 Glossary
Click on a letter to go to that list of definitions.
- A is for . . .
- Albinism The partial or complete lack of color in eyes, hair or skin. Different species and genes can have health
problems associated with Albinism or White Patterns.
- Allele The mutation for a gene at a specific locus. ch, cb, c and C are all alleles
on the C locus.
- Amelanistic True albino. Lacks melanin in skin, hair (feathers) and eyes making the skin and hair (feathers) white and
the eyes pink.
- Anerythristic An albino that lacks red color and will show some color and patterning. Some animals will be bluish-gray.
- Anophthalmic Incompletely formed or missing eyes occurring during fetal development. The eyes may be different (one
missing and one under-developed). Associated with Albinism or White Patterns.
- Axanthic An albino that lacks the yellow color and will show some color and patterning.
- C is for . . .
- Cat Blanket The phenomenon of cats covering a person to keep warm on a cold night. I once had 10 cats on or next to me
on a cold night. See also Three Dog Night.
- Chimera When 3 or more genes occur at the same loci instead of just 2. Male tortoiseshells are chimeras since they have
2 X genes and 1 Y gene (TotoY).
Mosaics and Dark Patch Pieds may be chimeras.
- Colony Depression See In-breeding Depression.
- D is for . . .
- Dominant A gene that only requires one to show it's affect. Some Recessive genes show incomplete dominance or a partial
affect.
- E is for . . .
- Epistasis The ability of one gene to hide or mask the affects of another gene not on the same allele. This occurs most
often when combining White Patterns. Albino will mask all colors and patterns in an animal.
- F is for . . .
- Fancy Animals Animals that are bred for color, coat or pattern variations and shows as opposed to feeders, lab animals
or wild animals.
- Feeders Animals bred to feed carnivorous pets. Usually mice and rats.
- Feral Wild or reverting back to the wild state.
- G is for . . .
- Gene The part of the chromosome that transmits hereditary information.
- Genotype The genetic description of an animal. See Phenotype.
- Gestation The length of pregnancy.
- H is for . . .
 Hampster The Hybrid result of breeding a Hamster with a Hamper. A common misspelling since Hamster is
pronounced with an implied 'p'. Pronunciation from Webster's: 'ham(p)-stər- Hamstery Hamster breeder whether hobby, show or commercial.
- Herps The study of Reptiles and Amphibians is herpetology because way back when, scientists thought they belonged to
the same Class. Hobbyists who keep amphibians and/or reptiles refer to them collectively as herps.
- Heterozygous From the Greek "heteros" meaning different so there are two different alleles at
one locus.
- Homozygous From the Greek "homos" meaning same so the two alleles at the locus are identical.
- Hybrid Dwarf The result of breeding two species together and often sterile. Like a horse and donkey producing a
(usually sterile) mule.
- Hybrid Vigor Two animals of the same species but from unrelated lines will produce offspring that is often bigger and
grows faster than line-bred offspring. This occurs only with the first generation.
- I is for . . .
- In-breeding This is the breeding of very close relatives ~ parent to offspring, sibling to sibling, half-sibling to
half-sibling. This greatly intensifies good and bad traits and should be used cautiously. It does not cause genetic defects but allows
them to show up faster and more often. If you have 2 siblings with very good head type and very poor body type breeding them together will
'set' the good head type as well as the poor body type. See also: Line-breeding, Out-crossing, Out-breeding.
- In-breeding Depression Continuous in-breeding will lead to reduced vitality and fertility. Also known as
Colony Depression.
- K is for . . .
- Kennel Gerbil breeder whether hobby, show or commercial.
- Kits Baby rats.
- L is for . . .
- Lace What you get when you leave anything cloth-like within reach of a rodent. Usually identified by the species that
made the lace ~ Rat Lace, Hamster Lace, etc.
- Lethal Gene Deadly either at conception, during fetal development or prematurely dying after birth.
- Leucism This is similar to albinism but a different gene. The animals have dark eyes and some pigmentation including
phantom markings. This is seen a lot in reptiles.
- Line-breeding This is breeding not so close relatives. They share a common ancestor like the same great grandparent.
This type of breeding is used to set good traits while trying to avoid setting bad ones. See also: In-breeding, Out-crossing,
Out-breeding.
- Linkage Genes that are located very close together and tend to be inherited together.
- Loci/Locus Location of the gene within the chromosome. It will be the same throughout that species.
- LWS Lethal White Syndrome in horses. When two horses with LWS are bred together the foals have a 25% chance of being
LWS or lethal white. They are usually pure white though they may have small spots of color. Their intestines aren't developed enough for
them to survive because of the lack of Melanin during fetal development. It was initially thought to be an Overo problem but now has been
found in other white patterns and solid colored horses.
- M is for . . .
- Masking see Epistasis.
- Matriarchal The female is the dominant partner as in gerbils.
- Melanin This controls how dark the pigment is in the skin, hair, feathers, and eyes. Black is the overproduction of
melanin. It's necessary for protection from UV rays.
- Microphthalmus One eye is missing, smaller or malformed.
- Mill A place that mass breeds animals for profit without regard to health or temperament.
- Mischief A group of rats.
- Mosaic A patch of fur or skin that is the wrong color. May be a chimera or the lack of one of the color genes in that
patch.
- Mousery Mouse breeder whether hobby, show or commercial.
- Mutation Any alteration in the genetic code from the natural wild state. Some mutations ensure survival like turning
white in the winter. Others make animals more visible for predators like complete albinism. A single mutation often has more then one
affect on the animal.
- O is for . . .
- Out-breeding This is breeding animals from lines where in-breeding and/or line-breeding has not been used. This
resembles pot-luck breeding. Unless homework is done and good records are kept by all of the breeders you'll end up with a potpourri of
genes ~ some good and some bad. See also In-breeding, Line-breeding, Out-crossing.
- Out-crossing This is breeding from two separate lines where there are no common ancestors in the first 5 generations.
See also In-breeding, Line-breeding, Out-breeding.
- Ova/Ovum The female germ cell needed to make a zygote.
- Ox Affect When a male produces no testosterone before puberty (sterile from birth) the long bones in the legs grow
longer then normal and the animal takes on a more feminine appearance.
- P is for . . .
- Patriarchal The male is the dominant partner as in bushy tailed Jirds.
- Phenotype The physical description of an animal. A single phenotype may have 1, 2 or more Genotypes.
- Punnet Square Grid used to determine possible phenotypes and genotypes from a particular mating. It will also give you
the chances of getting each type. However 25% chance means that each pup has a 25% chance of getting that type not that 25% of the litter
will be that type. If numerous breedings were done with the same parents and hundreds of pups produced then you might approach the 25%.
- Pups Baby hamsters or gerbils.
- R is for . . .
- Rattery Rat breeder whether hobby, show or commercial.
- Recessive Genes that require two of the same gene to show that affect. There can be incomplete dominance when a single
recessive gene has a partial affect.
- Rodentry Rodent breeder whether hobby, show or commercial. Usually includes more then one species.
- S is for . . .
- Sex Linked A mutation that is linked to the Female X gene. Hemophilia in Humans is
linked to the X gene. Only one gene is required to make male hemophiliacs but two genes to make
females. One gene in a female makes her a carrier and 50% of her male offspring will be hemophiliacs. The Tortoiseshell gene is sex-linked
to the X gene.
- Sperm The male germ cell needed to make a zygote.
- T is for . . .
- Three Dog Night In dog sled societies, the number of dogs brought in to keep you warm on a cold night. See also Cat
Blanket.
- Tortoiseshell The pattern formed from one yellow gene and one non-yellow gene. Yellow is usually sex linked to the X gene.
- Tri-Color A Tortoiseshell with a White Pattern.
- Tyrosinase An enzyme which synthesizes melanin.
- X is for . . .
- X gene Female sex gene. A female is XX.
- Y is for . . .
- Y gene Male sex gene. A male is XY.
- Yellow A sex linked color to the female gene.
- Z is for . . .
- Zygote The pre-fetus cell cluster beginning with the joining of a sperm and ovum.
This page was last edited on
November 03, 2009
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