Black chinchillas: what are the breeds and what are their features?

Today, as a pet, chinchilla firmly occupies one of the leading places in our country, although quite recently this animal was interested in humans only as a source of very beautiful skin, which gives light and warm fur. However, she has not lost this value and today - the quality characteristics of fur continue to be studied and are trying to improve.

Coloring chinchilla is not only a coloring of wool, but also a combination of 3 factors at once:

• pigmentation;
• color range;
• wool structure.

Each factor is characterized by its own gene, as well as their possible different variations that occur when different breeds interbreed. Moreover, chinchillas can be either multi-colored or equally colored. As a result of this process, animals are obtained with interesting color schemes, including a fur coat, which neither one or the other parent had.

The result is only 3 colors:

• the black;
• brown;
• redhead

If there is no color - the skin turns white. Any other color is a combination of the above. Color happens:

• standard;
• beige;
• silver mosaic;
• white and mosaic;
• white and pink;
• black velvety;
• brownish velvety;
• homoeboni;
• hetero ebony;
• violet (the color “black pearl” is its variant);
• white ebony;
• sapphire.

In total there are more than two dozen shades.

Appeared in the middle of the twentieth century. The first animal came from parents with the usual color and called it the Dirty Pug, which along with other animals was a year later in the possession of a farmer from the USA by the name of Gunning (Eng. Gunning), who bred these animals for more than ten years and was considered one of the best chinchilla specialists in the world. He began to actively develop such an unusual mutation of the Dirty Pug, and as a result her offspring began to have a small black face mask, and then a black mantle began to appear.

Subsequently, by crossing, Günning achieved the black color of the neck and back, and after a couple of years, the Black Velvet chinchilla began to look the same as today.

The genetic feature of this color is the presence in the gene set of the so-called lethal gene, which does not allow crossing such animals - they die in 100% of cases. For this reason, chinchillas of this color intensively intersect with their motley counterparts (except velvet) to improve the saturation of shades.

Different from other breeds:

• crook at the nose;
• clear mask on the face;
• gloves of the strips running diagonally on each foot;
• fur saturated black shade;
• the lack of light areas of fur around the eyes, any kind of podalin;
• the uniformity of black pigment on the ridge and sides;
• a clear low abdomen line;
• round face muzzle;
• tight boned.

These are animals with fur, the color of which is considered one of the rarest and most spectacular shades. The cost of such a chinchilla can be more than a thousand dollars. The absence of divorces, veils or blotches of other shades is especially appreciated. Eyes and ears of black color.

Also quite rare and have a high cost.

The fur of this color can be divided:

• on light (based on white or shades of beige, combined with gray, brown, or black colors);
• medium light (cream or light brown shades, gray or brown blotches are allowed);
• medium (combining dark gray and white colors);
• dark (black tint combined with gray).

Another shade called "agouti." The animals of this color originally met and still live in the wild only with this single color of fur. The shades of the palette are from ashen to graphite colors. The backs of the “agouti” are dark, the fur of the sides is lighter, and the paws on the tips and the belly are of very light shades. Hair has a gray-blue color, its tips are black.

They were first brought out in the 55th year of the 20th century.

They have a range of shades from light beige to dark. The backs have a darker color in relation to the rest of the fur, the abdomen is almost white. Ears are pinkish-beige in color, have bright pigment spots that resemble freckles. The color of the iris varies from pink to dark ruby ​​shades.

Brown shades (from light to chocolate) prevail. On the sides, the color gradually becomes beige, turning into a completely white abdomen. The head is “dressed” in a dark mask, diagonal stripes are visible on the front and hind legs.

About what are the breed of black chinchillas and their features, see the following video.