microscopic proportions of the fore limbs; but its beaming eye, vivacious manners, and odd bird-like gait (now running like a Rail, and now hopping like a Sparrow) endear it also to the general public. Having for some considerable time possessed examples of the Egyptian Jerboa, I have had many opportunities for studying their behaviour in captivity, and perhaps the collected results of the observations may interest others besides myself.
The Egyptian Jerboa measures about 14¾ in. from the snout to the tip of the tail, exclusive of the terminal tuft of hair. The
