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Because the Mongolian gerbil is being kept as a pet for some time now, and a lot of breeding is done, some colour mutations have occurred up to now. That is why, now, there are several gerbil colours besides the wildtype agouti.
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WHICH COLOURS ARE THERE, AND WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?
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Next, you’ll find a description of all known colours, in parenthesis you find the Dutch and German names used for that colour.
A complete list of the colour genetics and names can be found here.
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WHITE BELLIED AGOUTI GOLDEN (D: Wildkleur/Agouti, G: Wildagouti)
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The top colour is greyish brown, near the skin the hairs are blue-grey, than the hairs are yellow with a black tip (ticking). Around the eyes and behind the ears, the ticking is absent. The belly is creamy white, the top of the tail is like the top colour, the underside has no ticking, the tuft is black. The nails are black, like the eyes.
Here you can see how different agouti animals can look. The one on the right is most common, though.
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ARGENTE GOLDEN (D: Geel Wildkleur, G: Gold)
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The top colour is of a warm yellow, with a blue-grey base. The colour around the eyes and behind the ears is lighter. The tail is like the top colour, the belly is white. The nails are natural coloured, the eyes are ruby-red.
Two Argente Golden gerbils, the female on the left is really an Argente Golden, but due to age, many litters, and maybe other, unknown factors she "bleached" to this very light, spotty colour.
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ARGENTE CREAM (D: Licht Geelwildkleur, G: Gold, hell/Creme)
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The fur is of a light beige, apricot colour. The base of the hairs is blue-grey. The belly is white, nails are natural, the eyes are ruby-red.
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BLACK (D: Zwart, G: Schwarz)
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The colour is shiny black. Belly, nails, eyes, everything is deep-black. Sometimes black animals have a white line on their throat, and small white lines at their front paws.
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DILUTE AGOUTI (D: Verdund Agouti, G: Hell agouti)
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On the left a dilite agouti, on the right a normal agouti.
This is the newest colour! Dicovered in Germany in 1998.
The animals have a metal-bluish colour, the eyes and nails are black.
More about this mutation, including more pictures here.
A blue gerbil.
Two different shades of blue.
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DILUTE SLATE (D: Verdund donker sepia, G: Anthrazit hell)
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A dilute slate (aaCCddEEggPP)
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LILAC (D: Lilac, G: Platin/Lilac/Grau)
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The top colour is bluish grey, covered with a pink shine. Ears, feet, tail and belly have the same colour. The nails are natural, the eyes ruby-red. The lilac animals can also have a line down their throat and front feet.
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DOVE (D: duifgrijs, G: Platin, hell/Dove/Hellgrau)
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The fur is light grey coloured, lighter than Lilac. The belly, feet, tail and ears are as the top colour. The nails are natural, the eyes are ruby-red.
In front lilac, in the back dove
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SAPPHIRE (D:Saffier, G: Sapphire)
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This colour is analogue to dove, but it looks slightly different. The eyes look darker, the coat colour looks darker and more bluish.
Sapphire
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HIMALAYAN/DARK TAILED WHITE (D: Donker staart wit, G: Himalayan)
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The animal is clear white, everywhere except for the tail. The tail can have a colour from very light to very dark brown. Usually the tail darkens with age, sometimes only after the animal is a few months old. The nails are clear, the eyes pink-red.
A nice DTW.
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PINK EYED WHITE (D: Wit Roodoog, G: Weiss)
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The whole animal is clear white, like the DTW, but so is the tail. Eyes are pink-red, the nails are clear.
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WHITE BELLIED GREY AGOUTI (D: Zilveragouti, G: Silberagouti/Chinchilla)
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The top colour is silver-grey with black ticking. The hair base is blue-grey, silver-white in the middle, with black tips. The belly is silvery white or cream, the tail is dark on the top, and lighter at the underside. The eyes are black, with a red glow, visible when you shine in the eyes with a bright light. The nails are dark horn-coloured.
White bellied grey agouti
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SLATE (D: Donker Sepia, G: Anthrazit)
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The top colour is dark slate blue. The tail, belly and ears are the same as the top. The eyes and nails are black. Slates can also have white lines across the paws and throat.
A slate gerbil
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RUBY EYED WHITE (D: Ivoor creme, G: Altweiss)
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The hairs are off white, almost like clear white. The ears, tail and belly are as the top colour. The nails are natural, the eyes ruby red.
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WHITE BELLIED CREAM (D: Creme Wildkleur, G: Elfenbein)
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The fur is all through light cream coloured. The belly is white. The tail and ears are as the top colour. The nails are natural, the eyes ruby-red.
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DARK EYED HONEY (D: Algerijn/honing, G: Algerierfuchs)
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The young Dark Eyed Honey (DEH) looks different than the older one. Until about 10 weeks, the DEH is orange/yellow coloured, with a white belly. Around the eyes and ears the fur is of a lighter colour. The eyes are black, so are the nails. The skin at the ears, nose, genitals and tail is dark. When the animals get older, the hairs at the back get ticking, although there are also animals that have lesser ticking. Also the fur gets more orange coloured when the animal gets older.
Because of the light ticking, it looks like the animal walked through coal dust.
Dark Eyed Honey
On the left a DEH, on the right a Honey with one schimmel (e[f]) gene.
The Honey colour is also affected by c[h] and c[b], that can be seen in the next picture.
On the left you see a normal DEH, in the middle a DEH with one c[h] and on the right a DEH with one c[b].
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NUTMEG (D: Nootmuskaat, G: Kohlfuchs)
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Also the younger Nutmeg looks different than the older one. Young Nutmegs have a warm orange-brown colour, all over. The eyes are black and the nails are dark horn coloured. When the animal is about 10 weeks old, and changes its youth fur for adult fur, the animal changes completely. The new fur is darker, the hairs have heavy ticking. The Nutmeg can have white lines on his throat and front paws, like the black and lilac gerbils.
Nutmeg
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POLARFOX (D: Poolvos, G: Polarfuchs)
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The Polarfox also has a different youth fur. The young Polarfox is creamy white, with black eyes and horn coloured nails. The skin at the nose, ears, genitals and tail is dark. Adult animals have a light ticking at their back.
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BLUE FOX (SILVER NUTMEG) (D: Blauwvos, G: Blaufuchs)
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Young silver nutmegs look exactly like the polarfox. But after changing to the adult fur the animals are creamy white, with bluish ticking, also on the belly. The eyes are black.
Young Blue fox (by Vera Brueckmann)
The dark spot on the back has been a bald spot, where the dark hairs started growing sooner.
Blue fox
You can see the DEH, Polar Fox, Nutmeg and Blue Fox in one picture here.
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RED FOX/ORANGE (D: oranje, G: Rotfuchs/orange)
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The Red Fox is of a bright orange colour, also the belly is orange. The eyes are red, no ticking. Light coloured ears and feet. The nails are light brown coloured.
Above a red fox/orange, below a nutmeg.
A Red Fox on the right, a red eyed DEH on the left and an Argente Golden in the middle.
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COLOURPOINT BLACK (BURMESE) (D: Colourpoint Zwart/Burmees, G: Marder)
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The Colourpoint Black has a brown fur, with an almost black nose, ears, feet and tail. The eyes are black, the nails dark horn coloured. The Colourpoint Black can also have the white line down the throat and white lines at the front paws.
A Colourpoint Black mother with her Siamese pups.
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SIAMESE (D: Siamees, G: Siamese/Marder, hell)
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The Siamese is a lighter version of the Colourpoint Black. Its top colour is creamy beige, with darker extremities. The nose, ears, feet and tail are chocolate brown. The eyes are black but with a deep red shine in it. The nails are horn coloured.
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COLOURPOINT AGOUTI (D: Colourpoint Agouti, G: Colourpoint Agouti)
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The Colourpoint Agouti looks like a washed out White Bellied Grey Agouti. The ears, nose and tail are somewhat darker. When you take a closer look though, you see that the ticking and undercoat are not grey, but more cinnamon coloured.
The eyes are black, the nails are light brown. The belly is white.
The tail is more yellow coloured and looks like a normal agouti tail.
In front a Colourpoint Agouti, in the back a Colourpoint Light Agouti.
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COLOURPOINT DEH (D: Colourpoint Honing, G: Colourpoint Algierfuchs)
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A Colourpoint Honey
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COLOURPOINT NUTMEG (D: Colourpoint Nootmuskaat, G: Colourpoint Kohlfuchs)
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picture by Michael Mettler.
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COLOURPOINT BLUEFOX (D: Colourpoint Blauwvos, G: Colourpoint Blaufuchs)
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SCHIMMEL (D: Schimmel, G: Schimmel)
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Young Schimmel animals look like Yellow Foxes, but when the animal gets 8-10 weeks old the colour changes. The fur on the body starts to lighten, like it moulds. A spot on the head turns white a bit later. The fur near the skin stays yellow coloured, and the tail stays orange. The animals have dark skin at their noses, ears and genitals, and they have black eyes (although there is a red eyed variant which does not have the dark skin at the extremities). The nails are very light horn coloured.
A mother and pup Schimmel
A red eyed Schimmel
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SILVER-SCHIMMEL (D: Silber-Schimmel, G:Zilver-Schimmel)
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The Silver-Schimmel is a Schimmel which carries two grey-agouti genes, because of this the yellow pigment is reduced to white. Thus producing a Black-Eyed-White gerbil. Young Silver-Schimmels look the same as the adults do; white coat, white whiskers, clear nails and black eyes. The skin on the ears, nose, feet, tail and genital region is dark.
A Schimmel carrying gg: Silver-Schimmel.
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SPOTTED SCHIMMEL (formerly called champagne)
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Because this animal is so light coloured you cannot see the spots any more. It has a white look overall, with dark skin at its extremities.
These almost completely recessive animals are plain white, although they are not albino. They can be called pseudo-albino. There are more combinations resulting in such white animals.
A Separator can be used to test animals of unknown genetic make-up, to see if they carry any recessives.
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CANADIAN WHITE SPOT (CWS)
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Next is a picture of a very pied black gerbil. Bred by Fina van der Ahé, The Netherlands. By selection she managed to get animals with more and more white.
You can have this pied or spotted pattern in every existing gerbil colour. Note that the black animal on the picture is not as "jet-black" as a non spotted black.
An extremely spotted animal, bred by Britta Giethmann
picture by Vera Brueckmann.
On the next picture you can see a slate CWS gerbil on the left and a black CWS on the right. Note that the slate CWS is lighter (more brownish) than the black CWS.
Next a spotted nutmeg, before and after getting the dark ticking.
Next a spotted burmese, photo taken by Vera Brueckmann:
Next all spotted ee colours (black eyed), from the left to the right: spotted nutmeg, spotted polar fox, spotted blue fox, spotted sooty yellow.
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Look at the gerbils colour palette to see beautiful pictures of the actual colours and the accompanying genetics. (this page contains a lot of pictures, so be patient)
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The Gerbils Colour Palette
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