Hello,

I'm new here, but not new to the Glider world. I have had Gliders since 1996, and have recently come upon a situation that I am unfamiliar with.

My female recently had a little one, (sex unknown at this time) but this one, was different. Past joeys had darker skin and their general coloring pattern seemed to be visible. However, this one, had milky white skin and red eyes, an albino, from what I can tell. I did not know that such things existed. I'm not active in glider communities etc, nor am I a breeder. I've just been a happy and successful longtime glider owner.

I have a few questions, since I now see there are more varieties with names, than I was even aware of. But if a Glider is born with red eyes, will that change as it matures? The same question about their fur - is it prone to change say from white to grey, develop stripes as they mature, etc? I don't know much about them or the terminologies that I've run across while trying to learn more. Het, Leu, etc, are all new to me.

Any information on this little one, would be useful.

Seanamon

The albino trait in genetics is usually an undesired 'throw back' of mixed genes far back in the line. It can be bred for in certain specialties, but the health problems with many albino animals are prevalent. (one of my dogs for example)

You could have a cremino...they have light coats and redish eyes sometimes.

Regardless, the coats will change slightly as they mature in any glider coloration, but the red eyes (to my knowledge will not).

That's about all I have to say. I'm sure some of our other friends will have lots of info for you!

Appreciate the info. Not sure what you meant by undesirable throwback.

Here's the little thing!

Seanamon

Awww! The little one looks like my Luna. She is cremeino and also has red eyes. I have read that animals with red eyes are more likely to have vision problems and sure enough my Luna is hard-of-seeing.
Just FYI!

The cute little guy does appear to be an albino (creamenios have some cream colored markings where the usual dark grey markings are on common grey gliders.

The fact that your pair produced this joey means they are each carrying the recessive Albino Gene and each contributed their albino gene to the conception of this joey.

If the pair continues to breed you have a 25% chance that each future joey will be albino. The rest of the joeys will be common grey in coloration but they will have a 50% chance that they also carry the albino gene.

Do you have lineage (family tree) for both parents? It would be good to double check and see if they have any close common ancestors that may have passed on the Albino gene as it is not very common in the glider population.

His color will not change as he grows older.

The albino mutation could have been inherited from the parents, but there are other possible scenarios...

One possible scenario is that the albinism may have occurred due to a mutation in the DNA of the little fuzzbutts parent's germ cells (sperm/egg cells). These mutated cells then would have went on to make the baby albino glider.

Another possible scenario is that during the development of the glider baby in question, a mutation (just a change) in the DNA sequence during development lead to lack of pigment. In both of the above scenarios, the parents are unlikely to have albino offspring ever again.

Now to address the baby albino's offspring should he/she ever have any. The change in fur colour may or may not be heritable (passed on). This will totally depend on whether it was a mutation in the germ (reproductive) cells DNA or somatic (non-reproductive) cells DNA.

If it was a somatic cell (non-reproductive) mutation, the baby glider in questions offspring will not be albino because its white fur was caused by a change in the skin cell genes (which resulted in a lack of pigment). If this is the case, the albino baby will have offspring with the colour combination of its parents. It will not pass on the mutation to its offspring because its germ cells (egg/sperm) do not have the mutation.

If instead the mutation is in the germ cells (egg/sperm), then the trait will be passed on to the baby albino's offspring. Keep in mind though that it will only be expressed (show up) in the phenotype (the outward appearance) if the offspring are homozygous recessive (aa) for the trait.

I am totally relying on the fact that you have a little understanding of genetics at the end here cause I'm running out of time. :)

He's gorgeous! In saying undesirable and 'throw back'...those were words that have been used in any breeding community (horses, dogs, cats...etc.) A throw back trait would be something related to a recessive gene that would cause a specific trait to pop up down the line. My first rottweiler had a white patch on his chest, making him unsuitable for breeding because of the AKC breed standards, etc. It was called a 'throw back' trait. Now that I think about it...I'm not sure if it stems from actually 'culling' (by neuter) that animal from the blood lines or whether it's something along the terms of a recessive trait being thrown back and forth (like a slang term instead of proper genetic terms).

My rottie certainly wasn't undesirable to us just because he had a white spot! I have a little cattahoula leopard dog right now who people think is an albino. She does have normal eyes and a tiny amount of pigment around her ears and nose. Her coat is "painted" it's so short and smooth and her skin is pink and fragile. She's a special needs dog with GI and skin allergies as well as needing sun screen and t-shirts. As they are most commonly bred as a working dog to accompany an owner in the field she was 'undesirable'. Thankfully she isn't deaf, which is also common in albinism. Melanin which is what predicts coloration is what is missing in albinism, but it also has some effect on the development of the inner ear. I can't recall exactly how that works at the moment...and I digress GREATLY!

Plus it's time to head inside. My fingers are freezing and my knees are knocking.

But first!

I meant to slide into those thoughts that white dogs, especially in bully breeds, were culled at birth as a long standing belief that they were crazy...wired wrong...dangerous. Oh we fool humans, always messing with mother nature!

Appreciate the information.

I do not have the lineage, except to say that the little one came from my lineage. As I am not a breeder, my collection of gliders through the years would usually come about from vacancy when one would pass and I'd get them a new "friend" sometimes, just through rehoming one that the owners couldn't take care of, or did so ignorantly and that had heard of my experience and reputation with owning gliders word of mouth.

All this time at least one glider I have owned has come from the lineage of my original pair.

As to the source of mutation, whether germ-based or or somatic, that would be beyond my pay grade, though I understand your points. Over the past week its gotten a little bigger, and the fur is thicker now, and still white. I was not able to discern any other markings, even faint ones where the stripe would be.

Very sweet glider. I've handled it very little, but when I have, it responds very positively to being in my hand.

I appreciate the information!

Seanamon

S/he is absolutely beautiful! I told my husband we need one like this! Then again, I'd have every glider I come across if I could.

At that point, a somatic mutation is possible but extremely unlikely, because it would have to occure right after the specialisation of the cells of the embryo, but before those specialised cells start to divide, else you would not have a full white color but patches.