Hi Amber,
On the wheels, there is a solid plastic one in the super stores now with
a counter for the number of feet the gerbils run. It cost 10$, but
since it is plastic, the gerbil can chew through it. Also, you can't
hang it from the side of the tank.
On the genetics, it's not that hard once you are into it.
The mother and father each have a gene pair on six dimensions:
A -- controls the color of the belly
C -- can modify the fur color by lightening or colorpoint (darker
extremities)
E -- controls the amount of gold
G -- controls the amount of grey
P -- controls eye color
Sp -- controls spotting
The capital letters are "dominate" that means if the gerbil carries it,
you can see it by their appearance. The small letters are "recessive",
you can only see the effect of a recessive if it is paired with another
recessive, otherwise the dominate letter would mask the effect.
However, the recessive can still be passed on to offspring.
Okay so far?
Aa or AA = white belly
aa = "self-colored" which means the belly is the same color as the back
(exception, sometimes an aa spotted gerbil will have some or most white
belly)
CC = no lighting or colorpoint effect on the fur
cbcb = colorpoint, chcb = lighter colorpoint
Cch can fade out a color if other genes are present. Cch pp will change
a lilac to a dove, for example.
chch = pink eyed white gerbil
EE or Ee = no gold effect
ee = introduces gold. For example, an ee changes an agouti to a Dark
eyed Honey or a black to a nutmeg
GG or Gg = no grey effect
gg = introduces greying. For example changes an agouti to a grey agouti
and changes a black to a slate
Pp or PP will have black eyes (exception, any chch gerbil is white with
pink eyes)
pp will have ruby eyes
spsp = no spotting (note that white on paws or chin is not spotting and
does not indicate Sp)
Spsp = spotting
SpSp -- no such thing, this is a fatal gene combination, any SpSp fetus
is absorbed in the womb
Okay -- here's a test -- which of these gerbils
Bullet, Alan, Rocket, Alec, Tequila pictured at:
http://www.geocities.com/abcgerbils/boy_tank.html
is aa ?
is Aa or AA ?
is cbcb ?
is gg ?
is pp ?
is Spsp ?
And finally, when people put * or - in the genetic code, that means the
gene is unknown. For example a white belly gerbil is A* (which means Aa
or AA)
Was that helpful in the least? Hope so. Donna
ABC Gerbils
http://www.geocities.com/abcgerbils/home.html
Amber White wrote:
> I don't know if my name shows up when emails are sent, but this isn't
> a new
> person, it's just Amber ([EMAIL PROTECTED])...the one who was
> complaining
> about not getting all the list messages! ;) Anyway, I'm subscribed
> to two
> other mailing lists on that address besides just this one, and I've
> discovered that the same thing is happening with them (where I'm not
> getting
> all the messages)..so maybe it's just my account being stupid..at any
> rate,
> if this works better, then I'll end my hotmail subscription and just
> stick
> with this one! But at ANY rate, since this is a gerbil list and not a
>
> miscellaneous discussion list, I'll ask a few more questions! *waits
> for the
> collective groans to subside* ;)
>
> First off, are there any pet companies that actually make wheels for
> gerbils
> (without the big gaps where their tails can get caught)? I know you
> can
> 'gerbil-proof' them yourself by using tape, but if at all possible,
> I'd like
> to have one that's already gerbil-proofed! Habitrail has one, but I
> think
> that suction-cups to the side of an aquarium (well, it can either
> suction cup
> or it can latch onto wires), but I can't imagine a suction cup would
> hold
> very well when you've got gerbils running on it! Also, are there any
> wheels
> that would latch onto the top of the aquarium and hang down, as
> opposed to
> the ones you just sit somewhere in the cage? I don't want to take up
> too
> much space in the tank with a big ol' wheel!
>
> On a different note, how hard is it to learn this genetics stuff?
> I've been
> reading and rereading info about it, but I just can't seem to
> understand it!
> Maybe I'm not reading the easy explanations? *sighs* If anyone has a
> high
> tolerance to frustration and wants to give me a lesson or two..?
> Hehe, okay,
> I won't put anyone through THAT torture!
>
> And this is it for me! I know I'd had another question the other
> night, but
> two is enough for now! Happy New Year, everybody!!!! =D
>
> ~*~Amber~*~
