Post by rambobright on Dec 7, 2013 0:13:35 GMT 10
AUSTRALIAN RODENT CLUB (ARC) MOUSE STANDARDS
(PROVISIONAL COPY)
Minimum requirements and general disqualifications.
Condition:
• The mouse should appear healthy and be of correct weight and size, it should never be severely underweight nor obese.
• The coat should be thick and healthy in appearance; a sparse unkempt coat shall be considered an indication of illness.
• The eyes should be bright and clear from any indication of blindness or discharge.
• There should be no open wounds, healing scabs, abscess or irritation to the skin.
• There should be no missing patches of fur and the whiskers should be intact (hairless exempt).
• There should be no physical alteration of the animal or evidence of interference on behalf of the owner breeder or exhibitor.
• A mouse shall have all limbs and appendages in its natural state according to its variety, there should be no unnatural physical deformities either from injury or birth defect.
• The mouse should not be showing any signs of illness, including but not limited to excessive scratching, sneezing, wheezing, rattling or chirping, nor should the mouse be hunched over or demonstrate head tilt.
• There shall be no unnatural growths or tumours evident.
• Teeth should align evenly, and should not be absent or overgrown.
• The mouse should not be pregnant at time of judging.
• The mouse should be free from parasites, parasite eggs or other indicators of infestation.
Should any ONE or more of the preceding descriptions be evident, it may be considered grounds for disqualification.
Temperament:
Mice must be tractable, it should be alert, have a friendly disposition and demonstrate an inquisitive nature. A mouse should not be lethargic or apathetic while being handled.
A mouse should not be skittish nor should it bite, extreme demonstration of such behaviours may be deemed by the judge as a disqualifiable fault.
Overall Type and Appearance:
BODY:
A mouse body should be slender, muscular and give the appearance of fluidity, elegance and strength. The mouse should be of an ideal healthy weight, not too thin not overweight. The mouse will be well arched at the loin and will be proportionate in all aspects. When two mice are equal in qualities, preference will be given to the larger mouse.
HEAD
The head should be long and wedge shaped. It should be a smooth and rounded shape without being too wide or narrow. The lines of the face should be soft and smooth, roman nosed and taper to a clean, dry nose that is not too pointy or fine. The width of the muzzle should be proportionate with the head and should not be pinched or narrow. Bucks will have broader cheeks than does.
EARS
The ears should be as large as possible without inhibiting natural movement of the mouse or demonstrating feathering of the edges. The ears shall be smooth with round edges which are prominent, clean and free from creases. They should be expressive and erect, when compared with a clock face they should be of correct 2 O’clock – 10 O’clock placement. Rips, holes or other unnatural or natural defects of the ears will be considered a fault.
EYES
The eyes should be clear, bright and rounded with bold, large size. They should not protrude unnaturally. They should have adequate spacing between them and should align with the base of the ears.
TAIL
The tail should be free from kinks or bumps and should be as long as possible, at least the length of the mouse’s body and head. The tail shall flow smoothly from the rump and have a long thick tail set-on. The base is to be thick, tapering to a fine point.
Varieties (specialised type and appearance):
The Australian Rodent Club Inc. currently recognises 2 distinctive mouse varieties.
Manx:
Manx is a congenital condition whereby mice exhibit a complete absence of tail, a mouse with a tail amputation is not considered Manx. Manx mice may be shown as any coat type or colour and shall meet all mouse conformation standards with exception of Tail and Body.
Manx Body – A Manx mouse is has a stocky, shorter body than its standard counterpart with a rounded rump. Manx mice should not be overweight but may be wider at the flanks, particularly in the hind region. Manx mice should have normal movement. Limbs should not be inhibited from function due to the shortening of spine.
Manx Tail – The tail of a Manx mouse should be completely absent, the base of the spine should finish just below the hip. There should be no evidence of a tail stump.
Hairless:
Hairlessness in mice is a congenital condition whereby animals have a complete absence of coat. A mouse with coat absence due to abnormal moult, medical condition or human interference is not considered hairless. The mouse should be devoid of any coat, whiskers may be extremely short or missing. The eyes may be any colour but free from disease or discharge due to irritation.
Hairless mice should meet all mouse conformation standards. Claw clipping is permitted in this variety and recommended with animals that have excessive claw growth.
Hairless colour – The Hairless mouse should have smooth, healthy, translucent skin that is free from blemishes, irritation or injury. It should be clean, un-pigmented and bright pink in colour. Ears and tail may contain some dark pigmentation.
Coat:
The Australian Rodent Club Inc. currently recognises 4 distinctive mouse coats.
Standard:
The Standard mouse should have a smooth, glossy coat that lies flat against the skin. The coat will be dense and even covering all furred areas of the body. A mouse should not have long excess guard hairs.
Long Hair:
The Long Haired mouse should have a coat that is as long as possible with guard hairs to match, without inhibiting normal mouse behaviour. It should be full with good volume and density. The coat should have a soft and silky texture.
Rex:
The Rex could have a dense curled coat of standard length which gives the appearance of tight waves over all furred areas of the body. Curling should appear evenly throughout the coat. Textured guard hairs are permissible. Whiskers are also curly.
Texel:
The Texel coat is a combination of the Rex and Long Hair coat. The coat should be exceptionally curly as long as possible with matching long curly guard hairs. The coat should be thick and soft to the touch and appear dense over the entire furred region with no thinning of coat. Whiskers are also curly.
Colours:
Self
Includes all mice of a standardised non-ticked, solid colouring. All Self mice are to have no mealiness, silvering or tanning of the vent, or behind ears. There will be an evenly distributed shade of colour including the ears, nose, belly, tail and feet.
Black: Colour is to be a lustrous dark midnight black, as dark as possible with black eyes. There shall be no light hairs present.
Chocolate: Colour is to resemble that of rich dark chocolate, with black eyes.
Blue: Colour is a medium cadet blue with black eyes.
Lilac: Colour is an attractive warm and even blend of blue and chocolate. Eye colour is black.
Dove: Colour is to be a warm dove grey, darker and warmer in appearance to silver. Eye colour is pink.
Champagne: Should be a light, warm yellow, similar to the colour of champagne. Eyes are pink.
Silver: Colour is a cool, pastel grey showing no hint of lilac. Eyes are pink.
Fawn: Colour is a bright, rusty orange. Eyes may be black or pink.
Coffee: Colour is to resemble that of milked coffee appearance a soft pale brown. Eyed are Black.
Cream: Colour is to be off-white, very pale pastel beige. Eyes are black.
White: Colour is a pure clean white, devoid of any discolouration. Eyes may be pink or black.
Ticked
The Ticked category includes and mouse whose coat consists of individual hair banded with two or more colours and evenly intercepted with coloured guard hairs. Mouse should have uniform ticking and colour all over the body with no inconsistency.
Agouti: The colour is to be a rich golden brown with a dark slate undercoat. There will be black ticking throughout the coat. Colour should be rich and dark over the entire body, including the ears, tail, nose and feet.
Cinnamon: The colour is similar to agouti with golden tan appearance, dark brown ticking and a rich chocolate undercoat. Eyes colour is black.
Blue Agouti: The colour has pale cream yellow appearance with a cadet blue undercoat and Blue ticking throughout. Eye colour is black.
Argente: The colour has a warm rusty orange appearance, with a dove grey undercoat and grey ticking throughout. Eye colour is pink.
Chinchilla: Colour is to resemble that of a chinchilla with a pearl-grey appearance, a slate blue undercoat and black ticking. The division between colours should be as sharp as possible, where black ticking is clearly evident against the pearl-grey. The belly, lower jaw and inside of the legs are to be silver-white, outside of the legs should match the top colour. Eyes are black.
Tan and Fox
The Tan and Fox category includes all mice of recognised top colour with contrasting colour underneath.
Tan: Colour is to conform to colour standards of any standardised variety contrasting with a rich, golden underside. Eye colour must conform to the top colour of the mouse. There should be a sharp, crisp divide between the top colour and tan starting from the nose, running along the lower jaw, and lower flanks to the vent. The outside of the legs should match the top colour and the insides are to be tan.
Fox: Colour is to conform to colour standards of any standardised variety contrasting with a pure white underside. Eye colour must conform to the top colour of the mouse. There should be a sharp, crisp divide between the top colour and white starting from the nose, running along the lower jaw, and lower flanks to the vent. The outside of the legs should match the top colour and the insides are to be white.
Pointed
The pointed category includes mice which have darker pigmented areas of colour on the muzzle, ears, feet, tail and rump. Non agouti mice are preferred.
Siamese: Colour is medium beige on the front half of the body, gradually shading to a dark brown on the rump and even over the top and underneath the mouse. Points shall be brown, as dark as possible and confined to the whisker bed, ears, feet and tail. Points should blend smoothly with the coat. Eye colour is Ruby.
Burmese: The Burmese is to be a warm chocolate brown over the entire body. The points are to be as dark as possible and clearly evident. Placement of shading is as in Siamese. Eye colour is Black
Himalayan: The coat is to be as pure white as possible with well-defined chocolate brown points. Placement of shading is isolated to the body’s extremities including whisker bed, ears, feet and tail. Eye colour is pink or ruby.
Reverse Siamese: The coat is to be cream coffee brown to grey brown with highly contrasting clean white points. Points shall contrast the coat as much as possible and be confined to the whisker bed, ears, feet and tail.
Any Other Colour Pattern
The Any Other Colour Pattern category includes mice which consist of two or more colours demonstrating recognised colour patterns.
Sable: Sable mice are to have a dark, sooty brown on concentrated on the dorsal region extending from the tip of the nose to the base of the tail. Dark pigmentation is to be gradual and even with no lines of demarcation, ticking or blotches extending down the sides of the mouse to a rich golden-orange belly.
Brindle: Brindle mice are to be of any recognised colour with contrasting dark brindle tiger-like striping from head to tail tip, lighter striping on the belly is permissible. Background may be any recognised colour. An ideal brindle mouse should have a balance of striped marking and background colour. Eye colour to match that of striping colour.
Marked
The Marked category includes mice which have specific recognised white and coloured regions. The pigmented area of the mouse must conform to standards for that colour or colour pattern including eye colour. High contrast in pigment and white is highly desirable.
Broken: Broken marked mice have as many coloured spots or patches as possible on a pure white background. Spots must be even in size, sharply defined and distributed in an irregular pattern all over the body that is pleasing to the eye; patterns on each side of the mouse should not be symmetrical. There should be no variegation or silvering in markings. Ideal examples will have an even distribution of colour to white.
Even: Even mice have a uniform patterning and should have many sharply defined and balanced spots which are symmetrical on both left and right side of the mouse including the belly. There should be no variegation or silvering in markings. Ideal examples will have an even distribution of colour to white.
Unstandardized.
The Unstandardized category is for breeders who are developing new or existing unrecognised colours. This class allows animals to be assessed for peer review and select the best category and description for that example.
Unstandardized: Exhibitors may enter no more than 3 animals during any one show for this category, a draft standard must be submitted to the committee prior to show.
A mouse shown in unstandardized class may be of any colour, variety or pattern which has not yet been standardised by the Australian Rodent Club Inc.
Mice entered in this class must exhibit current conformation standards and will be judged according to existing conformation standard, except where a submission for consideration of a new variety/mutation with altered conformation has been approved by the committee prior to show.
If a mouse entering this class is simply a poor example of an existing standard than it will be eliminated from competition. This class is for unstandardized varieties, and are ineligible to win titles and may only win places for this class.
A minimum of 3 separate examples of the variety must be shown in unstandardized class along with documentation that the variety breeds true for an official written standard to be presented at a general meeting and approved by a majority vote for that variety to be placed in the appropriate section of standard.
Novelty.
The Novelty category is for entertainment and recreational purpose, for the enjoyment of the members competing in light hearted competition. Animals in this category are permitted to have minor injury, such as noticeably ripped ears or partial amputation of the tail as long as it has fully healed. A mouse may be overweight without inhibiting normal behaviour. The animal must not have any sign of infectious disease or problems requiring current medical attention.
Mice in Novelty class are ineligible for titles, however may win prizes in their chosen class.
Pet: A pet mouse is an inquisitive mouse, keen to seek human interaction and docile in hand. A confident and well socialised individual should not show any signs of fear or aggression and be a delight to handle.
Performance: A performance mouse must be able to perform a task on cue with the assistance of its handler. The performance mouse will be judged on the complexity of the task being performed and accuracy in completing the task. The task may be of the handler’s choosing and must not distress the animal in any way. This class encourages positive interaction and training of a highly intelligent companion animal.