Half of all gerbil colours come with red eyes – as there are only two different eye colors available in gerbils – either black or red – so it’s 50/50.
Sometimes, if there are other dilution genes in the gerbil’s genetic make-up – these red eyes can look pink – so we will be including these too in our answer.
Also, some genetic combinations cause the same external effect in many different combinations – for example with the Pink-Eyed White. Genetically (behind the scenes) any colorpoint gerbil who has the pink-eye genes will bleach out white – and lose the red-colour from their eyes. Like an albino – but in gerbils the true albino gerbil gene hasn’t yet been identified.
So a Burmese with pink eyes = PEW; a Siamese with pink eyes = PEW, CP Agouti with pink-eyes – PEW, etc. So technically on the outside – LOADS of gerbil colours exist with dark eyes – but when they have pink eyes they all look the same. It doesn’t mean their genes disappear though – they are still Burmese or Siamese underneath that shining white exterior.
So; Gerbils With Red Eyes:
If we start with the red eyes then for now – you are looking at about 6 main gerbil color groups. Each of these has the pink-eye gene in a double dose for it to work – so all are ‘pp’.
Argentes (Argente Golden, Argente Fawn, and Argente Cream)
Silvers (Lilac, Sapphire, and Dove)
Red-Eyed Honeys (only one type – REH)
Saffrons (only one type – aka Red Fox)
Red-Eyed Schimmels (various genetic combinations make a Red-Eyed Schimmel)
Creams (loads of gerbil colours go cream when they have pink eyes)
Argentes and Silvers are the same genetic gerbils – the argentes on the agouti-side and the silvers on the self-side. They are all different versions of the same two main color gerbils – so all argentes are just pink-eyed agoutis; and all silvers are just pink-eyed blacks. Simple swap at the eye-colour locus.
The pink-eyed dilution gene not only removes the colour from the eyes, it also removes some of the color from the fur and so creates a more vivid or washed-out color depending on which part of the fur colour is diluted.
Gerbil fur is made of three colors on each individual hair. Grey at the base, ginger in the middle and black at the tip. In agouti-side colours – the pink-eyed gene removes the black tip by making the orange bit longer. So an argente gerbil loses the speckling of the agouti coat and becomes all ginger. If you part an argentes coat though – it is still silver underneath (argente actually means ‘silver’).
However, in the self gerbils (the black-side) the self gene has already stripped out the orange part and extended the black parts – so when the black gerbils go pink-eye diluted – all the black goes leaving just the silver. Clever, eh?
Similarly, the Red-Eyed Honey is just the Dark-Eyed Honey with the pink-eye gene – and so goes a bit more ginger as the darker tips are lost; and the Saffron is simply a pink-eyed Nutmeg (basically a nutmeg without the black patches).
It is so simple to understand when they are paired up like this as not only does it help identify them, it helps when breeding for color.
Cream Gerbils with Red Eyes:
Creams are the same – they are just diluted versions of their dark-eyed genetic twins – however, they are usually paired up with other genes that make them lose the ginger BEFORE the pink-eye comes into play anyway.
There are four main cream gerbil colors (all already creamier than normal from the double uwduwd genes they have (the genes that take out the ginger from gerbil coats)) – all these are gerbils with red-eyes!
Ivory Cream (a pink-eyed Gray Agouti – all the black tips are removed leaving a soft cream)
Ruby-Eyed White (a pink-eyed Slate – the black hair shafts are totally diluted to cream)
Apricot (a pink-eyed Polar Fox with no black tints or obvious molt changes)
RESN (a Red-Eyed Silver Nutmeg with no obvious nutmeg speckles on maturing)
There is however an additional gene at the Uw locus that is relatively new – that also makes cream gerbils with red eyes – but it is much less common – especially in the UK. And it will double the number of cream combinations. Instead of uwd (underwhite dense) it is just uw (underwhite).
It acts in the same way, but dilutes the hairs just a touch differently when added to existing colors – changing the intensity here and there. We haven’t yet worked with this gene, but there are some standard colors that now have new names because of how different they look to the original – so Azure Slate is one such colour.
White Gerbils with Red Eyes – Well Pink Eyes!
The Pink-Eyed White (PEW) gerbil is a colorpoint gerbil – but when the double gerbil genes of pink-eyes and colorpoint meet in the same gerbil (so ccpp) they bond together and turn off all other color instructions found in their genes.
You can have a Burmese with one little p gene, or a REH with one colorpoint gene – and they get to keep their color. But when the fearsome 4 are together – regardless of all other genes – they will bleach out to a PEW. Always.
PEWs can be really fun genetically as they are a total surprise – they can even be spotted in there – you just can’t see it until/if they have pups!
Schimmel Gerbils with Red Eyes
Just like with any gene – the schimmel gene can produce all its colors in red-eyed too – so if you have a schimmel gerbil with double pp – you get yourself a Red-Eyed Schimmel.
All schimmel gerbils start out one color and end up another – some more stark than others – but they keep their ginger tails and noses no matter what. The better bred the schimmel is – the stronger the ginger color – but with red eyes, this is visible as a different shade than with dark-eyed schimmels.
Often given other names like ‘champagne’ if they are spotted; silver schimmel, orange siam, orange mold or just mold depending on their place of origin. Basically the schimmel name covers the equivalent of both the REH, Saffron, RESN and RE Polar Fox genetic make up (where the ee is replaced by the efef).
Are There Any Health Issues for Gerbils With Red Eyes?
PEWs and many gerbils with red or pink eyes can have trouble focusing – and are known to sit and sway, or lean from side to side sometimes.
Just like humans with no color in their eyes who often have vision-related issues.
Gerbil however can move around by whiskers and touch alone – so 20:20 vision isn’t essential anyway and shouldn’t affect their health in any way.
Gerbils with vision problems though, can be more likely to have a more-easily triggered flight response. That is they may well see harm (a potential predator) more often in simple things. I mean if you were in a murky swimming pool and thought there was a snake in the water – you would flinch more often when something touched you than if the water was clear.
It is just a survival technique that you see in many gerbils anyway – usually when a big shadow moves across their enclosure. They are preyed upon by birds in their natural habitat, so something ‘flying’ overhead can send them running – more so if they can’t really see that it is just you reaching for the remote!
Bless.
