The Club | Show Standards | Care Info - All Species | Breeding | Health

The General Standard of Excellence

The mouse must be long and slim on the body; with long clean head, not too fine or pointed at the nose. The eyes should be large and bold with plenty of width between them. The ears should be large, perfectly smooth and prominent, and free from creases, with plenty of width between them. The tail should come well out of the back and be thick at the root or set-on, gradually tapering to a fine point. The tail should be free from kinks, the length being at least equal to the mouse's body.

The general impression should be one of elasticity and strength; a mouse of good size is neither too clumsy nor heavy, nor too narrow and light. The size and type of the mouse varies according to colour- and marked varieties. Bucks are heavier than does, with broader cheeks.

The mouse must be completely tractable and healthy. A mouse with completely missing whiskers, blind in one or both eyes, carrying external parasites, having a tumor, sore or patches of fur missing, suffering from any obvious disease or deformity, overtly obese or skinny, or kinked tail shall be disqualified. A mouse can get judged if there are enough of whiskers so that the colour of the muzzle can be judged. With ears, the original shape of the ears must be clear to see.

Breeds

The following coat varieties are currently recognized in Finnish standards: short hair (sh), short hair satin (shs), long hair (lh), long hair satin (lhs) astrex (a, also in satin and coat lenghts), abyssinian (ab, also in satin and coat lenghts).

Short Hair (SH)

Go/* re/re Sa/* (Fr/* Fz/* ca/ca)

"Smooth and dense, short coat with a natural sheen."

Satin (S)

Go/* re/re sa/sa (Fr/* Fz/* ca/ca)

"High sheen coat with a satin-like or metallic gloss. White to be known as Ivory and to be as white as possible." (Standards for Satin.)

Astrex (A)

Go/* Re/* sa/sa
(Other curly coat genotypes besides Re/*: dominant Caracul, Ca/* and recessives fuzzy, fz/fz and frizzy, fr/fr. This text refers to Re/*.)

"Coat to be as curly as possible. Whiskers curly. The mouse's coat straightens somewhat as the mouse ages."

Long Hair (LH)

go/go re/re Sa/* (Fr/* Fz/* ca/ca) (for 'shorter' long coat)
go^Y/go^Yre/re Sa/* (Fr/* Fz/* ca/ca) (for longer long coat)

"Coat to be as long and dense as possible, silky in texture. Bucks have usually longer coat than does."

Abyssinian (AB)

rst/rst

"Coat has rosettes. The rosettes to be clear and there has to be rosettes situated on both sides of the rump and on the belly. The more rosettes the better. The overall impression should be balanced.

Fuzzy (fz) (short hair fuzzy: sh fz, long hair fuzzy: lh fz etc)
fz/fz

"The coat to be evenly soft curl, not too coarse. There are fewer guard hairs than on normal coat. Whiskers curly. The effect of fuzzy on satin and coat lenght to be taken into account. Hairless spots and noticeably thin coat to be considered faults."

Hairless (nu)

"The hairless mouse is to be as hairless as possible. The skin to be thin, clean, partly translucent and without any cuts or bruises. The skin getting lighter as the mouse ages to be taken into account. Excessive wrinkling a minor fault. Eye to match colouring. Ears large and free of folds or greases. Whiskers very short or missing. Colour to not be judged. However, white markings are not allowed. "

Colours & Markings

I - Self

The colour should be carried evenly throughout the whole body and should extend to the skin. The belly should be of the same colour as the body and the colour should be solid from tip of nose to set-on of tail. Ears, nails and tail should all be the same colour of the body, except on light or red colors neutral. Term "eyes pink" to be understood to cover all shades of pink and red.

Beige (be)

a/a B/* D/* c^e/c^e

"The colour should be a clear, greyish shade of beige, not too dark. Eyes black."

Black (ba)

a/a B/* D/* C/* P/*
or a^e/a^e B/* D/* C/* P/*

"The colour should be dense, lustrous black. Eyes black."

Blue (bl)

a/a B/* d/d C/* P/*
(ora/a B/* D/* C/* P/* ln/ln, leaden or "mock blue")

"The colour should be a medium slate blue. Eye black."

Bone (beb)

a/a B/* c^e/c D/* P/*

"Colour to be light, like a bone, not to be confused with ivory, beige or very diluted champagne. Eye black."

Champagne (cha)

a/a b^c/* C/* d/d p/p (Proper show champagne)
a/a b^c/* C/* D/* p/p (Champagne with darker, less delicate, "brownish" hue)
a/a b/b C/* D/* p/p (most likely lighter than the above version, but not as delicate as the standard calls for)

"The colour should be that of champagne silk with a pinkish tinge, free from mealiness and well carried out under. Eye pink."

Chocolate (cc)

a/a b^c/b^c D/* C/* P/* or
a/a b^c/b D/* C/* P/*

"The colour should be that of plain (not milk) chocolate and should be rich, deep and full of life. Eye black."

Dove (d)

a/a B/* C/* D/* p/p

"The colour should be a soft dove grey. Eye pink."

Fawn (fa)

A^y/* B/* C/* D/* p/p u/u, or
A^y/* b^c/* C/* D/* p/p u/u, or
- e/e p/p u/u

"The colour can be described as the deepest tan as on a black tan. Eye pink."

Lilac (li)

a/a b^c/* d/d C/* P/* or
a/a b/b d/d C/* P/*

"En even light grey with a hint of brown. Darker hair root acceptable. The mouse should give a clear overall appearance of a self mouse. Eye black."

Red (r)

A^y/* B/* C/* D/* P/* u/u, or
A^y/* b^c/* C/* D/* P/* u/u, or
-- e/e P/* u/u

"The colour should be rich, deep and sparkling with no sootiness. Eye black."

Silver (si)

a/a B/* C/* d/d p/p (pink eyed)
a/a B/* c^ch/c d/d P/*, possibly a/a b^c/c ln/ln P/* (black eyed, bes)

"This is a delicate shade, as near as possible to an old silver coin. It should be sufficiently solid to leave no doubt of it being a self. Eye pink."

Straw (str)

A^y/A \ A^y/a b^c/* C/* d/d P/*, or
A^y/A \ A^y/a b^c/* C/* d/d p/p

"The colour should bright mid-tone argente, but without silvering or underolour. Eyes black or pink."

Pink Eyed White (pew), Black Eyed White (bew)

pew: - c/c - (Note: while all albino c/c mice are Pink Eyed White, not all PEW are genetically albinos!
bew: a marked mouse (or lower c-locus red mouse, or beb bred light)

"The white shall be pure in colour. Eye pink or black. Satin to be called ivory and to be as pure white as possible."

II - Ticked

In ticked varieties the coat consist of hairs with two or more bands of colour and different coloured hairs intermingled thoroughly in the coat. Term "eyes pink" to be understood to cover all shades of pink and red.

Agouti (ag)

A/A B/* C/* D/* P/*, or
A/a B/* C/* D/* P/*

"Eyes black. The agouti shall be a rich brown or golden hue with even dark or black ticking all through. The belly shall be a golden brown, ticked as on top and the feet shall match the body in colour and ticking."

Argente (ar)

A/A B/* C/* D/* p/p, or
A/a B/* C/* D/* p/p

"Eyes pink. An argente mouse shall be of a delicately blended shade of light fawn and silver, as the self silver, level throughout and the two colors so evenly intermingled as to give the appearance of shot silk. The undercolour to be blue, as dark as possible in shade. The belly to be a golden fawn and as similar to the top as possible. Feet to match top."

Argente Creme (arc)

A/a^t B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* p/p, or
A^W/* B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* p/p

"Eyes pink. An argente creme mouse shall be a delicate blend of deep cream and silver. The undercolour to be an extremely pale blue. Feet the same colour as body. Belly white."

Blue Agouti (bl-ag)

A/A B/* C/* d/d P/*, or
A/a B/* C/* d/d P/*, or
A/A B/* C/* D/* ln/ln P/*, or
A/a B/* C/* D/* ln/ln P/*

"Blue agouti is like the normal agouti except the golden brown pigment is diluted into yellowish tinge and black pigment into blue. Undercolour deep slate. Belly and feet to match top. Eyes black."

Chinchilla (chi)

A/a^t B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/*, or
A^w/* B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/*

"The mouse shall be as near as possible to the colour of a chinchilla with slate-blue undercolour and intermediate shade of pearl-grey. Hairs to be evenly tipped with black. Colour of feet on inside white, with remainder of foot the same colour as body - as in the standard for tans. Belly white. Eyes black."

Cinnamon (ci)

A/A b^c/* C/* D/* P/*, or
A/a b^c/* C/* D/* P/*

"The cinnamon shall be a rich golden tan, lustrous in colour and level throughout top and under, with rich brown ticking clearly defined. No black ticking. Eyes black."

Grey Agouti (gr-ag) (formerly called silver agouti)

A/A B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/*, or
A/a B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/*

"This variety is like the normal agouti except the golden brown pigment of the latter is replaced by silvery grey. Colour to be bright silvery grey evenly ticked with black. Undercolour deep slate. Belly to be silvery grey as close as possible to the top. Feet to match top. Eyes black."

III - Silvered

In silvered varieties the coat consist of silver (or white) coloured hairs intermingled thoroughly in the coat of one colour. Term "eyes pink" to be understood to cover all shades of pink and red. Pearl is in this group due to the genetic background of the variety.

Silver Brown (s-b)

A/A B/* C/* D/* P/* si/si, or
A/a B/* C/* D/* P/* si/si

"Ground colour should be rich ruddy brown as in the agouti. Undercolour to be blue-black. Eye black. The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet."

Silver Fawn (s-f)

A^y/* B/* C/* D/* P/* si/si (black eyed)
A^y/* B/* C/* D/* p/p si/si (pink eyed)

"The ground colour should deep bright orange. The undercolour bright orange. Eyes red or black. The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet."

Silver Grey (s-g)

a/a B/* C/* D/* P/* si/si

"The ground colour should be as black as possible. The undercolour to be rich blue-black. Eye black. The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet."

Pearl (pe)

a/a B/b d/d si/si, a/a B/B d/d si/si pe/pe, a/a B/b d/d si/si pe/pe (lightest version)

"Eyes black. A pearl mouse shall be of the palest silver, shading to a whitish undercolour. Each hair shall be delicately tipped with grey or black and carried out top and belly."

IV - Shaded & Pointed

There are two types of coat colorations in this class: pointed varieties (mice with the himalayan gene c^h), which have well defined points and shaded varieties with dark top colouration shading gradually to red (sables) or to white (marten sable). Homozygous pointed varieties have their points shading gradually into the body colour, while heterozygous pointed varieties have only points but no shadings.

Blue Burmese (bl-bur)

a/a B/* c^ch/c^h d/d P/*

"Eyes black. The blue burmese is to have light blue body colour all over. The points, which are very dark blue, are like with the siamese blue point."

Burmese (bur)

a/a B/* c^ch/c^h D/* P/*

"Eyes black. The burmese is to have light chocolate body colour all over. The points, which are very dark brown, almost black, are like with the siamese."

Colorpoint Beige (cpb)

a/a B/* c^e/c^h D/* P/*

"Eyes black. Body colour to be like with beige. Points, which are as dark as possible, are like with the siamese."

Himalayan (hi)

a/a B/* c^h/c D/* P/*

"Eye pink. Body colour as white as possible. Strong, clear points shall be present in the muzzle, ears, feet, tail and tail root.Nose point to extend from nose up to eyes, foot points from tips of toes to the hocks. Ear points to include the whole of ear and tail point to include tail and tail root."

Siamese Blue Point (sbp)

a/a B/* c^h/c^h d/d P/* or
a/a B/* c^h/c^h D/* ln/ln P/*

"Eyes red. Body colour silvery blue (the bluer the better), gradually shaded over saddle and hind quarters, merging gradually with body colour and being darkest at the tail root. The belly should be as near as possible in colour and shadings. White belly to be penalized. Points to be medium slate blue (as in the normal blue standard) and points shall be present in muzzle, ears, feet, tail and tail root. There should not be a definite or distinctive line of demarcation but rather a toning in or merging with the remainder of the coat. At all times there should be a harmonious balance between body colour, shadings and points. There should not be any blotches, streaks or white hairs."

Siamese Seal Point (ssp)

a/a B/* c^h/c^h D/* P/*

"Eyes red. Body colour medium beige, gradually shaded over saddle and hind quarters, merging gradually with body colour and being darkest at the tail root. The belly should be as near as possible in colour and shading. Seal points (dark sepia) shall be present in the muzzle, ears, feet, tail and tail root. There should not be a definite or distinct line of demarcation but rather harmonious balance between body colour, shading and points. There should not be any blotches, streaks or white hairs."

Blue Sable (bl-sa)

A^y/a^t B/* C/* d/d P/* U/*,
A^y/a^t B/* C/* D/* ln/ln P/* U/*,
A^y/a^t B/* C/* d/d ln/ln P/* U/*

"Colored like the sable, but with as blue as possible back, shading into as rich as possible golden tan belly. Eyes black."

Lilac Sable (l-sa)

A^y/a^t b^c/* C/* d/d P/* U/*

"Colored like the sable, but with as lilac as possible back, shading into as rich as possible golden tan belly. Eyes black."

Marten Sable (ms)

A^y/a^t B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/* U

"Eyes black. Top colour shall be a rich dark sepia from nose to tail, shading off to a paler colour on lower jaws, sides and flanks. Blending to be gradual; belly white. White ticking on flanks and rump to be considered as added beauty."

Sable (sa)

A^y/a^t B/* C/* D/* P/* U/*

"Eyes black. The top colour shall be a rich dark brown, as dark as possible, from nose to tail root. The belly colour to be as rich a golden tan as possible and the shading from top to belly to be gradual and even with no line of demarcation nor any blotch, patch, ticking or streakiness. There should be no white hairs whatsoever."

V - Tan & Fox

The tan and fox varieties are distinguished from other varieties by the belly colour, which is golden red in tan and white in fox. Tan is recognized in all colors, fox in only certain few.

Tans (*/t)

self-tans: a^t/a^t - , a^t/* -
ticked tans: A/a^t –
silver-ticked tans: a^t/a^t - si/si, a^t/* - si/si

"Tans are recognized in any standard colour and the colour shall be as laid down for these varieties, The tan belly shall be a rich golden orange hue, as rich as possible and there should be a clear line of demarcation between top colour and tan running in a straight line along flanks, chest and jaws. There should be no brindling or guard hairs. Eye colour shall be as in the non-tan varieties. Colour of feet should be inside tan, the remainder of foot the same as top colour. Wholly tan feet considered a greater fault than feet all same colour as top."

Foxes (*/f)

a^t/a^t c^ch/c^ch, a^t/a c^ch/c^ch
a^t/a^t c^e/c^e, a^t/a c^e/c^e (beige) fox)
a^t/a^t c^e/c, a^t/a c^e/c (bone fox)

"Fox shall be recognized in any standardized self or silver ticked top colour and the colour shall be as laid down for these varieties. Feet, sides and rump only to be ticked with white hairs. Belly white. Eyes as in the non foxed variety."

VI - Marked

In marked varieties the mouse has at least two colors in the coat, one being white (with the exception of brindle). Tanned marked mice have three colors in the coat, but these are not called Tricolor, which is a variety all of its own.

Banded (*/b)

W^sh/+

"Eyes as with the standardized color. A mouse of any recognized standard colour, with a white zone encircling the body and 1/4 of the length of the body, positioned at the third quarter of the body length from the head, excluding the tail. Sharpness of demarcation to be of prime importance. Feet white."

Brindle (*/bri)

Mo^br/- (sex-linked), or
A^vy/* (striping on red background), or
a^m/a^m (striping on black background)

"The brindle mouse shall have diluted stripes, streaks and numerous little areas over a standard colour background.These markings shall be evenly distributed over the mouse including the face and belly. Large blotches of solid colour or white background to be considered a fault. Central demarcation lines along spine, face and belly permissible. Eye to match standard colour. Slightly curved whiskers allowed."

Broken (*/br)

s/s

"Eye colour to be as in standardized variety. A broken should be as far removed from the even or dutch marked mouse as possible; that is to say, it should not have either dutch cheeks, saddle or any other markings, which may be considered evenly, placed. The spots or patches should be well distributed all over the body and head, the more uniform in size, the better, also the greater in number and they should be free from brindling. There must be a nose spot or patch on one side of the nose. A broken marked mouse without a nose spot must be disqualified. The nose spot defined as a spot on one side of the nose, including the whisker bed."

Capped (*/ca)

W^bd/W^sh

"The colour not to extend past the ears and to follow the line of the lower jaw bone, it should not extend under the chin. There should be a white line or an open star in the face and the rest of the body white. Colour as in any standardized variety. Eyes as in the standardized variety."

Dutch (*/du)

The genetic make-up of this variety is controvesial.

"Eye colour to be as in standardized variety. In dutch the face or cheek markings should be evenly balanced, a patch covering each side of the face, extending below the eye but not including the whiskers, and not joining between the ears at the narrowest part of the blaze. The cheek markings should not run underneath the jaw. The saddle should come well up from the tail to the middle of the body and be clean cut, top and under. Tail stop to be approximately halfway along the tail. The stops on the hind feet should come halfway between the tips of the toes and the hock. Colour of markings should be carried out in the ears. The coloured markings may be any standard colour."

Even (*/e)

s/s

"Eye colour to be as in standardized variety. A mouse shall be considered even marked that is of any standard colour and equally balanced in markings and free from runs. The more spots or patches the better, combined with pleasing effect."

Merle (me)

Rn - not quite certain

"Merle mice may be shown in any recognized color or marking. The unique feature is a pattern of dark solid-colored patches which should be well defined and distributed evenly throughout the entire lighter roan background color so as to create a marbled effect. Stripes and streaks to be considered added beauty. Demarcation lines running through the mouse's midlines are typical. Eye color to match base color. "

Roan (ro)

Rn^fkl - not quite certain

"Roan mice may be shown in any recognized color. The hair is a mixing of white and any other color evenly distributed similar to roan horses, but not to be confused with silvered animals. Eye color to match base color."

Rumpwhite (*/rw)

Rw/Rw⁺

"Eye colour to be as in standardized variety. To have any standardized coloured body with a white rump. The demarcation line to be straight and circle to body so that the lowest third of the mouse's body will be completely white, inlcuding the back feet and tail. The coloured part of the body to be devoid of any white markings."

Splashed (spl)

c*/c* Spl/*

"The splashed mouse is to have coloured blotches of at least two different shades of colour on a diluted background, so as to make the mouse to have three or more colours. The blotches should be as evenly distributed around the mouse as possible, including the face and belly. Large blotches of solid colour or white background to be considered a fault. Central demarcation lines along spine, face and belly permissible. Points allowed. Eye any colour, including odd-eye."

Tricolor (*/tri)

Spl/+ s/s (splashed)
Va (varitint waddler), or
A^y/a^t U/* s/s (Sable with recessive white spotting), or
p^un s/s (pink-eye unstable), or
c^m/c^m s/s or c^m/c^ch s/s (chinchilla mottled), or
p^m1/2/p s/s (pink-eye mottled)

"A tricolor mouse is to have three contrasting patches of colour on the back and sides. Patches of colour on the undersides and belly to be adjudged an added attraction. Brindling of patches to be adjudged a fault."

Variegated (*/var)

W/+

"A variegated mouse shall be of any standard colour, evenly splashed over and under body and must be free from any spots or solid patches as those found in evens and brokens. Eye colour to be as in standardized variety."

VII - Provisional Standards

Some varieties haven't been as yet fully standardized, these have provisional standards. Provisional standard varieties compete with fully standardized as if they had full standards.

III - Silvered

Silver Blue (s-bl)

a/a B/* C/* d/d P/* si/si

"The ground and undercolours to be blue like with self blue. The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet. Eye black."

VIII - Unstandardized

Unstandardized varieties are standardizable colours, markings and coat types, which have not as yet been granted Provisional Standards status. For a variety to be standardizable, it has to differ clearly enough from existing standardized, provisional standard or unstandardized varieties.

I - Self

Apricot (apr)

Possibly A^y/A \ A^y/a b/b c^ch/c^ch D/* P/* \ p/p

"The colour should darker than a cream, with the colour being as close to the apricot fruit as possible, being light orange with a pinkish tinge. Eyes black or pink. Faults include mealiness, greyness and light belly."

Coffee (co)

a/a b^c/* c^e/c^e D/* P/*

"The colour is very light brown with a slight grey shade, like coffee with cream. Eyes black. Not to be confused with beige."

Cream (cr)

A^y/* c^ch/c^ch D/* P/* (b.e.cream)
A^y/* c^ch/c^ch D/* p/p (p.e.cream)

"The colour should be rich cream, like pastel yellow, without grayness or sootiness. Eyes black or pink."

Smoke (sm)

a/a B/* d/d c^e/c^e P/* Ln/*

"A delicate, but clear smoke grey with a bluish tinge. Eye black."

Ruby Eyed White (rew)

ru/ru (or a dark dove or light b/b mouse with markings bred to cover the whole of the mouse)

"The white shall be pure in colour. Eyes ruby, not to be confused with pink or black eyes."

II - Ticked

Pale argente (pa-ar) (ex silver argente)

A/A B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* p/p,
A/a B/* c^ch/c^ch D/* p/p

"Eyes pink. A pale argente mouse shall be a delicate blend of deep cream and silver. The undercolour to be an extremely pale blue. Feet the same colour as body. Belly cream and to match the top as much as possible."

III - Silvered

Lilac Agouti (li-ag)

A/* b^c/* C/* d/d P/*

"Eye black. Lilac agouti to be rich cream coloured with even lilac ticking all through. The belly shall be cream coloured, ticked as on top. Feet to match top in both colour and ticking."

Silver Chocolate (s-cc)

a/a b^c/* C/* D/* P/* si/si

"The ground and undercolours to be chocolate like with self chocolate. The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet. Eye black."

Silver lilac

(s-li)

a/a b^c/* d/d C/* P/* si/si

"The ground and undercolours to be like with self lilac.The silvering should be even throughout, carried well onto the feet. Eye black."

IV - Shaded & Pointed

Beige marten sable (be-ms)

A^y/* B/* D/* c^e/c^e

"Like the marten sable, but with the top colour to be clear, darkish beige, shading into a white belly. Eye black."

Colorpoint Smoke (cps)

a/a B/* c^e/c^h d/d P/*

"Eyes black. Body color to be light grey with distinct blue tinge, point as with siamese blue point. No shadings."

Dove sable (d-sa)

A^y B/* D/* p/p U

"Like sable, but with the top colour to be a soft dove grey, shading into fawn belly. Eye pink."

Reverse Siamese (rs)

Genotype not known.

"Color to be a medium coffee-with-cream color with white points to give the effect of a siamese but in a reverse siamese pattern. Points to be as white as possible to contrast against the dark background. Points to include the nose, ears, feet, and tail. Eye color is black. "

Silver sable (si-sa)

A^y/* B/* C/* d/d p/p U

"Like sable, but with the top colour to be a silvery grey, shading into a light fawn belly. Eye pink."

Snow marten sable (sn-ms)

A^y/a^t B/* c^ch/c D/* P/* U

"Belly pure snow white. Shading to be sand-dark toffee, otherwise resembling the marten sable. The overall effect to be cold and fresh. Preferred colouration subtle instead of heavy, but the shadings should be clear and even. Yellow tinge, too heavy and too weak shadings to be considered faults."

VI - Marked

Berkshire (*/brk)

s/s + modifiers.

"With the exception of fox varieties, a mouse of any standardized colour, with a symmetrical white spot on the forehead. A symmetrical white rectangular spot on the belly, beginning between the forelegs and ending between the hind legs. Feet stops are required, not running into the belly markings. Tail stop to be at most halfway along the tail. White to be pure and devoid of any coloured spots or markings, the coloured back and sides to be devoid of any white spots. A white spot on the lower jaw is not the considered a disqualifying fault. Eye colour to be as in standardized variety."

Blazed (*/blz)

s/s + modifiers
W/+ + modifiers

"With the exception of fox varieties, a mouse of any standardized colour, with a symmetrical white blaze on the face, running without breaking to a wide white belly spot. The blaze is not to rise above the ear level. The belly spot to be wide, but cover the belly only, not rising to the sides. The belly spot have as sharp demarcation lines as possible and reach the vent. Feet stops are required, running into the belly markings. Tail stop to be at 2/3 – 1/2 of the length of tail. White to be pure and devoid of any coloured spots or markings, the coloured back and sides to be devoid of any white spots. Eye colour to be as in standardized variety."

***

Egyptian Spiny Mice

Type

The spiny mice should be as large in size as possible. The body is robust and firm, roundish in shape, without being fat. The differences between male and female spiny mice should be clearly defined.

The head is wide and tapers to a fine nose; not too sharp or disproportionally long. The head should not dominate the overall image of the spiny mouse. The eyes are large, bright and round. Ears are located relatively high and point upwards, but there should not be too narrow a distance between the ears. The whiskers are long and bushy.

The coat is soft and smooth. The spines, which are located on the back portion of the body, should be short and stocky. The fur on top of the spiny mouse is covered with long, transparent overhairs. The judge should take into consideration that the coat of a young spiny mouse, especially the spine, aren't yet fully developed.

The tail should be equal in length to the body, straight, round and covered with fine scales.

Common faults: The spiny mouse is too fat (common on older animals) and the differences between males and females being unclear.

Agouti

The basic colour shall be warm brownish red with dark and even tipping. The undercolour to be almost white, the tips of the hairs black or brown on the back and head. On the forehead there should be a diamond shaped bonnet formed by dark tipping. Belly as white as possible. The demarcation line between the top and belly colours should be straight and clear. There shall be clearly defined white areas under the eyes and around the ears. Feet white, nails and whiskers neutral. Eye black.

The judge is to take into consideration that the colouring of a young spiny mouse is not as yet fully developed.

Common faults: Too light pigment on skin. The basic colour not warm enough reddish brown. Unclear bonnet.

Cream

The basic colour should be rich cream with darker tipping, which should be as even as possible. The undercolour almost white. Belly white. The demarcation line between the top and belly colours to be clear cut and straight. There shall be clearly defined white areas under the eyes and around the ears. Feet white, nails and whiskers neutral. Eye black.

The judge is to take into consideration that the colouring of a young spiny mouse is not as yet fully developed.

Common faults: Tipping too dark and too heavy, bonnet. Unclear demarcation line.

White Spot

The markings on head large and situated in the middle of forehead. It shall be as symmetric as possible, round and white. Body color to meet the standard laid down for it.

Common faults: The colour does not fully correspond a standardized colour variety.

UNSTANDARDIZED:

COAT

Rex

The coat, spines and whiskers to be as curly as possible throughout the spiny mouse. The coat to be coarser than that of non-rex. Faults: hairless or very thinly haired spots, missing whiskers. The judge should take into consideration the effect of age on the coat's development.

Relevant information: Curls develop with age. Young rex spiny mice have rather weak curls, the coat, spines and whiskers still being clearly wavy. Old rex spiny mice have very distinctive curls, effecting the overall look of the animal.