Pastel or Light Tan Chinchilla


A Tan is a beige and ebony cross. Different breeders have different names for the types of tans. They are all genetically the same and come in all shades from very pale to deep dark brown. They will always have a non-white belly. They often go through many color changes to reach their final adult color which can be lighter or darker than the color they were born.


This little guy is from the Whitewoods, he was sold to me as an adult Dark Tan breeding male in 2003. They told me that with the darker tans they loose size and fur quality and that I should just breed him so I did. This guy was very tiny (380 - 400g) and I did not care for his offspring so quit breeding him in 2004.

It is important for people to know that there are mutations out there that are just as big and nice as standard grays. I have different tan lines now and mine are all much larger, between 800-1,000g. I also consider him a medium tan, not a dark tan.

Tan darkness is based on belly and side color. For example the chin below appears very dark on top but is a very light tan because her belly is nearly white. She looks nice and compact but she weighed 918g when I took these photos.

2015 - Light tan female witih darker veiling.


2015 - Two nice light tan girls with light veiling.


2014 - Light tan with dark veiling out of one of my lines that has spotted ears. Not all beiges have ear spots, it depends on the line.