Newbie genetics/breeding question

[canadianknight]

Hey all! I'm new around here!

My wife and I got a pair of wonderful little Agouti gerbils a couple of months ago. (George & Jane)

We now have more than a pair. Our first litter... god these little guys are CUTE!

Anyway, we have a little of seven. (We actually had nine, but two were stillborn.) They are all two weeks old as of today...and are nicely furred.

To my surprise, we have six Agouti gerbs, and one golden one. I believe they are called Golden Argente?

I'm just thrilled to have a different color come from two Agouti gerbs.

So my question...

How can I know about the genetics of our parents? Do we need to have more litters to do that? (They were pet-store bought... I didn't know any breeders!) Right now, the plan is to keep this litter, and split up the boys & girls into seperate homes. (I know we'll probably get a second litter...)

[queenofthenile]

That's very cool that you have an argente golden pup! With the agoutis, you *never* know that you will get other colours (especially from a petstore).

Since I'm from Alberta, too (Edmonton), I can tell you with almost 100% certainty what genes your gerbs could *possibly* carry. In Alberta, the most common colours are agouti, argente golden, black and lilac. The other colours are almost non-existant in Western Canada, so we can safely discount these.

Because of the argente pup, you know that the parents are both A*CCGGPp. If neither or only one of the adults carries the recessive a, then you get 3/4 agouti pups, and 1/4 argente golden pups. This is close to the ratio that you have already observed. I'm guessing that you will only get argente pups.

If they both carry the recessive a, however, then you will get lilac and black gerbils as well. You would get 7/16 agouti, 3/16 black, 3/16 argente golden, and 1/16 lilac.

Good luck with the new babies!

[Ritzie/Admin]

Does the "Golden Argente" have red eyes or black eyes?

When you have a couple of litter is is more accurate to tell what kind of colour genetics they have, but for now you know that they have a least one recessive colour gene! ;D

[canadianknight]

The pups are just starting to open their eyes. It appears that the golden guy (who has been named "Spike") has red eyes. So what does that indicate?

(Thanks for the info folks! I'm lovin' this forum!)

CK

[queenofthenile]

It means that it is an argente golden, rather than a dark-eyed honey.

[Ritzie/Admin]

Indeed, Dark Eyed Honey gerbils have as their name is telling, black eyes!

Argente Golden

A-CCD-E-G-pp spsp

Information: The first Argente Golden gerbil was seen in London (UK). This colour is caused by the mutation pp. Scientifically this mutation is called ‘pink-eyed dilution’. Due to this mutation the eyes become ruby-red and the black pigment has been diluted to grey. The yellow pigment stays unaffected. Despite that the hair is mostly grey except its yellow band, the gerbil looks dull yellow. You can see the grey base when you blow in its fur. Their fur is dull because of the grey tips (ticking), which are hardly visible. Also their grey undercoat will sometimes shine through. Their belly is white, and the colour around the eyes and behind their ears is lighter. The nails naturally coloured (creamy), and its eyes are ruby-red.