White chinchilla. Types and colors of chinchillas

To date, chinchillas have firmly taken a leading position in the ranking of pets. A little earlier, people were only interested in them as a source of unusually beautiful fur. In principle, they are still studying and improving their qualitative characteristics. In the near future, a significant improvement in livestock is planned. This is facilitated by the rather strong popularity of black chinchilla fur for tailoring.

Among all the color variations of these exotic rodents, the black color of chinchillas is one of the most valuable and popular. In addition, carriers of this genome are often used to improve other color variations of these funny animals.

Origin of black chinchillas

The appearance of this color has its roots in the mid-50s of the last century. The first black velvet chinchilla was born in 1955. It happened on a farm in the United States.

This girl was born from a pair of standard color. Her offbeat appearance led to the nickname Dirty Pug. The following year, a herd with a unique girl was sold to Davenport, Washington. Their owner was the farmer Gunning, who has been breeding chinchillas since the 40s. It was he who became the founder of the fur industry in the state of Washington. Also, Gunning at that time was considered one of the best judges of the world at chinchilla shows.

To the great regret of all lovers of the animals described, in 1955 a fire destroyed the entire herd along with a unique girl - a black velvet chinchilla. Over the next year, the farmer was actively engaged in buying animals for a new herd.

Since that time, Bob has been intensively working on the development of a mutation present in unusual girl. A little later, an unusual boy was born on the farm. Outwardly, he looked like standard color. The only feature of the baby was that there was a small black mask on his face. Chinchillas brought healthy offspring and after a few years they gave several litters. Most of the babies were of a standard color, only a few of them were distinguished by the presence of a black mantle.

Selection of chinchillas of black velvet color

It was the selection of this color that Gunning took up. After some time, when selecting the best dark pairs, he managed to breed animals in which the dark color already spread through the neck to the entire back. As a result, only the stripe on the abdomen remained light in the animals.

By 1960, a new mutation of chinchillas, black velvet, was introduced to the world. At that time it was called gunning black velvet. It is this color variation of the black velvet chinchilla that we observe in our time.

Genomic features

Connoisseurs of black animals affectionately call them "touch of velvet" or "black velvet". The black chinchilla, whose genotype features have already been sufficiently studied, has some genetic features. This color is considered heterozygous, that is, two genes are immediately present in one allele - dominant (black) and recessive.

Black chinchillas have one negative feature - their color contains the so-called "lethal gene". This leads to the fact that as a result of crossing two chinchillas with a black gene, the embryos either die during development or do not develop at all.

Description of the black chinchilla

The black chinchilla is effectively used to enhance the saturation of other colors of its counterparts. As a result of this, animals are successfully crossed with chinchillas of any color, with the exception of velvet.

Description Chinchilla black velvet has some features. These include:

• Clearly defined mask on the muzzle.
• Gloves are clearly drawn on the paws with diagonal stripes.
• Deep black fur.
• Highlighted areas around the eyes are not allowed.
• The black pigment should be distributed evenly from the ridge to the sides.
• Burn marks and ripples are not allowed.
• Light transitions from a dark back to a white tummy are unacceptable.
• A clear low line of the tummy.
• The muzzle is round.
• The skeleton of the animal is knocked down.
• Paws are wide.

One of the main anatomical features A black chinchilla is considered to have a hump on its nose.

Crossing black chinchillas

Black velvet babies are lighter in color at birth, darkening with age. Quite often, black velvet chinchilla sits down with individuals of other colors. As a result of this, various color variations of the planned puppies are obtained. The most common variations of mating are the options shown in the table below.

The popularity of black chinchilla in production

Chinchilla black velvet is extremely in demand in the fur industry. This is facilitated by a clear decorative contrast of the black color of the back and white abdomen. The velvety texture of the black chinchilla is very pleasant to the touch.

Red shades are not allowed in fur production. Cold blue tones have an advantage. No less important is the pure white belly of the animals. Also, fur with a clearly defined color transition of dark sides and a white belly is considered the highest quality.

Chinchilla black velvet, reviews of which are mostly worn positive character, is popular not only in fur production, but also as a pet. Some, however, believe that velvet individuals are not very sociable, but in practice it becomes noticeable that complex nature individual animals is completely independent of the color of the fur.

Few people know that the structure of the chinchilla's skeleton allows it to shrink vertically. Thus, the animal can crawl through unusually narrow cracks.

In addition, the black velvet chinchilla does not shed at all. At the same time, in case of stress or danger, the animals can, nervously, shed their hair.

Even in ancient times, man, realizing how useful animals can be, began to tame them. Among pets, there are those that we keep for good, and there are pets for the soul.

Often, pets become so close to us that we treat them like members of our family.

Nowadays it is difficult to surprise someone with the presence of an exotic animal in the house. And you definitely won’t surprise anyone with a funny animal chinchilla. But more recently, this exotic animal was wild.

Breed classification

Chinchilla is one of the representatives of the rodent order. Chinchilla in nature is small long-tailed and coastal. The habitat of this animal is rocky terrain.

Currently, there are about 14 chinchilla breeds and 12 interbreed species.

Basic color: light, dark and gray, the most popular color is dark with a light zone at the roots.

Chinchilla breeds depending on the color of the fur

Chinchilla is not agouti. This view the animal suggests gray fur.

Chinchilla charcoal. This variety of chinchillas is distinguished by black fur and the same eyes.

Chinchilla albino. This animal has white fur and red eyes.

Chinchilla white stone. This breed outwardly resembles an albino, that is, the same white fur, but the eyes of the animal are of a different shape. The cubs of this animal are most often born spotted with red eyes, as in the photo of a chinchilla.

Chinchilla foggy. The animal is dark gray in color with a fuzzy pattern on the fur.

Chinchilla beige Sullivan. The animal of this breed is beige with red eyes.

Chinchilla beige Wellman. The skin of the animal is beige, and the eyes are black.

Chinchilla sapphire, blue powder, blue carat. An animal with bluish fur.

Chinchilla is colorful. An animal with light fur with white spots.

Chinchilla black velveteen, artillery velveteen. This chinchilla is characterized by contrasting fur, in which the animal has a black back and a white abdomen.

Beige chinchilla. The animals of this species have pale beige fur and white down.

White Chinchilla British Chinchilla. This animal has a white skin with a silvery sheen.

Chinchilla brown velvet. The skin of this animal is brown.

Chinchilla whitish pink, apple color, yellow powder, star shine. This animal is characterized by a beige-pink color.

Care rules

Having decided to start a chinchilla, it must be taken into account that the room in which she will live must meet certain requirements, first of all, she must be warm, light and dry, and the animal needs good ventilation.

The most suitable temperature regime for chinchilla health 18-20°C.

The cage should be equipped with wooden shelves for animals to rest. The width of the shelves should be 15 cm.

If desired, the cage can be equipped with ladders and tunnels. The cage must have a house in which the animals could rest and have offspring. The bedding in the house needs to be changed constantly.

The house should have the following dimensions: length 30 cm, depth 15 cm, height 15 cm, there should be twilight in the house.

A ceramic or iron feeder and drinker is attached to the wall of the cage or mounted on the door.

Eating and bathing

Since the chinchilla at home, as in natural environment needs to eat hay, then for this ingredient she will need an additional feeder.

For a full life and beauty of fur, chinchillas need a bath. Chinchilla bathes in special sand made from crushed volcanic stone. This procedure is necessary for the animal to clean the coat.

You should not use ordinary sand for bathing chinchillas, because the animal's fur deteriorates from it.

The bath cannot be kept in cages all the time, it must be placed for half an hour, this time is enough for the animal for the procedure, otherwise the chinchilla's skin will become dry.

Since the process of bathing chinchillas is very interesting, then perfect option to observe this cute animal, a transparent bath or an ordinary three-liter jar can become.

Another rule for keeping chinchillas is due to the fact that chinchillas are primarily rodents, respectively, like all rodents, the animal has an instinct that requires something to gnaw.

In addition, there should be wooden sticks or toys in the cage, as well as mineral or chalk bars that the chinchilla will gnaw with pleasure.

Photo of chinchilla

Over the years, chinchillas have received many colors through selective breeding. Here we have collected the most common ones with photos and descriptions.

Standard gray

This is the original color of chinchillas, i.e. coloration of wild individuals. With this coloration, the chinchilla will have a dark gray coat on its back, lighter flanks, and a brighter, whiter belly. The hair of this color starts as a blue-gray, then it lightens and ends with a black tip.

Beige (heterozygous)

Heterozygous beige color includes several shades of light beige. The back of chinchillas of this species is often darker than the rest of the body. They also have red eyes and pink ears.

The first beige chinchilla was registered in 1955. It is noteworthy that its owner did not believe that it could be bred, and sold the animal. Of course he was wrong.

Beige homozygous (homobeige)

This color is somewhat lighter than regular beige, and homobeige chinchillas have bright red eyes.

Silver Mosaic

This color is one of the Wilson white morphs. The color silver mosaic (white mosaic) is obtained by crossing standard gray chinchillas with white ones. The result is a white-furred chinchilla that has patches of gray-tipped fur.

white mosaic

Mosaic white is another morph of Wilsonian white. The color is obtained by breeding standard colors of gray and white, but instead of just gray tips, white mosaic chinchillas have patches of completely gray coat various forms and localizations. These chinchillas also have dark ears and eyes.

white-pink

This color is also known as Mosaic Beige. White and pink chinchillas have pink ears and pink eyes. Beige spots on wool are allowed

Black velvet

Black velvet chinchillas are in great demand. The base coat color of these chinchillas is black, although it fades to gray on the sides and white on the belly. Their eye and ear color is also dark. The first black velvet chenshilla was born in 1956 in Washington State.

Brown velvet

This type of chinchilla is a hybrid breed of black velvet and beige. They are distinguished by brown fur, which fades into beige on the sides and white in the abdomen.

Homoebony

These chinchillas have a completely black coat and black eyes. They have a fairly high popularity, but are also quite rare, especially individuals with really dark hair down to the last hair.

heteroebony

Heteroebony chinchillas are another of the most popular colors. They usually have various combinations of black and gray fur.

White ebony

These chinchillas have white wool with gray or black localized spots. Sometimes there are other colors other than white. These chinchillas have dark ears and dark eyes.

violet

Despite the name, these chinchillas are not exactly purple or purple, but they do have a slight shade of purple. Purple chinchillas have dark eyes and bluish ears. The first violet chinchilla was born on a farm in Zimbabwe in Africa in 1960 and then was sold to California.

Pastel

Pastel chinchillas are usually the first generation of ebony and beige chinchillas. They resemble a beige color when they grow up, but are almost white at birth.

Sapphire

These chinchillas have gray fur. various shades with a distinct blue or sapphire tint. The coat on the belly is white. The eyes of chinchillas with sapphire color are black.

Two people claim the role of the person who gave his last name to the newly-bred chinchilla breed.

According to some reports, the rodent is named after the breeder Mrs. Wilson, on whose California ranch this fluffy miracle appeared.

Another version claims that the name comes from the namesake of the mentioned Mrs. - a certain Blythe Wilson from North Carolina, who bred a white chinchilla in 1955.

The parents of the newborn fluffy were standard gray chinchillas, therefore, the born pure-white baby was initially perceived as an albino. But the differences were too obvious: in everything else, except for the color, the chinchilla was like the standard with their white belly. And yet - large white spots covered the back and head.

When the white beauty herself became a mother, her litter also included one baby of a similar color. Then it became clear that we can talk about a dominant mutation, which later was called the white Wilson. And it doesn’t matter at all who brought her out - Mrs. or Mister.

The coloring of the white Wilson is multivariate: the fur of the animal can be either snow-white or silver, and even dark. This is the result of crossing pairs of gray, standard, color.

However, whatever the shade of coat, the eyes and ears of the "Wilsons" are often dark gray than black, as in the standard, and the beginning of the tail frames a darker "ring"; paws and belly are white. The peculiarity of this particular species is the snow-white completion of the tip of the tail.

Yellowness on the white Wilson's fur is a sign of reduced breed purity and quality.

There are a great variety of white fluffy colors. What colors are typical for chinchilla white Wilson? Most popular:

• mosaic,
• platinum,
• dominant,
• silver,
• tricolor,
• extramosaic.

Experts note the special appearance of the mosaic chinchilla: its fur is distinguished by dark spots that have the most diverse shapes. For some, this coloring evokes associations with the Dalmatian dog breed.

This color is hereditary, but this does not mean that your pet's children will inherit it. The gene can manifest itself in a generation - in grandchildren.

The value of a mosaic chinchilla is determined by the clarity and symmetry of the pattern of dark spots.

A feature of the platinum morph is a grayish coating over the entire surface of the fur.

The white morph with the definition "predominant" is very effective, although extremely rare. She is characterized by a pure snow-white fur coat - without any gray "smoke" and spots.

In silver - the tips of the villi gray color, and this gives the impression of a light silvery coating on the fur.

An extremely rare variant of the extramosaic morph is the tricolor, the very name of which speaks of the tricolor of the color: white, gray, black spots and stripes form the original color. Of course, its uniqueness increases both the value of the individual itself and its market value.

The extramosaic character of the morph is expressed in the presence of clear spots on the chinchilla's coat.

How to keep white Wilsons?

Housing

Pets of this type do not require any special conditions of maintenance and care - everything is the same as for other breeds:

The cage must be high enough. Remember that the animal loves to move, mostly jumping. Therefore, it is necessary to equip the dwelling with a sufficient number of shelves, ladders, tunnels, where your pet can frolic.

If you have several of them, then there should be more simulators, and an individual “apartment” in the form of plywood boxes will not hurt everyone: after all, rodents are capable of conflict and quarrel.

Hygiene and climate

When it comes to bathing, this does not mean at all that the animal should be bathed in water. Bathing a chinchilla is a separate ritual that can be watched with great pleasure. Chinchillas "bath" in the sand, and for this procedure in the cage there must be a special container with special sand containing antibacterial additives.

When choosing sand for chinchilla bathing, you need to feel it by touch, pouring it into your palm. The sand should resemble fine homogeneous dust. If stiffness is felt in it, touching the palm does not bring comfort, such sand is not suitable - it is traumatic for the animal's skin.

An overseas pet needs to create a suitable microclimate for him, given that coolness is preferable to heat for him. Optimum temperature indoors - + 18–20 degrees.

It is also contraindicated to get direct sunlight on the animal, as well as drafts. If the summer is too hot, the solution is to install an air conditioner so that the fluffy child does not suffer from the heat.

It is necessary to place a salt stone in the cage - to grind the teeth. In addition to its main function, such a “grindstone” also replenishes the body of the chinchilla with microelements and minerals.

These active animals tend to scatter feed grains and sand around them, but nevertheless, the cage must be kept clean, and about once a month it must be disinfected.

Food

At home it's easiest to stop at herbivore food, which is sold in pet stores. Such a composition contains, in addition to the necessary vitamin-mineral complex, no less necessary components:

• flour - lime, fish, herbal,
• oats,
• wheat,
• salt,
• raw fat,
• barley.

For a day of such food, literally two tablespoons is enough. It is possible to offer green fodder in the form of oat and wheat sprouts, young nettle greens, horse sorrel, dandelion, and plantain as an additive to the main vegetable and grain food.

The chinchilla menu should certainly have all year round hay included. It helps move food through the intestines, preventing it from stagnation and fermentation.

In addition, chewing hay, the animal evenly wears down the teeth, which does not allow the development of dental hooks on the posterior incisors. So that the rodent does not scatter the remnants of hay, it is better to give it in small portions.

• eggplant,
• grape,
• fig,
• potato,
• carrot,
• nuts,
• fruit.

These rodents are also very useful feeding in the form of leaves and branches of various deciduous trees, aspen bark.

Remembering that the main health problems of chinchillas are related to gastrointestinal tract, don't overfeed him!

Who will turn out when crossing?

Of all the above morphs, only three - predominantly white, mosaic and silver - have the ability to transmit to offspring not only their own type, but also any variant of white. Therefore completely it is not necessary that white chinchillas will be born from a chinchilla of a snow-white morph- they can be mosaic. And the silvery individual is capable of producing pure white cubs.

White Wilson is a carrier of the gene for both standard and white. Breeders believe that it is possible to cross rodents of this species with all others without restrictions. But “intratype” crossing (as well as closely related) is by no means welcome: the number of newborn babies may decrease, and their viability will decrease.

Sometimes two white genes in combination do not allow the fetus to develop even in the embryonic phase, and this gene combination is called " lethal gene". Well, what is lethal - even a schoolboy knows.

Combinations of white wilson with colors such as black and brown velvet, beige and homobeige give other interesting and unexpected morphs.

An example is the crossing of a pair of "White Wilson" and "Black Velvet". Cubs are able to "give out" the following morphs: both the types of parents, and the standard, and white velvet.

Especially beautiful option among the descendants of white Wilson, connoisseurs call white-pink, or apricot. This species is of interest to breeders as a carrier of three genes - white, beige and standard. The fur coat of such individuals can be either snow-white or with gray or chocolate-colored spots of various shapes and arrangements.

The apricot type should not be crossed with carriers of the white gene, this may reduce the number of cubs in the litter. It pairs well with all the other colors.

It happens that chinchillas of this type, born beige, after a couple of months are able to change color and appear pure white or golden.

If you are already familiar with such a type of pet as a chinchilla, and now you have acquired a white Wilson, you will not feel any special conditions for keeping, feeding and caring for them. But if the plans are to cross and breed this particular type, this issue should be approached with thoroughness, remembering which gene can be crossed with, and with which - in no case.

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hit gray chinchilla. This is the basic, natural, color of the chinchilla. This color is called "standard". The standard chinchilla has a gray back, a light stripe on the belly. Moreover, the standard color has its own variations: from extra-dark to light gray. The border between a dark back and a white belly can be blurred or clear. The presence of a clear border is a sign of a quality color.

On the basis of the standard, all other colors were bred. Moreover, the system of color names for different breeders may differ. Or the same color can have several names.

So, chinchillas can be white, beige,. In addition to the main color, the chinchilla may or may not have the ebony gene. It manifests itself in a painted belly. If the ebony gene was obtained from one parent - a heteroebony chinchilla, it also carries the standard gene. At the same time, the coloring has a gradation - light, medium, dark, extra-dark. If the ebony gene is from both parents, then it is a homoebony chinchilla.

Any color can have the velvet gene. Velvet chinchilla should have certain features: stripes on the paws, a velvet muzzle with a dark mask, a velvet sheen on the skin, wide paws ...

At in large numbers spots on the skin color is called a mosaic.

The following colors enjoy the love of the owners:

Black velvet- gray-black color, the second most common after the standard.

White Wilson (BW)- color has variations: from white to silver. Eyes and ears are dark. From a white chinchilla, you can get both white and silver chinchillas.

(BB)- white chinchilla, similar to BV, has a dark mask on the muzzle, dark stripes on the paws, black eyes.

White-pink (BR)- can also be white, have beige spots, be beige with white spots. White and pink chinchillas have pink ears and pink or red eyes.

Pastel (Beige heteroebony)- from light beige to dark brown. There are light, medium, dark, extra-dark and chocolate pastels. Chinchilla fur darkens with age.

Brown velvet (KB) - color varies from beige to dark brown. The ears are pinkish-brown, sometimes covered with freckles, the eyes are from to. Velvety is evidenced by a dark brown mask, diagonal stripes on the paws. In newborn babies, the mask is not very noticeable, but gradually it darkens and stands out.

Sapphire- sapphire chinchillas have very beautiful, shiny gray-blue fur, white belly, pink eyes. It is no coincidence that another name for sapphires is "blue dawn". A hybrid of sapphire and black velvet produces wonderful sapphire velvet chinchillas.

Violet- the color of purple chinchillas varies from gray-lilac to, the tummy is white. This is a rather rare color, as it is obtained only by crossing two purple chinchillas or one purple, and the second is a carrier of the purple gene.

Homoebony- black chinchilla, which is loved by both lovers and breeders. Very similar to extra-dark heteroebony.

We have not talked about all the colors, there are others: complex, very beautiful variations.

The standard chinchilla can be crossed with any color chinchilla. But from two standards you will get only standard children. But, choosing a colored pair for your pet, you can get colored offspring. You can, of course, immediately choose two colored chinchillas. You can select pairs not only guided by your own taste, but also with the help of a genetic calculator. It will help to calculate the probability of the appearance of certain colors in cubs, based on information on the genes of each parent.

When purchasing a chinchilla, if possible, find out the color of grandparents. This is easier to do by purchasing a chinchilla from a breeder rather than from a pet store. A standard or black velvet, for example, may carry the sapphire gene. Then, when planted with sapphire, sapphire children may appear.

The female chinchilla brings from 1 to 5 babies. And their color does not necessarily repeat their parents.