What Does It Mean If a Hamster Has Red Eyes?

Contrary to popular belief, a hamster does not need to be an albino to have red eyes. Hamsters come in a variety of coat colors and, although many have black eyes, others are associated with the gene for red eyes. However, red eyes can also exist for other reasons, such as genetic anomalies, irritation or even conjunctivitis caused by a cold virus.

  1. Albinism

    • Hamsters that possess two recessive albino genes will appear to be white with red eyes. Not all white hamsters are albinos, however. Albino hamsters lack all body and fur pigment, meaning that the hamsters̵7; skin is always pink, never black, brown or gray, in addition to the fur always being white. Hamsters with white fur and dark pigment on their ears may have red eyes, but they are not albinos.

    Coat Color

    • Not all hamsters with red eyes have white fur. ̶0;Argente,̶1; also called ̶0;cinnamon,̶1; hamsters have pink or red eyes, despite having colored fur. These hamsters have fur ranging in color from a yellowish tan to reddish orange, accompanied by an ivory-colored stomach and gray undercoat. In genetic terms, the gray coat makes this hamster color a ̶0;dilute̶1; or nonblack hamster, leading to another description for the type: pink-eyed dilution mutant.

    Conjunctivitis and Irritation

    • While the eyeball color of the hamster will not change, conjunctivitis -- also known as pinkeye -- can cause redness around the edge of the eyelids and the outermost layer of the eye. This redness results from an inflammation of the eyeball, often from an injury or from a bacterial infection. Eyeball or eyelid redness can also result from other forms of irritation, such as a virus, an allergic reaction to its bedding or dust from the bedding.

    Ruby-Eyed Gene

    • A hamster with the ruby-eyed gene also has red eyes and a colored coat. Typically, the ruby-eyed hamster has pink eyes, rarely black eyes, but both will flash a ruby color when a light is shone directly into the hamster̵7;s eyes. Although other colors and patterns may have the ruby-eyed gene, the white-bellied hamster, or anophthalmic white hamster, is the most common of the ruby-eye hamsters.