Shaw's Jird
Meriones shawi
Also called Shaw's gerbil, Shaw jird
From North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, in semi-desert, farmland, pasture and rural gardens.1
At a glance the quick version
Coat and looks how to spot one
Short sandy agouti coat
A large jird, around 36 cm long including a tail that makes up about half of that. The coat is sandy, from fairly dark to quite light, sometimes with a white spot on the head, and the ears are bigger and less furry than a Mongolian gerbil's.1
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Like other jirds it is a digger that builds burrows for storing food and keeping cool, so room to dig suits its natural behaviour.3
Home where they are happiest
Native to dry North African country; jirds dig burrows to store food and to stay cool and conserve water, so a deep diggable substrate mirrors its natural home.13
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Jirds in the wild eat roots, seeds, fruit and insects.3
The story where it all began
The French naturalist Duvernoy described Shaw's jird in 1842. It belongs to the same genus as the Mongolian gerbil but is noticeably larger, and the UK's National Gerbil Society runs dedicated show classes for it.132
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
Its very efficient kidneys let it cope with long spells without water.1
- 2
Its tail makes up roughly half of its total length of about 36 cm.1
- 3
In the Algerian highlands it is one of the main foods of barn owls.1
- 4
UK gerbil shows give young Shaw's jirds a longer junior period (under 20 weeks) than Mongolian gerbils (under 13 weeks).2
Recognised by the official bits
- National Gerbil Society (UK)
- Has its own Shaw's Jird classes (48 and 49) in the NGS standard show schedule; the young-stock class is for animals under 20 weeks rather than the usual 13.2
- IUCN Red List
- Assessed as Least Concern.1
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Shaw's Jird. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- Sand bathevery 3 days
- Spot cleanevery 3 days
- Deep cleanevery month
- Chew toys refreshevery 2 weeks
- Vet check-upevery year
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.
- Shaw's jird - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for origin, weight, length, lifespan, coat, ears, kidneys, barn owls, description year, IUCN status
- National Gerbil Society - Standard show schedule gerbils.co.ukused for recognition (show classes), junior age limit
- Jird - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.orgused for genus diet, burrowing
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.