what colour are my two gerbils?

[jenny]

i'm not sure if these links will work, but i was wondering what colour my gerbils are?

these three pics are of the first one. he has black eyes, a white diamond on the forehead, a white collar and belly and a white tip on his tail. he appears a little lighter than he really is in thepictures becasue i accidentally has the flash on. he's a little more grey in real life.
imgur.com/SE52B7m
imgur.com/dd3qiBq
imgur.com/juMWFOE

these next two are of my other gerbil. he looks ginger and also has black eyes, white bwlly, white diamond on the forehead and a white tip on his tail, but has a small white patch as opposed to a white collar like his brother
imgur.com/T3f8S8r
imgur.com/jSQtvaT

I'm new to owning gerbils, so i'd really appreciate your help

[theia]

I'd say Pied Agouti and Spotted Agouti. I'm sure someone else will correct me if I'm wrong.

[MoonstoneGerbils]

First is a spot agouti, second is a spot nutmeg

[Shooting Star]

Spot/Pied Agouti and Spot Nutmeg.

[theia]

Really a nutmeg? Does spotting cause white bellies on Nutmegs then? I've only ever had straight up Nutmeg gerbils.

[fysha]

Jun 11, 2017 9:59:20 GMT -8 theia said:

Really a nutmeg? Does spotting cause white bellies on Nutmegs then? I've only ever had straight up Nutmeg gerbils.

Spotting will cause white bellies on any colour. So even if the gerbil has a self coloured belly, nutmegs, blacks, etc... it will be white with the spotted gene.

[jenny]

Just a quick question about the one who appears to be a spotted nutmeg. The gerbils are nearing 12 weeks old, so can I expect him to get darker as he moults, or will he remain a ginger colour? I'm a little unsure because I know the spotting gene results in a lighter coat (hence why I was confused about the pied agouti as he looked more grey than a normal agouti) so I'm not really aware of the effect of the spotting gene on moulting.

Thanks for all your help so far btw

[theia]

Jun 11, 2017 10:12:00 GMT -8 fysha said:

Jun 11, 2017 9:59:20 GMT -8 theia said:

Really a nutmeg? Does spotting cause white bellies on Nutmegs then? I've only ever had straight up Nutmeg gerbils.

Spotting will cause white bellies on any colour. So even if the gerbil has a self coloured belly, nutmegs, blacks, etc... it will be white with the spotted gene.

Ok, thanks fysha

[betty]

It depends on the modifiers for your Nutmeg - not really on the Spotting gene I don't think - although thinking back, I don't think I have personally had a really dark Nutmeg that was spotted?

Anyway, sometimes they can stay quite light with only a few black speckles - other times they can go super dark with their successive moults. It is a personal thing.

I have had one Nutmeg that didn't moult out of his ginger coat until he was nearly a year old - whereas many others have gone very dark by 12 weeks.

Cross your fingers if you want him to stay light, that's about all you can do now.

[jenny]

Thanks Betty
To be honest I don't think I will mind either way. After researching moulting  in gerbils, it seems very interesting, particularly in nutmegs. It would be cool to see it happen with my first gerbil, though I did originally pick him out due to his ginger coat so I wouldn't mind if he stays ginger either 

[betty]

I found these pictures - finally.

I really need a better tagging system for all the pictures I keep.

[jenny]

Thanks for the references 😊
Today I noticed mine has started to develop a moult line - a similar shade to your pied nutmeg in the photo

[betty]

I love it when they get their new chevron faces...

[Shooting Star]

Jenny, your Spot Nutmeg is already in its adult coat. There will be some minor differences between molts, but nothing major.

[jenny]

Thanks for all your help everyone