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[Down East Chinchillas]

Hi everyone,

I know its common for color to change as a chin matures and grows but I have a question, in the pictures I have a 9 week old chin, her name is Casian, I've considered her to be a white but the past couple of weeks her face has begun to become more of a beige/cream type color & the base of her tail has began to turn grey, in person its more clear than the picture. So now the question, would you consider her to be a white or a mosaic with very little color?

Thank you,
Chris

[GrayRodent]

Typically the white chinchilla is a cross between white and beige. A white mosaic is what you get by breeding a standard to a white. I think the beige genes account for the coloration. (You probably know this already)

One source I found (http://www.fortheloveofchinchillas.com/mutations.html) calls it a pink white mosaic when you can see the beige coloration.

[chinclub]

Your chinchilla is a pink white. These always have pink ears and red eyes (although sometimes they look black unless you get them under good light) Sometimes their fur in solid white and other times the beige will show.  I have had some with just a dusting of beige like yours and others with large beige spots here and here.  As the chinchillas get older the beige can grow more obvious or fade to nothing.

[GrayRodent]

Is there such thing as a "pink white mosaic"? If there is what would constitute that? I know the article says one thing but I know sometimes I find things that are misleading.

[chinclub]

There really isn't a true "mosaic" in chinchillas.  Here is a great article on that
http://www.chinchillaclub.com/members/mag/1202mosaic.html

It is just a name we use to describe a look.  All pink whites are a mix of white and beige.  Usually the white in the fur masks the beige color but the gene is still there.  Other times it shows through.  Just like some white mosaics can be mostly white with very little grey which people still call wilson white (althought that color is actually no longer around) or black eyed white, while other chinchillas can be almost all grey with just a little white which people sometimes call reverse mosaic.  They are all the same genetic color they just present differently in each chinchilla.

[GrayRodent]

I can see where a biochemist would not like to see breeders using the term "mosaic" to describe color patterns since it was used historically to describe chromosomal abnormalities that are not present in chinchillas. Are breeders calling them piebalds now?

[chinclub]

No, we still use mosaic. 

[GrayRodent]

Aw, too bad. No piebalds. Oh well who would want a "bald" chinchilla anyway?

[chinclub]

 

[Debbie.nl.ca]

 
Some chins can change color completely  here is a link to a few changers I've had.


https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150723504671023.454208.719291022&type=3

[SydChilla]

Hi!
I had a chin born last year and named her Snow due to her perfect white coloring. She went to her new home at 8 weeks old and when i next saw her at 15 months she was a homo beige! She had two white siblings, so i still wonder what color they are now.   
I only hope the owners arent unhappy their chins changed colors!

One baby just born last week is light beige with a white saddle. Im going to keep her and see how she turns out.