Dirty Belly= Ebony??

[Megan.]

Ok, I am always hearing this. A dirty belly= ebony.

Did people forget, that standards without ebony in them can have dirty bellies too? Or am I missing something? Is every standard that has a dirty belly now an ebony, or eb carrier? Even if they come from a line that does not have ebony in them? Seems I am missing something, as EVERY time someone has a standard with a dirty belly- they are "Light ebonies or ebony carriers". Half the time these animals have NO background, and are from petstores. My guess would be a simple standard with a dirty belly due to poor breeding.

Or can people NOT be happy with a "Lower quality" standard that has a dirty belly? Must they have an "ebony" that truely is NOT an ebony?

[Agent Jones]

I think that if I got my chinchilla from a breeder and he turned out to have a dirty belly, I would like to assume he was an eb carrier, or something with ebony in it. No one wants to think they went to the trouble of finding a breeder, only to get a poor quality standard. I do agree with you, though, that it would be much more responsible to check the background of the chin in question if at all possible and use common sense to determine whether it's poor breeding or the presense of an ebony gene.

It is annoying to have everyone finding any excuse possible to make their mutation more rare or valuable, but I think as long as the chins in question aren't be bred based on the owner's convenient assumption that the chinchilla is something it's not, to each his own.

[Megan.]

But what I don't understand- if it is a pet who cares about color? I have pet chins here- that I don't CARE what they look like. They can be bald for all I care, yet if they are happy, and healthy- I really don't care. You should love your pet no matter what. If it's a low quality standard, or a grandshow champion standard. A Standard, or an Ebony.

No chin is "better" because of color. All my chins are loved--based on personality; not their color, quality, etc.

Edit: Guess I shouldn't say based on their personality. I have total sweethearts, and a chin that hates me- but I love them all equally. The chin who hates me doesn't get held, because he hates it--but he does get scratches. I have pet standards, ebonies, violets, tans- yet I don't like the Violet over the standard, They are all "my babies".

[Chrisanne]

I have seen pure black velvets born with dirty bellies that end up clearing as they get older. No ebony.. just dirty bellied as babies.

To me, if you have no idea about ebony in the pedigree then i'd say just a dirty bellied chin period. I have some kits now that i say "poss ebc" only because the dad does have ebony.

As far as a pet.... if its a pet only I wouldn't care what color it was. The only reason color makes a difference for me now is in determining the mate for that particular chin.

[x_maddy]

Yea, dirty belly does N0T mean ebony carrier. I have a beige ( pet ) girl with a very dirty belly .. she looks like a pastel, but has no ebony in her background. Having a dirty belly does not make her, or any other chin in a similar circumstance, a light ebony, or carrier.

I`ve heard that some breeders always call a chin and ebony carrier if it has ebony somewhere in its lines, because ebony can pop up after a few generations. That seems more correct to me.

[tikitorch]

I have a male standard with both parents being ebonies.... he is a dirty belly. I consider him a likely/possible ebony carrier. I bought him as a pet however- so it really doesnt matter.

[x_maddy]

I have a male standard with both parents being ebonies.... he is a dirty belly. I consider him a likely/possible ebony carrier. I bought him as a pet however- so it really doesnt matter.

That`s interesting. Seems like a hard judgement call. Is he an ebony carrier or a dirty-bellied standard ? :dunno:

It seems to me that a dirty belly is an indication of poor quality, which is why I think it`s important to know whether your chin is a light ebony or a dirty-bellied standard. It confuses me. :banghead:

[Megan.]

I would call that chin an ebony carrier.

I have a standard appearing animal out of a Extra Dark, Shiney black ebony male and a White Ebony female. Her sister, and littermate is Extra dark- as was their brother.

If ebony is present- then make sure to note ebony is there.

But when ebony is NOT there- that chin is NOT an ebony carrier, and people need to accept that fact.

Chris- I've seen that too. It just seems everyone wants an ebony chin, so no matter what, that chin is "Ebony" or carrier, even tho it may just have a dirty belly.

[Kansas City Chinchillas]

Guess I missed something. I haven't seen folks calling a dirty bellied standard an ebony when it doesn't have something to do with sales or when in fact the chin got a dirty belly as a result of an ebony influence. The best way to muddy up a standard's tummy is to mix some ebony in the line. Not saying there isn't such a thing as a dirty belly without eb influence. Some folks say things that aren't true about the color of a chin to sell it. Old problem and not a new twist.

[Ashleigh]

in show lines you get a "busse" (if i spelt that right) apperance at times, This can start under the chin and cover the whole belly with a light grey, or brownish colored grey. This is from breeders trying to produce even darker standards or even black velvets that it tends to run to the belly side. I just recently bought a few chinchillas that have this, and I didn't know it till I got them home from the airport, but i know all the background is standard and NO ebony what so ever or even Black velvets. I'm forced to put my new beauties into a ebony line. In their pedigrees I will write down that they have the busse look in the parents so that people are aware as well.
as for the pet's have muddy/dirty bellies. I'd say poor breeding as so many people just throw two mutes together in hopes to get a better neater looking mute then what they started with. So that the color is rarer looking and they can profit off of it even more. Or its just that people don't know any better and call it as they see it. Sadly not every one does do research on all points of breeding before they breed. Also saying the belly is muddy/dirty might help it sell for a higher price than what a standard with a offcolor belly would if you said the reason behind it was because of the ebony. Its all efforts most of the time to get more money it seems. I talked to a lady over the phone who called me about my ebony chinchillas and she told me she read some where that a standard with a dirty belly with give you darker kits or bred to a mosaic with throw even more extreme looking patterns. Some people might think this as well and may tell you it does. However, I feel that a dirty bellied standard wont throw more interesting looking kits than a good CLEAR crisp white bellied one would.
Eh, there are my thoughts on this."
-Ashleigh