Bleedingjay wrote:synastry; wrote:Bleedingjay wrote:Has anyone had an experience with red eyed Gerbils? I bought two new Gerbils today and they have red eyes. I researched it before I bought them, and it’s normal in most cases. They seem healthy and alert. Their fur is shiny and soft. Just really skiddish (my first two were too when I just brought them home, so this isn’t an issue to me). I just want to know if anyone else had Gerbs with red eyes. It’s just new to me because I’m used to the black eyes ^^ thanks for any input!
Any rodent with red eyes has nothing wrong with them health wise, it's just the way they were born with genetics and such. There's a lot of myths about red eyed hamsters, rats, and gerbils, but it's completely natural. Nothing to be worried about!
Ahh thank you so much! I’m so happy to hear that!
It's not completely true, because the lack of pigments in their pupil and sclera make them have a poor vision. I mean, rodents in general have a poor vision already, but albino / red eyed rodents (because not all red eyes are albino, take for exemples siamese genes who often combine with a red eyes gene or create red eyes) have an even less acute sight. Nothing wrong though health wise and they won't be agressive or anything (well gerbils can be feisty anyway, but not because of their eyes), just the eyesight.
And also, they are less loved by people; wich is a shame, so thank you for choosing a red eyed rodent!
Also, they might "scan" their head going from left to right, kinda like a rattlesnake. That's due to their poor vision but it's funny to watch, don't be alarmed when you see it happen!