[Rain4stgem]

So I'm in the pet store, told myself I wouldn't look at mice, but I had to get a waterbottle, and my fiance says "look at that one..." Dammit I wasn't going to look at mice, then I saw him, a black tan, of course now that I'm interested in genetics the pet store is going to carry really pretty, interesting ones all of a sudden! :shock: And to top that, its obviously a male; this store tries to only carry females, and I don't want to drive across town for another male right now. I'm sold, I get the keeper to get me my new buck, looks like he's longhaired too:

As the guy reaches in, telling me about how neat that one is and that he's never seen one like it before, he pauses and says, "There's another one." What! and its a female... your joking right? Gimme, gimme, gimme!

Sorry I photoshop this pic it came out blurry

So there they are, my newest editions (mouse breeding can become quit addictive can't it?), not the best pair of tans in the world, but I don't think they are half bad. Now, for the silly newbie questions. Seeing as I was originally trying to figuring out Selfs this is a whole new ball game to me. Would this buck and doe just produce more black tans or could I have a mixed litter? The belly on the buck is not real tan and the doe could use some improvement how would one go about accomplishing this? And I read to improve the black you would breed it to a self, is that correct?

Thanks, Amethyst

 

[Jack Garcia]

They're both extremely poor examples of black tan. And both have horrible type as well.

Tans are a variety which should not be bred in angora/longhair because the line of demarcation is important to the standard and angora/longhair messes with that.

The only way to get darker tans is to continually breed the darkest of tans to each other.

Black tan can be at/a or at/at so you can get either tans or selfs from them if they're bred together. If at least one of the parents is at/at, you will get only tans.

Be aware that if either mouse carries blue or any c-dilutes you will never have a good tan color on the belly. And even if they don't, it will take years of selective breeding.

Good luck!

 

[Rain4stgem]

Interesting about the longhair, thank you Jack... now I keep getting "bad" blues in my other litters. If I bred the blue to the tan once to test would that show up in the first generation if the tans carried blue then?

 

[Jack Garcia]

Yeah, if they carried blue it would show up.

 

[Rain4stgem]

So Mommy mouse had her litter, and I've waited a day or two to get in the nest for a peek. She had 13 and I culled some down and I noticed 5 or 6 had pink eyes, does that make them albino? I culled all but one or two to see what color when the hair comes in. Is albinism a bad gene to have in the tans, is that what you meant with c-dilutes, or is albino and c-dilutes different? I think I figured out how "d" works, but there is more "c's" and I don't have examples in my mice to help me wrap my head around that one, lol. Thanks

 

[Jack Garcia]

Albino is a c-dilute, yes. If the babies have pink eyes they could be any number of things (dove, champagne, himalayan, siamese), some caused by c-dilutes and some caused by P-dilutes.

The C-locus and the A-locus are the most complicated as each has intermediate forms and varying degrees of dominance. There is (or was) a page on finnmouse which dealt with both of them. I searched but couldn't find it, but that might just be because I'm terrible at searching for such things.

 

[moustress]

The doe looks like she as a fair to middling tan on her belly; they both look fairly healthy as well. It a place to start form if you want to breed more tan mousies. With good nutrition, you could get larger mousies out of such a pairing.

They aren't 'typy' at all, but they are cute and healthy looking.

 

[Rain4stgem]

So here's the little pink eyed kit. Any ideas what he is, I'll get another photo when he's older if that will help. Hoping he's champagne....