Gerbils come from Asia, Africa and parts of eastern Europe. Home » Gerbils » Pet Gerbils. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. they were first imported into america in 1954 for use in research for their heat tolerance, body temperature regulation and slight water requirements. Breeding gerbils is a decision not to be made lightly. The gerbil got its name as a diminutive form of "jerboa", an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche. Start studying Chapter 11 Study Questions- Gerbils. gerbils can come in many colors such as brown and white which are very common. Notably, it is illegal to keep gerbils as pets in California and New Zealand. Mondolian Gerbil History. It is also important to choose mates carefully. In the 1930s Professor Kasugo from the Japanese Kitasata Institute captured wild Mongolian Gerbils and was the first to breed them in captivity. The Mongolian Gerbil was found by Pere David, a French Missionary, in the 1860s. Gerbils are typically between 6 and 12 inches (150 and 300 mm) long, including the tail, which makes up about 1/2 of their total length. If you are not able to tell the sexes apart properly and keep them separate you can quickly create a mountain of gerbils and an animal welfare case. Japansese scientist were first to breed them in captivity 1954: 11 pairs were sent to US for research by Dr. Victor Schwerker Found to be gentle & easy to work with, & an alternative to hamster once they entered the pet industry