# Outrageous Moult Marks



## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

I thought I'd take some pictures of this marten sable doe and show everyone just how unique and interesting moult marks can be. Incidently, moulting is called 'casting' when it refers to hair on mammals. 'Moulting' applies only to feathers. On the showbench a moulting mouse is referred to as being "in two coats".

All shaded mice (the sables, the Siameses, etc) suffer very badly from casting marks. The males don't get it so badly, this is because females go through cyclic hormone changes every five days. Hormones affect casting, so the more hormonal changes, the more often the cast. Because of this most shaded does can only be shown when they're young but males can be shown for much longer.

This doe is now stuck between two coats, these marks will never go away.


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## SarahC (Oct 3, 2008)

they are the same as silver greys and pearls.It's a fine art showing them when they are just right.I rarely show adult greys twice.


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## Kingnoel (Apr 23, 2011)

I recently noticed marks like this on a young buck from tricolor lines. His coloring/shading is very close to what I've seen on Finnmouse as a colorpoint beige.

He has the same angle marks on his haunches and splotchiness on his shoulders as I see in your photo.

Casting runs in lines? Should he not be used for further breeding? He was a LOVELY silver color as a kit but has turned more stone/beige as he matured and I had hoped to continue with him to produce more silver young. Thanks for listening :lol:


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Consider yourself lucky. . . When Soft furs molt, they have 2 completely different lengths and colours of hair. And someimes bald patches over their whole backs. :shock:


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## Kingnoel (Apr 23, 2011)

Soft furs?


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

African soft furred rats? Multimammate mice?


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

My soft furs never seem to have such wierd moults...lol I have had mice and rats with very strange moults though. I've had several young rats moult with 2 different lengths of coat


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

> Casting runs in lines? Sould he not be used for further breeding? He was a LOVELY silver color as a kit but has turned more stone/beige as he matured and I had hoped to continue with him to produce more silver young. Thanks for listening


Casting happens to the variety more than the line  Some colours suffer worse than others with it. You can selectively breed to keep an evenly coloured coat for longer, but you'll never get rid of casting marks in a line, so don't throw out breeding mice just because of that


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## WoodWitch (Oct 18, 2009)

I have a stone that looks like some weird kind of tricolour due to permanent casting marks.


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## Rhasputin (Feb 21, 2010)

Stina said:


> My soft furs never seem to have such wierd moults...lol I have had mice and rats with very strange moults though. I've had several young rats moult with 2 different lengths of coat


Yeah but you also don't mess with them every day either. 
Maybe it has something to do with temperatures or humidity. Hmm.


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

^^^
My first litter from the end of December is molting, they have longer yellower hair that runs along the demacration line while maintaining a short upper coat. Waiting for this to settle itself out, havn't gotten any bald patches yet, though I've had all of three litters.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

Casey, just b/c I don't handle them every day, doesn't mean I don't look at them


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

My Agouti molted into a black patch on her neck.


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## Autumn2005 (Apr 21, 2010)

tikmio said:


> My Agouti molted into a black patch on her neck.


Could this be a sign of umbrous (sp?)?

I'm SO glad you shared that pic... I have a doe I THINK is a marten sable... she had some strange markings that I posted before, but now her coat has gotten horrible! :lol:

Before:









Now:


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Whats umbrous sp?


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## Frizzle (Oct 6, 2011)

Wow. Has anyone ever shaved a mouse? I know with showing chickens, you're allowed to remove feathers that are colored the wrong way with the intent that by the next show, a new one will have grown in to take its place in the correct color.


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## Tikmio (Oct 9, 2011)

Thank you.


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## SarahY (Nov 6, 2008)

Tikmio: on an agouti based mouse (such as agouti, cinnamon, argente, chinchilla, etc) you want the ticking and colours evenly spread over the whole mouse, but umbrous describes the tendancy of agouti colours to have a concentration of self-coloured pigment running along the spine. So agoutis would have a darker spine because of increased black pigment, argentes would have grey back from increased dove pigment, and so on. You would usually get umbrous mice from breeding agouti based to self based mice as it takes careful selective breeding to get rid of it.


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