I just got this new girl: Link and she's great and I love her skin and I LOVE her carried Black skin. The rest of her genes aren't so hot.... which is okay because I'm mainly after her skin... But I'm wondering.. should I attempt a mutagen?

(Rather stupid question alert) Can Mutagen change the skin?

What are your triumphs and failures with a mutagen? Any regrets or just plain awesome outcomes? I'm working up the courage to maybe use one...

Mutagens can change any gene, and the gene is totally selected at random. So yes, they can change even the dominant color and marking of an animal.

It's arguably better than trying to find wild stock with the gene, because there's an equal chance for everything, rather than say a 5% for X gene. But the cost is that it can (and has) totally ruin(ed) the pet in the eyes of the breeder applying it.

I'm in a situation similar to yours, where I'm trying to breed for a color, but because of the random nature of a mutagen I've chickened out on 90% of the individuals I probably should use it on, simply because if they lost their color gene they'd be pretty much useless to me.

But, in the one or two I've used, my outcomes haven't been so bad, really. Neutral, I should say. Used one or two on this guy: Whitegrass and it changed his recessive dilute to piebald (kinda meh, since I'm breeding for diluted) and his normal teeth to double incisors (also meh, since his blunt teeth are now dominant). I really like his breeding recessives, but his flaws make breeding with him a total crap shoot unless you get lucky, like with his son, Othello.

I thought there used to be a mutagens thread around here somewhere where people used to share their success/fails with them. Gonna try and find it.

Edit: Here it is, http://beastkeeper.com/thread/658

Base upon my personal experience, I had somewhat a mediocre luck with them. There was a few that came out horrible, but most remain same. Usually the genes that are changed, or at least in my case, are usually recessive or became normal, so there is no really change in my pets stats. I had 3-4 changes in color out of 13-15 I used so far, so there is a lower chance of color change. 

I think for best result in use of mutagen is to use less. I had thrown in 5-8 mutagens in one of cockatrice and it became progressive worst as more mutagen was used. 

Hey! There the thread it! I was looking for that!! Too late for my tired eyes to find I guess :P Thanks

Othello came out quite well actually!!

I figured and was afraid that they could change dominant skin... I wish we could lock in a particular gene.

I haven't had too much luck with them in the past, and its just so risky for the expense.