Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[buffy]

Hi there,
I need your help!
We have a member in a german forum, who said his chinchilla(standard) is a mix between Standard and mosaic. So thats the reason why his chinchilla has "blue" eyes.
Please see the pictures ans tell me, what do you think.
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gx2mk8J
http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=gx2mwCr

We told him, that this are not blue eyes we all think that the chinchilla is blind. But he said, he went to the vet with the chinchilla and the vet said everything is fine. So what do you think.
Thanks for the help

[Jo Ann]

   #1  You can't really tell anything by the pictures.  They are not as good a quality as is needed to see something like what is being described.  A photograph is/can be very tricky, the lighting, the film, the pixels all will affect a photograph.

In the photos, I see no white on the chinchilla to be able to call it a mosaic.  Now if he is saying it has a standard parent and a white mosaic parent, but the chinchilla is a standard/white carrier, genetically, this could be true.  BUT ... to say it has blue eyes because of this is not necessarily true.  It could have blue eyes, but that is not conclusive by the photographs posted.  (I was a professional photographer for many years before I retired.)

Now, about the white mosaic chinchillas having blue eyes ... this is rare, but true.  I have two male white mosaics in my own herd that have blue eyes.  I have seen other male white mosaics that have blue eyes ... all coming from the same line.  I do not know of any standards coming from those same lines that have the blue eyes, but that is not to say that it could be possible ... I just have not seen them to date myself.

I will see if I can get a good picture of one of my little one's blue eyes and post it.  To be able to see it is a photograph, the lighting will have to be almost perfect.  If I can get a good picture of it, I'll add it to this post.

As for the pictures your are referring to ... the eyes do look (in the photo) like the chin is blind ... BUT ... that same look can be caused by the lighting that was used and/or the angle of the camera at the time the photos were taken.

   Jo Ann

ADDED:  Sorry about the delay ... maybe the weather will be better today and my hubby can help me get a better picture outside. 

JAMIE:  Do you still have the picture of the blue-eyed chin I got from you?  It was a good picture and you could see the blue eyes.   

[buffy]

Hi Jo Ann,
thanks for the answer.
And it would be great when you can send me/show me a picture of your blue eyes chinchillas :-)

[Debbie.nl.ca]

I have a chin with blue floaters in his eyes. He had a head injury as a kit and is blind except for some perifial{spelling?} vision around the floating blue balls.
It's like a cateract.

[buffy]

Hi Debbie,
can you show me a picture of your chinchilla's eye please?
So I can show them the one, who is thinking, his chinchilla has blue eyes :-)

[Debbie.nl.ca]

It's  hard to get a good pic, he just likes to cuddle me.

[buffy]

Thanks for the picture Debbie.
Can I show it(with a copyxright) in the german forum? That would be great.

@ Jo Ann: Can you explain me the thing with the white carrier? I haven't heard from that here in Germany.

[Jo Ann]

   Standard gray is the original color of all chinchillas.

Mutations [beige, white, black, ebony, violet and sapphire and the different variations of each] came about by doing selective breeding and inbreeding over many generations.

The visual appearance of each lets you know allot of what is in the background of each one ... but a chinchilla can "carry" other mutation genes that are not visible in the appearance of the chinchilla ... these are "hidden" genes that can show up in later generations.

Example: If you have what is commonly known as a "pink white" which is technically a white/beige cross ...
If you breed it to a standard, you could have kits that were standards, pink whites and/or beige.
All three kits get their genes from both parents, eventhough they may not "show" or have the same appearance. 
By just looking at the pink white kit is obviously carrying the genes of the pink white parent. 
The beige is obviously carrying the genes of the pink white parent, because a pink white carries both the white and beige genes. 
You can tell this just by looking at the kits and the parents.
 
In this example the standard gray colored kit also carries genes from both parents {the pink white and the standard} To look at it ... it just looks like a regular/plain/pure standard ... BUT ... because it is carrying the pink white genes of the other parent, it is not a pure standard gray.   It is a standard gray/white carrier. 

What's the use of showing what genes are carried but not visible ... because it can show up in a future generation.  If you put two standard gray/white carriers togeher ... the odds are they will have mostly standard gray kits ... but, there is also a "chance" of both parents (if they are both carrying the white gene) to "throw" it to one or more kits {rare} and produce a pink white or a beige kit. 

This is why it is always good to make sure you know the colors of the parents and grand parents ... even futher back, if possible.  Sometimes a mutation color will not show back up for several generations.  The ebony is often called a "wild card" because it is notorious for showing back up when least expected as a chin with a "dirty belly" or a wrap veration of that color (such as a tan or a violet wrap).

Hope this helps and does not confuse you even more.  Genetics is just not that easy to explain.   

   Jo Ann


Alice Kline, author of "After 40 Years ...", also, wrote/composed a great book on Chinchilla Mutations.  There is a website called Silverfalls Chinchillas that will help you to determine the odds/percentage for what two chinchillas will produce if you put them into breeding together ... but ... if you do not know what all each chin carries (genes that are not visible), it is not as accurate ... it can't be without all the information.

[buffy]

Hi JoAnn: Thanks for letting me know. And sorry for the off-topic!
I know that a chinchilla can be a carrier, but I haven't heard that they can be white carrier.
So what do you think about velvet? My first 2 chinchillas are from a standard(mom) and a white mosaic(Touch of velvet).
Scaramouche is a mosaic TOV. Her sister Lili doesn't have any velvet, but does she is carrying the velvet? I think yes, but the german people say a chinchilla can't be a velvet carrier.

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Can I show it(with a copyxright) in the german forum? That would be great.

Yes sure you can.
I have seen pics of chins said to have blue eyes but it looked very different than my Waverly's eye.

And what I see in the pics you posted they are like his.
I had a pic around someplace of what is said to be a blue eyed chin, just can't find it now, ::)and it has been talked about on chinmail as of late.
What's the scoop on the blue eyes Jo Ann Jamie & other more well informed members?

[Jo Ann]

   The ones Jamie and I had came from the same breeder/same lines ... I got Jamie's when she downsized her herd.   

The line they come from produces white mosaics and standard grays.  Only the white mosaic males have the blue eyes in this line.     The standards do not and the white mosaic females do not, at least not so far.       Guess it's a male thing ...     The iris of the blue eyes is very dark and is usually not noticed until you get them out in the sunlight or a bright light.  The tiny section that is a sky blue on the back outer edge of the iris is what will first get your attention ... if you are looking closely.  So far I have not noticed it effecting their site, but, chinchillas do seem to adapt quickly to everything ... hopefully they will not be prone to go blind or have eye problems.  I have not heard anyone else say they have seen any problems either.  But, when there is something unusual, you always have questions.   

   Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

But, when there is something unusual, you always have questions.

So true.
The pics I've seen are cool, I'd love to see a line of blue eyed chins.

[Bogart]