AFRMA Fancy Mice - Varieties

The following is a brief description of the mouse Varieties (coat types; mice do not come in breeds) as recognized by the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association. See Fancy Mouse Genes: Coats & Misc. for genetics.

For complete details of these Standards including points, faults, and disqualifications, please refer to the AFRMA Show Regulations & Standards book.

Note: The pictures on this page are not meant to be true representatives of the animal’s color. Because of differences in monitors (CRT/LCD) and how the monitor is adjusted, the colors may be different. Seeing in person is always best.

Standard Satin Long Hair Long Hair Satin Frizzie Frizzie Satin Hairless
Frizzled

STANDARD - The coat to be smooth and glossy, and feel fine to the hand. It should show a natural high shine and densely cover the body, including the belly, groin, area around the front legs, and behind the ears. Color to conform to a recognized color or pattern. Pink-Eyed White Standard mice owned and bred by Nancy Ferris. Photo ©1997 Craig Robbins.
SATIN - Satin mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The ideal coat has a unique and distinct appearance with its lustrous sheen. The hair should be very fine, dense, soft, and silky to the touch. Pink-Eyed White Satin mouse owned and bred by Karen Robbins. Photo ©1997 Craig Robbins. Read the info on Satin teeth: “It’s In The Teeth” “It’s In The Teeth 2” Research article: “The Winged Helix/Forkhead Transcription Factor Foxq1 Regulates Differentiation of Hair in Satin Mice” Hee-Kyung Hong, et al. Genesis, 29:163–171 (2001)
LONG HAIR - Long Hair mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The coat should be as long as possible, but combined with density, and is to be fine and silky in texture. Pink-Eyed White Long Hair mouse owned by Nichole Royer. Photo ©1996 Craig Robbins.
LONG HAIR SATIN - Long Hair Satin mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The coat should be as long as possible, but combined with density, and is to have the distinctive sheen of the satin. Blue Long Hair Satin mouse owned by Mary Sheridan. Photo ©1984 AFRMA.
FRIZZIE - Frizzie mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The coat should be tightly waved or frizzed over the entire body, very dense, with guard hairs of somewhat harsh texture, protruding slightly beyond the normal length of coat. This is more pronounced in young mice, and should not influence the placement. Frizzies may also be long haired. Whiskers are to be curly. Frizzie mice are normally cobbier in body type. Note: There are several curly genes in mice, some are dominant, some recessive, and they vary as far as how much curl there is as an adult Black Tan Frizzie kitten mouse owned and bred by Norah Hobgood. Photo ©2009 Karen Robbins.
FRIZZIE SATIN - Frizzie Satin mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The coat should be tightly waved or frizzed over the entire body as with the Frizzie, and should also have the distinctive satin sheen. Frizzie Satin mice may also be long haired. Whiskers are to be curly. Note: There are several curly genes in mice, some are dominant, some recessive, and they vary as far as how much curl there is as an adult Fawn Frizzie Satin mouse owned by Michelle Collie. Photo ©1996 Craig Robbins.
HAIRLESS - Hairless mice should have a thin, bright, rather translucent skin, free of scars or pimples, and be as hairless as possible. The skin may be of any color or recognized marking, and wrinkling should not be penalized. The eyes may be of any color, but should be bright and free from any problems. The ears should be very large and wrinkle free. The toenails should be short (clipped if necessary). The whiskers may be very short or missing. See more photos on Hairless kittens losing their hair: Christina Beckerman, CSBeck Rodentry, PA, Hairless 14 days old Christina Beckerman, CSBeck Rodentry, PA, Hairless 16–18 days old Christina Beckerman, CSBeck Rodentry, PA, Hairless 18–20 days old Nicole Bustamante, Just For Fuzzies, OH Fancy Mice Breeders forum - April 10, 2012, Denmark Hairless, and Feb. 17, 2012, Ohio Hairless AFRMA article: Hairless Mice Grow Hair Research article: The Role of the Hairless (hr) Gene in the. Regulation of Hair Follicle Catagen Transformation Andrei A. Panteleyev, et al. The American Journal of Pathology, July 1999, Volume 155, Issue 1, Pages 159–171 - with diagram and photos of daily hair loss from 14–21 days old.	Hairless mouse owned by Meg Hurley. Photo ©2005 Karen Robbins. Agouti Hairless male 14 days old just starting to lose the hair around his eyes, owned and bred by Kelli Boka. Photo ©2008 Karen Robbins. ...and the Agouti Hairless male at 23 days old completely hairless, owned and bred by Kelli Boka. From start to finish it only takes a few days to go from haired to fully hairless. The ears do straighten out. Photo ©2008 Craig Robbins.
FRIZZLED - Coat 30, color 20 Frizzled mice may be shown in any recognized color or markings. The Frizzled coat is a dense coat that is tightly curled. The coat should be closely cropped to the skin. This coat closely resembles the soft side of velcro. The mouse should have curly whiskers. Faults - sparse or thin hair or to appear hairless. Genetics - fz Note: Satin Frizzled do not have a noticeable satin sheen; can have thinner coats [Accepted into Unstandardized February 9, 2008; removed from Accepted Proposed Unstd. December 1, 2012, and moved to Non-Recognized due to lack of entries. Reintroduced January 29, 2022, by Linda von Hanneken and accepted back into Unstandardized. Standardized August 31, 2022] NOTE: a.k.a Fuzzy; Rex in the N.M.C. Further Reading: Finnmouse page	Black Self Frizzled male mouse owned and bred by Kelli Boka. Photo ©2008 Karen Robbins. A Black Self Frizzled male mouse owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins. A 7-week-old Black Self Frizzled kitten male mouse owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins. 5-week-old Black Self Frizzled and Blue Self Satin Frizzled kitten brothers owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Linda von Hanneken. 5-week-old Black Self Frizzled and Blue Self Satin Frizzled kitten brothers owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Linda von Hanneken. Chocolate Self Frizzled female mouse owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins. Chocolate Self Satin Frizzled male mouse owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins. A 10-week-old Seal Point Siamese Frizzled female mouse owned and bred by Ieshea Allcott. Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins. Seal Point Siamese Satin Frizzled female mouse owned and bred by Linda von Hanneken. She has had her whiskers chewed off (barbered). Photo ©2022 Karen Robbins.

For complete details of the Standards including points, faults, eliminations, and disqualifications, please refer to the AFRMA Show Regulations & Standards book.

Purchase the AFRMA Official Color Standards Mouse book.

Updated May 3, 2023