# Help With Mouse Colour - Lilac Tan?



## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

I'm hoping there's some fancy mouse colour experts amongst us, as I'm struggling to find the colour for a chap that popped out of a white mouse I bought from a pet shop. You'll have to forgive me - I've only had mice for a few months and know nothing about colours. 

He has an agente sister and a silver satin brother. Mum is a white mouse with red eyes and I've no idea who dad is. 

Please forgive the amazingly crap photos; they were taken by lamp light with a crappy phone camera, so I will try to describe it as I see it in person. 

He's a very slightly off white colour. I've been describing him as a lilac, but he's much lighter than the lilacs I've seen in pictures. He has a very pale peach coloured belly. It's so easy to miss that I've only realised that he has this at 6 weeks old. 










In the rubbish image below, I've taken the brightness and contrast right down so that you can see the definite line where the tan meets the top coat. 










Original pic. You can see how the tan is almost indistinguishable from the top coat, which isn't helped by the flash. 










Has anybody any clues? The best I can describe him is as being a washed out lilac tan. Help much appreciated. 

I also have what I think is a medium long haired dove tan with a white spot on his back. Has anybody got any pictures of a decent example of this colour and coat length?

I'll see what I can do about getting better images tomorrow, but can't guarantee they'll be much better. The buggers don't keep still!

Edit: I've just found this picture on a mouse forum (hope the owner doesn't mind me pinching this...). This is as close to the same colour as the chap above, described as "silver/dove tan?", so I gather that person isn't sure what the colour is either. 










The one below is also described as a silver / dove tan. For comparison, the chap I have is much lighter, almost white, but the pale tan belly is similar.


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## sarahc (Jan 7, 2009)

It's a silver or dove tan can't tell from the pic.Lilacs have black eyes so it's easy to rule out that as an option..


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

looks like a dove and tan some are lighter then others but only by a fraction.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

looks like a pale silver tan from here.

what colours the fur underneath?

i`d have thought the way to tell if he`s a silver is to breed him to a blue doe? if you get blues out he`s a silver
cuz silvers are red eyed blues?

and if you get blacks he`s a dove?


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## sarahc (Jan 7, 2009)

pigglywiggly said:


> i`d have thought the way to tell if he`s a silver is to breed him to a blue doe? if you get blues out he`s a silver
> cuz silvers are red eyed blues?
> 
> and if you get blacks he`s a dove?


Silvers are genetically pink eyed blues.There is however a but.ALL of the silver tans in the mouse fancy are genetically dove(pink eyed black)tans.The palest are called silver tan because visually thats what they are and that's what counts.The darker ones get the label dove even though they are really one and the same.Likewise all the self silvers around are pale doves/pink eyed blacks genetically not pink eyed blues which is what you would expect from book reading.I think the chances are that this mouse is genetically dove but would be described as silver tan because of the pale shade and it's not worth getting to bogged down in the genetics unless you are trying to achieve something specific.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

lol.

i know my silver tans are silver tans cuz they`re bred out of my blues and have the slightly darker undercolour.


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## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks for the comments and help everybody. I'm not sure about his undercoat; I think it might be the same as his top coat. 

Would a _good _example of a silver tan have a more orange belly?


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

Carlie said:


> Thanks for the comments and help everybody. I'm not sure about his undercoat; I think it might be the same as his top coat.
> 
> Would a _good _example of a silver tan have a more orange belly?


more orange the belly the better tan it is.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

but if he is a silver, the tanning tends to be paler cause its a dilute colour?

mine have pants tanning too, but they`re cute so its no bother :lol2:


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## giant snail (Oct 25, 2009)

pigglywiggly said:


> but if he is a silver, the tanning tends to be paler cause its a dilute colour?
> 
> mine have pants tanning too, but they`re cute so its no bother :lol2:



yeah thats the prob with dilutes but you can still get some nice tan shade without it being 'greyer shade' as i have seen on some.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

on mine its kinda apricot? 
still definatly tan and all over, not like the pershop ones where theres a creamy edge and off white in the belly?


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## sarahc (Jan 7, 2009)

pigglywiggly said:


> lol.
> 
> i know my silver tans are silver tans cuz they`re bred out of my blues and have the slightly darker undercolour.


thats the joy of getting any animal from some one who is committed to what they breed,dogs,cats,rabbits whatever,you know what you're getting.I've had mine for a decade and can recount everything thats gone in and what will come out.With randoms you just have to guess the likely option.I've been working with longhairs and the original line is pet shop stock.horror a fuzzy has appeared:gasp:maybe in another decade they will be pure,hope so.


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

its kinda going a bit pear shaped now though, my orininal blues used to only breed blues and silvers,
but the new ones are throwing out pew`s!!!!:devil:


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## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

Thanks for all your replies on this thread. Very enlightening. 

I have another one, which I'm hoping you can help me with. 

At a total noob guess, I would say a really rubbish blue fox? :lol: It would be nice to know what to call her. She was bred from snake food stock, but will remain a pet. I love the tufts of white fur behind her ears. 

Slightly better photos this time, taken in my kitchen under florescent cabinet lights, which probably doesn't help...




























Like her mum and dad, she has a lovely temperament. 

So, can anybody give me an idea of what I should call the colour of this hairy baby?


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

looks like a longhaired black tan to me?

not fox because the belly isnt white?

dosnt look blue to me....but i am a bit blind? my blues are this colour


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## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

Sorry, the photos are rubbish and the light was coming from above, so shadow has made her fur look darker on the belly. She actually has a pure white belly. When she gets bigger, I'll take some more photos in daylight. 

All of her siblings have white bellies, but they're a light grey on top, so it doesn't show up as much.


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## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

Thought you might like to see decent updated pics of these two. They did indeed turn out to be a silver tan and a hairy black fox. 





































Has anybody any suggestions as to what I might do with the Silver Tan buck? Any interesting combinations I can make with him?


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

to a blue self will make blue tans :mf_dribble::flrt:


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## Carlie (Sep 27, 2006)

Good suggestion; I have a few nice blue ladies to choose from. 

I have a blue tan that I've just sold, but had to hold her back at the last minute as she has the sneezes. Not sure if she has an RI, which is infuriating - they're kept warm and spotless! :whip:


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