Author: JoAnn
Luv'N Chins
The Changing Looks of a Mosaic
When you buy a chinchilla, you expect it to look basically the same as it grows up. Surprise! They will all go from that 'tiny baby faced kit' to a beautiful/handsome adult chin within just a few months. Most will stay close to the same color as when it is born, changing shades of the same color slightly.
The surprises come with the Beiges and Mosaics who have a tendency to change the most. Take pictures ... you may not notice the change because of the fact you are with them on a daily basis.
One day I sent a picture of a new kit to a friend of mine who has been a breeder for several years and received the reply: "He's cute! It will be interesting to see what he will look like when he gets older." I knew they change somewhat, but never as drastically as I would soon discover when I went back through the pictures of some of our mosaics.
Roo, now belonging to Amanda and Darren, was the perfect example of this transformation. Below you will see pictures of Roo from the time he was a week old until he was 9 months old ... hard to believe it is the same chin, but it is!
 Roo at 3 weeks old. Mostly gray with a white tip on his tail.
 Roo at 9 weeks old. No apparent change.
 Roo at 3 months. A change is beginning to show on the hips.
 Roo at 5 months. What a change!
 Roo at 6 months. His markings are really changing! From the almost solid gray to a misty gray over his back and hips and dark gray on the back of his neck..
 Roo at 7 months. Where is the gray going?
 Roo at 8 months. Still getting lighter!
 What a handsome chin! Roo at 9 months old and taking 2nd place in the adult white division of the On-Line Chinchilla Show sponsored by the Chinchilla Club!
Yes, this is the same chinchilla. He was born March 3, 2002. His mother was a standard gray and his father a white mosaic.
Mosaics can get lighter or darker as they grow. What will your mosaic kit look like when he's year old? Only time will tell!
|
|
