Rebecca Allbritton <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote
>I have been wondering if "first molt" is actually the undercoat growing in.
>Especially with the schimmels, the first "adult" coat seems fluffier than
>the baby coat. Does the baby fur fall out?
>
Probably. Most mammals replace their coat very regularly. Adult gerbils
replace their coat every month to six weeks. The change to the adult
coat may be the first time this happens.
Primates are a bit of an exception when it comes to hair growth (and
colour). I agree that the change to the adult coat includes development
of an undercoat and a change in the texture of the coat.
There are other things that change the texture and undercoat as well.
For example, gerbils kept in colder areas tend to have denser coats with
a thick undercoat. Descendants of the wild caught gerbils that are only
a few generations from wild gerbil definitely have a much thicker coat.
BTW, in shows, young gerbils, say under twelve weeks, do much better
with some colours because the colour of the coat seems richer. Blacks
are a good example of this.
>I asked earlier about the siamese & burmese being sleeker than other
>colors, & they seem to me not to have as much undercoat as other colors. I
>think that's interesting because it's the same way in cats: the Siamese &
>Oriental Shorthair cats have no undercoat, so their fur lies close to the
>body, & you can see all their muscles, and the swirl patterns at the
>breastbone & elbow are very noticeable. The fur itself is also shorter than
>"regular" shorthair cats. I am imagining long, lean, sleek, muscular
>gerbils with short coats. Maybe I should breed for those traits.... =)
I agree that Siamese especially can look very sleek. But I don't think
they have a different coat. I can't say I have noticed a difference in
texture or undercoat. I am interested in seeing if the GGG have seen
anything as I know they have done some microscopic analysis.
As gerbil fill out as they age they tend to loose this sleek look and I
think it is just an illusion.
>
>Also, do rodents have baby or milk teeth?
No. I don't think any rodent does.
--
Julian
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* Jackie and Julian *
* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* National Gerbil Society *
* http://www.gerbils.co.uk/ *
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