lab mice vs fancy mice??

Today we had our first loss in our mice coloney. 2 of the newest albino mice were super skinny when we got them one chunked up and the one that died didn't. How can you tell if the mouse is a lab mouse or a fancy one? We have one brown( male), agouti and now just 2 albino. The store I got the albino's fom only has albino and the others have mixed colors. They are all the same size and the girls are all pregnant other then the dead one which never was.

typically any mouse other than normal haired albinos are fancy

A mouse is a mouse what are considered feeders or lab mice are albinos same for rats all the others are considered fancy.

The word fancy is just for marketing ;)

All that matters to me are those lil red eyes...if the mouse/rat doesnt' have them, Epik, my BP, won't eat them

I have heard the main difference is if parents are related or not... that means if they are more affected with diseases, cancer, mental issues, etc...

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Originally Posted by Malpaso

I have heard the main difference is if parents are related or not... that means if they are more affected with diseases, cancer, mental issues, etc...

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the only way your not going to get mice that are related somehow is to go out and catch your own

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Originally Posted by nixer

the only way your not going to get mice that are related somehow is to go out and catch your own

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but of course... I have talked about brothers and sisters... not from forefather mouse ;)

True lab mice are raised to be genetically pure for certain traits and have been strictly linebred in order to fix those traits or genes so that each individual within the specific strain is indistiguishable to the one next to it. They are virtual clones of each other. This is necessary so that each individual reacts the same way to the same experiments. They are often raised in ultraclean disease free environments and their immune systems are often unable to fight off simple diseases. I've known a few breeders who have picked up lab mice from biological supply houses that have lost the entire group when they mixed them in with their current population.

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Originally Posted by MarkS

True lab mice are raised to be genetically pure for certain traits and have been strictly linebred in order to fix those traits or genes so that each individual within the specific strain is indistiguishable to the one next to it. They are virtual clones of each other. This is necessary so that each individual reacts the same way to the same experiments. They are often raised in ultraclean disease free environments and their immune systems are often unable to fight off simple diseases. I've known a few breeders who have picked up lab mice from biological supply houses that have lost the entire group when they mixed them in with their current population.

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that is very true i know of a few ppl that have got them paying out the nose to try to breed them. just keeping these without any other mice they will typically all die

Well I'm 2 down today:( I swear i'm never getting my mice from that petstore! the thrid mouse is starting to close he eyes like the first two! I'll have to let what happens happens and start over!