Some of my breeders - dialup warning

Just because I like 'em, and I'm fascinated with colour genetics.

I won't apologise for their names, because I tend to call them whatever comes to mind when I look at them. And no, naming them, for me, does not make it more difficult should they need to be culled - I HAVE fed adult breeders off when they've stopped producing and in one case when one developed a mammary tumour. That said, I've not yet had to euth one of my favourites.



This is Jonesymouse, whose markings are near-identical to my beloved tuxedo cat Jonesy. I was originally going to feed him to somebody because he nipped me - but he was just so CUTE that I decided to give him a second chance. He's black with the recessive spotting gene. He is known het for chocolate, pink-eyed dilute and blue as well as the coat gene Satin - he's produced a "Lavender" female which is a combination of all three traits. I'm still hoping to get a lilac off him, though - annoying that I've gotten the triple recessive without getting the double! I do have one hopeful fuzzy though.



Cloud is one of Jonesymouse's girls - she's a blue showing recessive spotting, and I suspect she is het for chocolate and pink eyed as well as satin.



Belt is another of Jonesymouse's girls - she's a chocolate tan with the recessive spotting. Again, she carries blue and pink-eyed dilute. The tan gene is fascinating - and it was tans that got me into mice generally. There's just something about a nice dove tan - bright silver back, deep firey orange belly - that is a beautiful animal. Even better with Satin!

Now for the next cage down....



Patch is an evil son of a sausage. He nips me every chance he gets and yells bloody murder if I pick him up. He's only gotten to stay thus far because he's a very nice marked black tan, so the tricolour appearance is appealing. He is possible het for blue, chocolate and pink-eyed dilute - I haven't had enough of a chance to test him out.



Silver is one of Patch's girls. She's a Silver - blue dilute + pink eyed dilute. I think she also carries chocolate - I'm pretty sure I got some champagnes off her when I was running her with a chocolate-based male.



Steel is Silver's full sister, and is a blue. She either is or carries satin - I've never worked out quite which, since it's harder to tell satin on darker colours. She also carries pink-eyed dilute.



Gold is a satin champagne tan (chocolate + pink eyed dilute) and is one of the prettiest mice I've seen - she might not be show quality, but she really is very shiny and pretty.

I don't have as many photos from the next cage down.



Dark is my agouti male. He was the only agouti I'd produced at the time, and though he's a bit skittish he just looks like a perfect little wild mouse. I have to admit, I like that look He carries chocolate and pink eyed dilute but does not carry blue as far as I know.



Minibad is a daughter out of one of the first females I had, and she's getting on a bit - she's an Argente (pink eyed agouti). She may be an Argente Tan, but it's very hard to tell given her base colour whether or not her belly is a different colour. I think her daughter Strongbad may be an Argente Tan, however.

I don't have photos of Reprieve, the chocolate tan female who always climbs up my arm and demands fussing when I clean cages and feed; she's the one who convinced me that SOME mice might well make good pets. I also don't have any photos of That Dove Tan One (yeah, that's her name). As she's getting older, she's starting to develop weird paler splotches on her flanks, which makes her look quite peculiar.

And finally, my last cage....



Cinny is the first agouti-based male that wasn't pink-eyed dilute that I ever produced. He's a Cinnamon - agouti + chocolate - and might be a Cinnamon Tan, but if he is he's a fairly low quality one. He also carries satin. In this photo he's peering down into our tegu's vivarium... dangerous game, that



Solid is one of my hands down favourite mice. She's self black satin, and she is such a friendly girl. She escaped into my reptile room last week while I was doing a clean-out, and when I sat down thinking "oh, crap, one of the black ones has escaped from the holding box" she cheerfully came up round behind me and climbed onto my hand.



Ringtail is a black tan satin - not as friendly as her sister Solid, but not too skitty or unhappy either.



Champ is a champagne tan - very different in overall tone to a satin champagne tan.

I've also got some absolutely stunning Satin cinnamons in this cage - Bronze and Brass - but they're the very devil to get a photo of. They do NOT want to hold still!

Those satin black tans are stunning. I honestly think moose breeding and snake keeping go hand in hand!

I love the tans, Ssthisto - one gene that I've always wanted but never got round to breeding (that and extreme black).

Loving that broken black tan

Oh wow! that black/tan combo really is a winner

toyah said:

I love the tans, Ssthisto - one gene that I've always wanted but never got round to breeding (that and extreme black).

Loving that broken black tan

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If you were just a little closer I'd say "Take him, please!"

He's just a pain in the butt, and I really want to replace him with a nicer buck - maybe a siamese show type.

I also want to get some nice satin cinnamon tans and satin agouti tans - though that's a long-term thing.

Cloud and Gold are my fav. If they suddenly dissapear....it wasn't me :grin01:

gorgeous mice for feeders!

And you can tell a satin, no matter how dark, by looking at the tummy. Even blacks will have a duller coat on the tummy if they are not satin.

Jimmus said:

Cloud and Gold are my fav. If they suddenly dissapear....it wasn't me :grin01:

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*laugh* Well.... I certainly wouldn't go hunting for the cause of the disappearance if I found an amber corn looking smug in their place

Thanks for the tip, Chausies - I'll have to have a look at Steel's belly when she's not quite so pregnant.