Gerbil Color/Genetics Table

Be sure to read through the basic genetics page if you don't already have an understanding
of that material, otherwise this page will be completely meaningless to you.

Use this table to find out the possible gene combinations in your gerbils' genomes. The Color Names in blue cells are the basic colors. The Colors Names in any other colored cell are created with variations on the albino locus C, which includes lightened forms and Colorpoint varieties. To find a color using a specific gene combination, first look down the right hand side to find the combinations of homozygous genes your gerbil has. Then move over to the color area (Light - aqua, Colorpoint - green, Light Colorpoint - lime) containing the combination of genes on the albino locus (C, c^b/h, etc), and finally to either the Agouti or Self Column within each color Area. You could also This might sound complicated at first, but once you get it, it'll be a breeze. Read through an Example.

Note: This table contains colors which are possible using combinations of genes found in the United States. There is another locus (the Dilution locus) which can hold the recessive gene d, which has the affect of diluting the overall color of the fur. This gene, however, is only extant in European stocks. Visit ___ for more information on this new gene. I wil also be adding the e^f varieties at a later date.

	A* Agouti Pattern	aa Self Pattern	A*Cc^b/h Light Agouti	aaCc^b/h Light Self	A*c^bc^b ColorPoint Agouti	aac^bc^b ColorPoint Self	A*c^bc^h Light ColorPoint Agouti	aac^bc^h Light ColorPoint Self
NONE	Golden Agouti	Black	Light Golden Agouti	Black	ColorPoint Golden Agouti	Burmese, Colorpoint Black	Light Colorpoint Golden Agouti	Siamese, Light Colorpoint Black
ee	Dark Eyed Honey	Nutmeg	Honey Cream	?	Colorpoint DEH, Black Eyed White	Colorpoint Nutmeg	Light Colorpoint DEH, Black Eyed White ?	Light Colorpoint Nutmeg?
gg	Grey Agouti	Slate			Colorpoint Grey Agouti	Colorpoint Slate	Light Colorpoint Grey Agouti	Light Colorpoint Slate
pp	Argente Golden	Lilac	Argente Cream/Topaz	Dove/Sapphire	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White
eegg	Polar Fox	Silver Nutmeg			Colorpoint Polar Fox	Colorpoint Silver Nutmeg	Light Colorpoint Polar Fox?	Light Colorpoint Silver Nutmeg?
eepp	Yellow Fox	Red Fox	Light Yellow Fox	Light Red Fox	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White
ggpp	Ivory Cream	Red Eyed White	Light Ivory Cream		Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White
eeggpp	Red Eyed Polar Fox	Red Eyed Silver Nutmeg			Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White	Pink Eyed White

• Any chch gerbil will be a Dark Tailed White (DTW) if it is P*.
• A DTW will theoretically have a darker tail if it is self (think of it as a really colorpoint black instead of a really colorpoint agouti - the tail will turn self, instead of agouti, making it darker)
• Any c*c* gerbil that has pp as well will be a PEW
• Its good to note that e is not entirely recessive, and will show partially in some individuals. Ee Golden Agoutis might possibly have more red in their fur, it has also been mentioned on the AGS List that Gg Burmeses are intermediate between GG Burmeses and gg Colorpoint Slates.

Using your brain, a piece of paper and a pencil, and knowledge of Mendelian genetics, you find that the offspring will all be CCEEGG, since there are no other combinations possible. So, you can disregard those for now. The possible combinations we have left are:

We'll use the AaPp pup as an example - we'll name him Rover. Look at the right hand side of the table. Rover has none of the homozygous recessive gene combinations in this column, so we'll stick to the row labeld 'NONE'. Now - Rover does not have any C recessives, so we will stick to the basics color area (blue). Rover has the combination Aa, so we look at the A* agouti column. Voilá! We've narrowed our search down to one cell. Rover turned out to be a Golden Agouti (his full genetic make-up is AaCCEEGGPp). Do the same thing for the remaining three offspring possibilities - if you do this correctly, you'll find that the aaPp, is a Black, the Aapp is an Argente Golden and the aapp is a Lilac.