On Fri, 7 Apr 2000 18:09:40 EDT, Steven Horvath wrote:
(message-ID<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> )
>hey everyone. I just thought that it was really neat to hear about the
>gerbil who was born with no tail. A lot of people don't adopt gerbils from
>me becuase they like hamsters better just becuase they don't have a tail.
>Maybe if that gerbil would be breed and we can get some tailless gerbils it
>would be like the tailless rat. I would think it would be a pretty cool
>idea. Chances are that this was a fluke and breeding won't make it
>reproduce. But I would still think it woudl be a cool thing to breed this
>specific gerbil
>
I don't think so! Not just like that. Often the tailless mutation causes
also severe other problems (neurological). And I don't even talk about the
effect on the climbing and jumping abilities of the gerbil. It would not be
wise to breed animals which have minor or major problems because of a
mutation, they might have a shorter life span, problems getting around,
etc. Coat colour mutation or maybe hair structure mutations: OK, but also
only if the animals are healthy, don't have any other problems (some colour
mutations in mice cause severe obesity, for instance), but as soon as there
is any evidence that a mutation (coat colour, tailless, long hair,
whatever) has any negative effect on the animal, it should not be bred,
sold, and maybe even not talk about, for there are always people that don't
care and who think they can make money out of the poor animals.
I personally think that an animal which is supposed to have a tail, should
keep this tail, an amputation, whether born with, or done on purpose later
on, to me is a severe mutilation!
Karin.
--
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Gerbil Information Page
Everything you need to know about gerbils,
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>>>>> Karin van Veen <<<<<
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