# Is there a way to tell if a crooked tail is genetic?



## dwellsinshells (Feb 23, 2011)

I just got a litter of one from a doe I've been waiting on for quite a while. I had some high hopes for this baby, but it quickly became clear that her tail is crooked. Does this absolutely mean I should not breed her? Her father, my favorite longhaired mouse, is getting older and I'm trying to preserve his good temperament and nice coat in a new generation while also mixing his genetics with a stunning satin doe that I love. She's shy but incredibly pretty, and was a total surprise. A gold satin in a litter of gray and black normal coats from a black merle and a black and tan.

This little baby is being well cared for by both mom and dad, but I am disappointed that she's the only one and she turned out to be slightly defective. If I can't breed her she'll be a pet, but I also wonder what this says about her mom, genetically. This is the first litter from her, and I wonder if she'll have another tiny litter. Could this be a sign of serious genetic problems? I waited months and months for even this little baby. Wren, the boy, has had many offspring and never produced problem babies, even when I crossed him with his daughter. This satin is completely unrelated to him and I am surprised by the result. I know it could be a fluke, but does anyone have thoughts?

I could post a picture of the family if that would help.


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## tinyhartmouseries (Dec 30, 2010)

I would wait until the baby is grown and re-evaluate, sometimes kinks and bends straighten themselves out. If it doesn't I would not breed from a kinked-tail mouse, but maybe you can try again with the same parents and see if it's going to happen again.


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## Laigaie (Mar 7, 2011)

If breeding the parents again doesn't get you any more of them, there's a good chance it's not genetic, and you're just looking at a poorly healed break. In that case, I don't see the problem with breeding her. You'd want to know before you bred her, though.


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## Stina (Sep 24, 2010)

The best way to tell would be to test breed her back to her father.


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## dwellsinshells (Feb 23, 2011)

Ok, I'll wait and see what the next litter brings. If there are no kinks or anything I might consider breeding her, although I'll more likely just wait and pick one of her younger siblings if they're more normal looking. She could be a pet, as long as they do have another litter. The key is hanging on to their genetics. Fancy coats are hard to come by here.


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## MojoMouse (Apr 20, 2012)

If you post a pic, perhaps we could help identify if it was an inherited tail kink or the result of pre/post natal injury. They generally look different.

That being said, if a line had a gene that I really wanted and was hard to get, I would not sacrifice it for something like a tail kink, if that's all it is... even if it was inherited, and EVEN if it was recessive. I would be more likely to discontinue a line if I saw an ongoing susceptability to something like respiratory problems or tumours. Parts of the US and all of Australia have limited choice and less quality mice available that the UK, so if it's not a health issue, you can work around it.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

Stina said:


> The best way to tell would be to test breed her back to her father.


This is correct.


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## dwellsinshells (Feb 23, 2011)

I'm just hoping the next litter will have babies with no obvious defects, since I'd prefer to play it safe. If they can't have any more I'll breed the baby with the kinked tail. I'll also post a picture for you guys to look at. She's a funny shade of dark ashy grey. I guess she's just a terrible black, but it's pretty.

I've just noticed an odd thing though. The little one is now a healthy little nearly hopper, but she has no whiskers. I guess her mom must have snipped them off, but I've never noticed barbering in any of my mice. Starting to wonder if this female just has some issues. She's always been shy.

Hairless mice keep their whiskers, right?


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