In message <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Donna Anastasi
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
>I have two question on gerbil tails:
>
>1) what does a kinked tail look like? Is there a good picture somewhere
>on a web site?
>(some of my gerbil's tails, from the Cara line, are not perfectly
>straight - and I am wondering if it is a normal variation or "kinked")
>
>2) is a tufted tail a genetic trait? I have seen some beautiful, thick
>tufts on some petstore gerbils. But all my gerbils have the
>tapered-ended tails.
>
>Thanks for you help here. Donna A.
A kinked tail is not straight and ha an abrupt change in direction.
Usually only 10 degrees or so, but sometimes much worse.
It is probably a dislocation of the bones of the tail. it is harmless.
As for tufts, every Mongolian gerbil I have ever seen has a tuft. The
appearance of the tuft is improved by a dust bath. Some colours have
more distinctive tufts. For example, lilac gerbils often appear to have
poor tufts, as do blacks. Golden Agoutis tend to have the best tufts.
This is probably no more than an artefact of the colour, rather than a
real alteration in the tuft itself.
Even within a colour there are differences between different gerbils. I
guess there is probably a genetic element, but like human hair length I
would expect this to be a polygenic characteristic.
--
Julian Barker
