[Miniwyvs] Information

[Saturnalia]

...because I had it all on my website, that that has poofed.

Info

Miniwyvs were first discovered in the wild, and were observed to live in small family packs in a variety of habitats. They are limbless, aside from small wings, and spend much of the time in the air or curled around treelimbs, or, on occasion, in the water, as they are fine swimmers. They rarely rest upon the ground, as that makes them more vulnerable to larger predators. Miniwyvs are a fairly docile species, typically feeding on insects, small fish and rodents. Their habits of eating creatures considered to be pests by humanoids, in fact, led to some of the first domestication attempts.

Those who removed eggs from wild nests found that the hatched babies were quite trainable and friendly, and did indeed help to keep pest numbers down. More amazingly, though, it was discovered that the miniwyvs have some minor telepathic powers, and can communicate with their handlers in a limited capacity. While sentence formation and outright-conversation is not entirely possible, at least in the manner of humans, basic thoughts and ideas can be broadcast from a miniwyv to those near it. It appears that miniwyvs converse fluently with each other, also telepathically.

While the original domestic beginnings were steeped in utility, they are now being bred as pets. Typically in the wild, very few colors were seen, mainly greens and yellows, but an occasional other color-- red, black, even purple-- were spotted. Through selective breeding, it is thought that more of these uncommon colors may be seen. In addition, other mutations-- horns, different wings, different patterns-- are also occasionally seen, and some breeding projects may focus on making these mutations more common amongst the domestic miniwyv population.

Breeding

Breeding miniwyvs is a fairly simple process, though it does require some planning if one is attempting to breed for certain traits. Most miniwyvs are casual about partner selection in the wild, and this has carried over in domestication. At the proper time-- and one of the breeding specialists will be able to assess when that is-- two miniwyvs are presented to one another in a relatively private enclosure and left alone. They do the rest. It is to be noted, however, that close family members will often refuse to mate. (And inbreeding is icky and should be avoided anyway.)

On rare occasions, normally a handful of times a year, the miniwyvs seem to become hyper-amorous and will congregate in larger groups to mate. This can be less helpful for selective breeders unless they keep their stock separated at that time. Still, it can cause some interesting genetic mixes, and some breeding specialists think it healthy to allow miniwyvs to participate. It is thought that this behavior is related to the moon, but no hard science has been discovered.

After mating, a female miniwyv will construct a nest out of whatever materials she may find. In a relatively short period, she will lay anywhere from 1 to 3 eggs. With clutches of two or more eggs, it is considered good form to keep only one or two. The other(s) may be gifted or traded. After laying the eggs, they require little care from either parent (and indeed the father has little to do with anything besides the mating process) and once hatched, the offspring grow quickly. This eliminates the need for a weaning process, as eggs may be taken from the nest quite soon and given to others.

Genetics

Miniwyvs have a system of genetics similar to some creatures but different. It should be noted that genotypes will not be made public. (Plainspeak: yes, I have genetics recorded for each miniwyv, but no, you cannot see them. Phenotypes, obviously, are visible and guesses towards the genotype can be made from them.

Genetics do involve a lot of typical dominant and recessive qualities, but there are a few factors that should be noted.

Color: Color genetics follow a hierarchical system. Certain colors, if passed down, will show up over other colors that may also be carried. For instance, green has been found to be the "most dominant", followed by yellow, and then orange. Brown, blue, red, black, purple, white and magenta follow, from more dominant to least. The higher on that list something is, the more certain it is to show up. Some colors have rarely been seen at all, and may only be obtained through careful breeding.

Pattern: Patterns, too, follow a somewhat hierarchical system. Normal miniwyv coloration includes a solid back color, a different belly color, and the same color appearing on tail and wings. Solid-colored miniwyvs have also been seen, as have a wide variety of patterns, including stripes, splotches, gradients, and just about everything else.