# Hairless? Grooming? What's going on?!



## Malene

I have two litters born 14 and 15 days ago. The mothers are sisters and the father is their brother.
Two days ago I saw one of the kits had very thin hair around the eyes, but I didn't think much about it. I just thought it was one of the mothers grooming it a little too much. Yesterday I didn't really look at them, but today I saw that 6/10 kits are showing hairloss and it has gotten worse! The legs and tail are almost bald and there is little hair around the eyes and nose. WTF?!
Did I bring out a recessive hairless gene, is it the mother(s) grooming some of them in a very weird way or is it something else? I really really don't want hairless mice :?









Kit showing hairloss









A normal kit









And together


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## Frizzle

I don't own hairless, but I'm pretty sure that's what you have. The age looks right, the thinning around the eyes, and the raised "sleeves" on the front legs.

Looking here might help.
http://www.fancymicebreeders.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=9966&hilit=show+girls


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## Laigaie

Those definitely look like hairless, which means your parents are carriers. A good thing to know about your lines! If you're not a fan of hairless, they're certainly not common, so I'm sure you'll find someone who'll happily take them off your hands.


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## love2read

Yuppers, that looks like hairless babies all right!

As far as I know, True Hairless(recessive hairless) only exists in the US and even here's it's new, so that's quite a hidden treasure you've got there! Congrats!


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## WillowDragon

I wouldnt want them myself honestly... but I would be sure to give them to someone who will appreciate them! hehee


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## Malene

Thank you. That's really not what I was hoping to hear. If they are hairless, that means most of my blacks and blues are potential carriers. I already have chocolate in that line, I don't need another unwanted recessive 
I read somewhere on here, that hr/hr don't have skin pigment. Do they ever have pigmented skin, or do they lose it? I just realized that mine seem to be losing pigment, because they were dark skinned before getting their fur :? I didn't even notice it until now, because I've been busy staring at the freaky hairloss.

I already have a fellow danish breeder ready to adopt them, if they are hairless.
Of course I will have to keep one or two for testmatings, so I can get rid of it ASAP *sigh*


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## love2read

Yes, they lose their pigment. They'll keep a little pigment on their ears and tail though.

If you keep one, keep a male. The females have a hard time lactating.


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## Stina

Def look hairless to me. They will lose most of the pigment on their bodies, but keep it on their ears and tail (and it will stay fairly dark). The one female doe that I have bred so far didn't have any trouble lactating....they CAN...but not all of them do.


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## windyhill

Look hairless to me.
Wish I lived there, i would take them in a heartbeat!


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## Malene

love2read and Stina > Thank you for the info.
I wonder where the gene came from. The male who I'm almost certain must have passed it on, has the longest pedigree of all my mice and there's no hairless to find there :?

Some new pictures:


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## Laigaie

Oh! They're so pathetically adorable at this stage! I'm so sorry they weren't what you were after, and that they're doing such awful things to your understanding of your line, but I really do appreciate the photos!


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## Shadowrunner

They always remind me of raptors right about now.
If only you could keep them like that.


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## Malene

They are almost naked now. There are 3 blues and 3 blacks and all of the blues are more pigmented than the blacks. Are they just losing the pigment slower (and a coincidence that they're all blue), or are blue hairless different?

Black:









Blue:


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## Stina

They will likely lose that pigment...but blues do actually have more melanin in their skin that blacks...but it is distributed differently than in actual blacks, so its not actually that surprising that the blues would have more pigment than the blacks.

I think they're really clute


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## Malene

Ahh, that makes sense!

I still prefer my mice with fur, but I actually think they're kinda funny now.
One more question.. They squint their eyes a lot more than "normal" mice. Are they more sensitive to light?


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## Stina

That's normal...I don't think it has to do with light sensitivity, they sometimes get an eyelash that curls inward and touches the eye, especially when they are young and moulting and whatnot....that causes minor irritation and some squintiness.


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## Malene

I forgot to give you an update. They are 9 weeks and 5-6 days old now and the blue I kept for myself has retained a lot more pigment than the black.

Some pictures from about a month ago. They look the same. Only a bit more ugly and wrinklier :lol:
Black:


















Left: Blue. Right: Black


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## Frizzle

The licking picture is adorable! It's really interesting to see the pigment differences.


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## Stina

omg the licking pic......adorableness!!!

I'm actually not terribly surprised that the blues would keep more pigment...blues actually have more melanin than blacks, but it is distributed differently...that difference must allow the hairless to keep more


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## andypandy29us

they are so cute .... with those huge ears they look like gremlins


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## STandTR

Aw oh my good! So cute! They in black Was perfect! 
Here in Sweden i Only got em in PEW....  and the health is bad...

I wish i would breed them to better health, but i dont got the time and space...


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## tinyhartmouseries

They ARE definitely cute...if you have to have a recessive (bummer) at least it's a rare and special one. Also, one you can check for before weaning, instead of a health related problem or something. I'd say just keep on pushing forward with the line, only breed the carriers and you may soon breed it out.


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## STandTR

i know how too, i breed some in silver agouti and coffee... But the problem is that i have more kinds of mice, hamsters, birds and more other animals, = have very small space left....

But im gonna think about it... i want too :/


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