I freely admit that genetics is not my strongest subject, and as I prefer to stick with what I know, so I shall merely gloss over this topic and just explain the very basics that I am comfortable with. Thus, this article will not be of interest to experienced breeders with a good knowledge. However, I hope that it may explain some things for people new to breeding chinchillas.

There are now many colour variants being bred, including the "blends" and crosses that are possible too. However, in order to achieve a certain colour you do need to have an understanding of how to get there without compromising the health of a chinchilla.

Some mutations have a tendency to breed weak. By this, I mean that although the easiest way of achieving a certain coloured kit (for instance, Violet) is to breed two Violets together, this may not be the best way in terms of the quality of the offspring. Two Violets bred together may produce a small kit, with poor colour and qualities. The same applies to any mutation really.

Before I continue, here are some useful terminology and meanings.

Homozygous - two identical alleles on the corresponding gene loci.

Heterozygous -   two different alleles on the corresponding gene loci.

Phenotype - an animals appearance/charactisterics

Genotype - an animals genetic makeup

Mutation - in this case, any colour that is not Standard

Chromosome - Structures in a cell's nucleus that house the genes (chinchillas have 64!!)

Allele -  one of two alternate forms of a gene that can have the same locus on chromosomes. They may be responsible for alternative traits - i.e. some alleles are dominant over others.

Locus - A locus describes the position of a gene on a chromosome. A locus can be occupied by any of the alleles of the gene. (Leading us - once again to the term homozygous = (have the same allele at a locus) or heterozygous = (have different alleles at a locus).

TOV - An American term "Touch of Velvet" meaning a chinchilla with the "Velvet" gene

Standard - Standard Grey - the natural colour of chinchillas

Lethal Gene Factor - certain colours (white and velvet) are not viable if homozygous for that colour (i.e. they can only exist in the heterozygous state).  These colours are said to have a "lethal factor".

Carrier - A chinchilla of any particular phenotype may "carry" a single gene for another colour.  i.e. may be a heterozygous carrier for a recessive colour.  Recessive colours are only expressed in the homozygous state (when a chinchilla inherits both genes).  A chinchilla can carry more than one recessive colour - if bred to do so.

Recessive Inheritance -  Two chinchillas carrying one recessive gene, although carriers, are not violet coloured - as they only have one gene apiece (recessive colours only express themselves in the homozygous (2 gene) state).

Dominant Inheritance  - One parent has a single, dominant gene (i.e. black velvet) - which appears phenotypically. When the parent mates with a "normal" or standard (non-carrying) mate, the offspring will either be Black velvet or standard, but they are never carriers as the dominant gene cannot be carried.

Here is an extremely basic list of the main colour groups (not including every cross or blend that is possible or I would have to write a novel for that!!)

Standard Grey

Black Velvet

Ebony

Tan (ebony/beige X)

Ebony Velvet (called TOV ebony in the US)

Charcoal (a true recessive mutation in its own right - not recognised in the States and their term "charcoal" is often used to describe Hetero. Ebonies which are, in Europe, a separate mutation)

Pastel (charcoal/beige X)

Charbrown (charcoal/beige/velvet X)

Charblack (charcoal/velvet X)

Wilson White (including silver and mosaic)

Pink/white (wilson/beige X)

Black/white cross (In the US known as TOV White)

Violet

Ultra Violet (violet/velvet X)

Beige/Violet

Violet Wrap (violet/ebony X)

Sapphire

Royal Blue (sapphire/velvet X)

Homozygous Beige (also known as (old fashioned terms): Apricot, Champagne, Rose)

Heterozygous Beige

Brown Velvet (In the US known as TOV Beige)

Of the above colours, many can be crossed to produce double and triple recessives, which can then produce varied mutation offspring, although many will have a similar phenotype.

However, it must be mentioned that the Velvet and the White gene have a lethal gene factor when in the homozygous state. This means that velvet to velvet and white to white pairings are inadvisable as this will result in 1 in 4 (25%) embryos being non-viable. These two colours can only exist in the heterozygous state.

White to velvet pairings are possible as the lethal factor exists on different loci for each colour.

Recessive colours are only expressed when the chinchilla inherits two genes from its parents. Animals that only inherit one gene are known as carriers and will appear to be "normal" in phenotype (i.e. a Standard chinchilla that "carries" Violet - AKA: A Standard Violet Carrier).

Dominant colours are expressed differently and only one parent need be that colour in order to pass it onto the next generation.

Here are some of the most basic examples (NOT including Ebony or Double Recessives) of the possible offspring (in %) statistically expected from certain pairings.

Standard X Standard = 100% Standard

Standard X Hetero. Beige = 50% Standard - 50% Hetero. Beige

Standard X Homo. Beige = 100% Hetero. Beige

Standard X Pink/White = 25% Pink/White - 25% Standard - 25% Hetero. Beige - 25% Wilson White

Standard X Wilson White = 50% Wilson White - 50% Standard

Standard X Black Velvet = 50% Standard - 50% Black Velvet

Standard X Brown Velvet = 25% Standard - 25% Brown Velvet - 25% Black Velvet - 25% Hetero. Beige

Standard X Violet = 100% Standard (carrying Violet)

Standard (carrying Violet) X Violet = 50% Violet - 50% Standard (carrying Violet)

Hetero. Beige X Hetero. Beige = 50% Homo. Beige - 25% Hetero. Beige - 25% Standard

Hetero. Beige X Black Velvet = 25% Hetero. Beige - 25% Brown Velvet - 25% Standard - 25% Black Velvet

Homo. Beige X Black Velvet = 50% Brown Velvet - 25% Hetero, Beige

Black Velvet X Wilson White = 25% Wilson White - 25% Black/White Cross - 25% Black Velvet - 25% Standard

Black Velvet X Brown Velvet = 25% Brown Velvet - 25% Black Velvet - 12.5% Standard - 12.5% Hetero. Beige - 25% Lethal Gene

Wilson White X Pink/White = 25% Pink/White - 25% Wilson White - 12.5% Standard - 12.5% Hetero. Beige - 25% Lethal Gene

Pink/White X Brown Velvet = 18.75% Brown Velvet - 12.50% Hetero. Beige - 18.75% TOV Pink/White - 18.75% Pink/White - 6.25% Standard - 6.25% Homo. Beige - 6.25% Wilson White - 6.25% Black Velvet - 6.25% Black./White Cross

Black Velvet X Violet = 50% Standard (carrying Violet) - 50% Black Velvet (carrying Violet)

Violet X Black Velvet (carrying Violet) = 25% Violet - 25% Standard (carrying Violet) - 25% Black Velvet (carrying Violet) - 25% Ultra Violet

Homo. Beige X Violet = 100% Hetero. Beige (carrying violet)

Hetero. Beige (carrying Violet) X Violet = 25% Violet - 25% Standard (carrying Violet) - 25% Hetero. Beige (carrying Violet) - 25% Beige/Violet (AKA: Pearl)

N.B. Charcoal and Sapphire recessive mutations behave in the same manner as Violet.

Once again, may I reiterate that although it is fun to breed some of the stunning colours that are available today, please do so with the health of future generations in mind. Some recessive mutations tend to produce weak and small offspring. They therefore require out-crossing to BIG, TOP QUALITY Standards whenever possible. NEVER breed from any chinchilla that has had dental problems within its bloodline. Fur-chewers (a vice) should also be excluded from a breeding programme if possible.