# Tell me about my mousie



## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

This is Dante, my lovely boy. We've always called him yellow, or blond. What is his color really called?










He was given to me by my sister, who got him when the agriculture department at her high school got flooded with mice. I think they were getting them as a project, but as you know, mice breed...a lot. So they ended up with too many, and Dante came to college with me. He was super crazy at first, and we named him Dante because he crawled upside down on the lid of his tank like a demon.


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## Erica08 (May 20, 2009)

I would say he's a recessive yellow. He's got a little different coat to maybe poor angora?


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

Yeah, his coat is kind of long. He looks really ragged right now, but he'd getting a bit older so I guess we should expect it. He's super soft, and loved cheek scratches!

So yellow was almost right! ;-)


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

He is either recessive yellow (more likely) or brindle without markings (less likely but still not uncommon in petstores). He's angora (AKA "longhair"), but a poor example.

His eyes are very expressive. He looks funny in the big ole' giant bowl.


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

GAH! This forum is so cool! I've been on it all day, because everyone is so helpful and everything is so exciting! Thanks guys!

I'm so excited about knowing about Dante, too. Angora! So, if he were to breed with say, a PEW, what might happen? How can you tell, or what does it mean, when you say he's a "recessive" yellow? I have a basic understanding of genetics, but how can you tell just by seeing him?


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm afraid you don't actually have a basic understanding of genetics if you haven't gotten the concept of "recessive" down yet. At its most basic, recessive yellow means he needs two copies of the "e" allele (e/e) to show yellow fur.

There are three ways to get a yellow mouse. One is recessive yellow. One is brindle. And one is red.

Red does not exist in Connecticut (in the US, it exists only in Kentucky, Ohio, and California at the present time), so that leaves recessive yellow (a poor version of red, which is inherited differently), or poor brindle.



> So, if he were to breed with say, a PEW, what might happen?


It's hard telling. It depends on what the PEW was, genetically, and what he is genetically. I don't particularly recommend breeding pet store mice because they're invariably poor examples of everything and by breeding them you create more. If you do decide to breed him, I wouldn't pick a PEW mate, because that probably opens up more questions than it answers.


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

Don't worry, I wasn't planning on breeding him. I'm just curious about how it all works. Thank you so much! I'm fascinated.


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

You're very welcome. 

Are you close to NYC? Mike Chiodo has mice which are of mixed pet/show stock, and some of his mice are really gorgeous. You might want to contact him if you're close by.


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

I'm about two hours away from the city, and actually have a trip planned there soon! I'm not financially ready to start with any good stock until after I have some room and stuff, but I'll keep that in mind for when I get started fro real! Thank you!


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

You're welcome!  I've actually referred a couple people on this forum to Mike. Hehe...

One lovely thing about mice (unlike dogs or other animals) is that show mice often cost the same as (or less than) pet store mice to keep and feed. They're pretty awesome little critters.


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

That's the only reason we've been able to keep Dante as a pet while still slogging through student expenses. He's a wonderfully entertaining little guy. Until I get out of a dorm, though, I can't have more than one mousie. We're not even allowed pets here, I'm just good friends with the RA.


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## countrygall721 (Oct 26, 2010)

Dante is so cute! I love him  
He looks quite happy with all those seeds


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

SevenlevelsofDante said:


> That's the only reason we've been able to keep Dante as a pet while still slogging through student expenses. He's a wonderfully entertaining little guy. Until I get out of a dorm, though, I can't have more than one mousie. We're not even allowed pets here, I'm just good friends with the RA.


When I lived on campus, the hall monitor (the boss of all the other RAs) had a rabbit that lived in the hallway! :roll:


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## SevenlevelsofDante (Nov 13, 2010)

Haha! Everyone here sneaks pets in. I think there are even a few puppies on campus!

Thanks Countrygall! He's our baby. I told my bf that we were getting a mouse and he was less than thrilled, but then they met and they're in love. It is great.


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## zigable (Jul 26, 2010)

Lovely fellow. He has a lovely color, I have a doe very similar in color but she's marked. 
Shame your not allowed more, they are great to watch together, but then him being a buck that wouldn't work anyway haha. 
I sit and watch my does for hours and hours as they play together, most amazing thing in the world, other than when they crawl on my pup's belly and he rolls over so they scratch the right spot XD


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