Well, it seems that my little Harlequin is now past the 3 month mark, and STILL his nose is very obviously brown. I am going to try crossing him with his sister from the 3rd litter (that is if they both agree to breed ;) ) and see if this same trait appears in any blacks that they produce. While I know this isn't striving for "true" colors, I find the trait quite interesting. It'd be a neat experiment to see if crossing the line will bring it out, or if it's just his quirky little trait, caused by nothing more than a few recessive genes.
If anyone else has any ideas on this guy, please let me know. It's the neatest looking thing, and he's a very fine gentleman. Not scared of anything. And it seems I have found a gerbil that blowing in the face does not work on. I was trying to "bed train" him the other day. Simply giving him a quick puff in the face did not deter him at all! And I think I will only let him breed with his sister once or twice, as the one female I have (Evon and Quark seem to be producing a lot of boys lately), bit me once (I have NEVER been bitten before) and while she drew blood it startled more than hurt. I mean she is only 4 weeks old! It felt more like that thing they use to prick your finger so they can get some blood. I'm afraid that first time she bit me it startled me so much I dropped her back into the tank. But I needed to check and make sure the pups had gotten through a bit of respiratory problems I had noticed earlier, so I scooped her up with a cup and handled her with a wash rag as defense. :) When I took them out again just the other day, I saw her purposely try to bite me again. This time of course I was ready for it. Is it too late for her? I did blow on her face this time, and kept my fingers out of the way. But since she got away with it the first time, does this mean she will now have this trait? I don't know where she gets it from, as both her mom and dad are VERY tame. As long as I'm not messing with her newborns, mom could really care less what I do in her cage. And with the past 3 litters I have never had this problem show up in her siblings. So, is she a possibility for an actual breeder? Or should I just wait another 3 months for the next litter and possible female pups? Thanks for any advice. -Jackie
