Short sharp tug, and snake gets a rodent (6)
I believe the answer is:
jerboa
'a rodent' is the definition.
(I know that jerboa is a type of gnawer)
'short sharp tug and snake' is the wordplay.
'short' means to remove the last letter.
'sharp tug' becomes 'jerk' (I've seen this before).
'and' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'snake' becomes 'boa' (boa is a kind of snake).
'jerk' with its final letter taken away is 'jer'.
'jer'+'boa'='JERBOA'
'gets' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for jerboa that I've seen before include "Desert rodent" , "Desert-dwelling rodent" , "Mouse-like jumping rodent - ear job (anag)" .)