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Is this a rex rat?

Shadera

Shadera

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I am genuinely interested in why this has happened and what might be going on in my colony. I asked on another forum and am getting no response. Apparently if you're not in the clique or if your thread isn't titled "OMG!!1! why won't it eat/poop/whatever!" you're passed over.. Anywho.

Had two of these pop up in a recent rat pup crop and I noticed them last night when I was pulling pups to feed. One is a male capped, and this one is the female. The hair is definitely different and the whiskers appear curled. Yet my colony has been closed for almost a year and something like this should have popped up before even if it was recessive, yet rex is dominant isn't it? :confused:

Ideas as to what they are? They're approximately 18 days old. Dad is a dumbo variegated black/white and the two moms are a black/white hooded het dumbo and a black/white variberk het dumbo. The siblings were pretty typical of what I've been getting in a litter - hooded, variberk, variegated, capped, self, etc. in both top ear and dumbo.
 
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I don't know anything about the genetics of rats, but when I crossed some of my hairless rats to my regular domestic rats, some of the babies would end up with fur like that.
Do you happen to have any hairless rats in your colony?
 
I'm not on the up and up with rat genetics either. I have a good sized colony of at least 1000 breeders and I only see those in my dumbo line even if its just het to het. I imagine it's probably a genetic trait of it's own though but again when it surfaces it seems to be with animals carrying the dumbo gene as well.
 
No, no hairless at all. :shrug01: I hadn't thought of that though, maybe back along the line somewhere? I can't wait to see what they look like once they moult out into adult coats.

The only recessive curly haired gene I was able to dig anything up on was Kinky, but all my colony (40 rats I think? Getting ready to expand and add some new blood.) are at least semi-related and this is the first I've seen these come out. Since there were two babies that look like this, I have to think it's some gene buried in there somewhere. I'll make sure I breed the same male back to the same females when it's time for their next round and see if I get more of them. They're kinda cute, and a little warmer in the hand than regular pups.
 
kcnate said:
I'm not on the up and up with rat genetics either. I have a good sized colony of at least 1000 breeders and I only see those in my dumbo line even if its just het to het. I imagine it's probably a genetic trait of it's own though but again when it surfaces it seems to be with animals carrying the dumbo gene as well.
Click to expand...

Any pictures? Interesting that it may be related to dumbo somehow.
 
Sorry I don't have any off hand but I will try to dig some up or even take a few when I get a chance.

I have blues come out that way too but again they also have the dumbo gene. They keep the same look as they age too but I also think some of them don't thrive as well as others....but this could just be me.

I think it's it great how new things pop up unexpectedly with rats. I just recently produced a hairless one out of the blue but it didn't come from dumbo carriers and the parents have never produce a curly fur ball either. So far it's the only one I have ever produce and I have not been able to reproduce it. All my friends and family thought I was nuts because I was so excited about a hairless rat :)
 
Very cool! And now I know there's at least one other person out there in the world who gets excited when something new pops up in the colony.
 
I just restarted my colony. A few years ago when I had the previous one, if memory serves, they don't get an afro or end up like a ball of fur. Mine kept a little bit of a wave; I was partial to them...they still got fed out, but it was a little harder with them!
I guess I'm going to have to read up on 'dumbo' rats; I have no clue what I have...
 
07-07-2009 08:33 AM
Tiger Lilly I just restarted my colony. A few years ago when I had the previous one, if memory serves, they don't get an afro or end up like a ball of fur. Mine kept a little bit of a wave; I was partial to them...they still got fed out, but it was a little harder with them!
I guess I'm going to have to read up on 'dumbo' rats; I have no clue what I have...
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I wasn't saying they ended up with an afro or a ball of fur. I call them fur balls as in nickname and when they get big I think they keep a sheep fur look to them. I will try and gets some pictures when i get out to the rat building today.
 
sorry...

kcnate said:
I wasn't saying they ended up with an afro or a ball of fur. I call them fur balls as in nickname and when they get big I think they keep a sheep fur look to them. I will try and gets some pictures when i get out to the rat building today.
Click to expand...

None of what I wrote was directed at anything you may have written...quite honestly, I didn't read it...I was just 'recollecting'...and in a hurry at the time.
 
They've turned into mutants! Both are almost completely bald except for peach fuzz on the bodies and a bit of fuzz left on their heads. Kinda funny looking. Also included is a pic of one of their normal dumbo sibs.
 
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I only have the two, and am definitely going to hang onto them and see what happens. Dinking with the rodents is almost more fun than dinking with the snakes and gratification comes a lot sooner! :yesnod:
 
That's awesome. If, by some chance, you sell your excess to pet stores, hairless rats go for bigger bucks...I'm just sayin!
Strange that it would just pop up like that after having your colony for that long.
I had to introduce hairless into mine to get more hairless. The funny thing is that yours actually went bald! None of mine did that...they either kept the kinky fur or were born hairless.
 
I realize this is a bit old but anyway, they definitely appear to be Rex. Curly whiskers and waved coat... Other than the true hairless/Sphynx (no whiskers, nothing) rats, hairless vary quite a bit. Hairless rats are generally the result of two Rex rats bred together, resulting in a Double Rex or "Hairless". This can be anything from random patches of fur, fur that comes and goes, to a slight peach fuzz on the body with more fur on the face--along with the curly whiskers. I would say definitely hang onto them and see what happens!
 
Hi, I breed hairless rats... you can find my website by looking up bareskinrattery Anyways those are patched hairlesses that come from the DOUBLE rex gene....usually though there is a hairless gene SOMEWHERE UNLESS you have bred brother to sister and there is a double rex gene can you get a patched hairless WITHOUT mating it to a hairless!! The patched hairless will NOT produce other hairless pups unless mated with another patched hairless, or a hairless.... SO if you bred one to a normal haired rat you WONT get anything except regulars... SOOOO if you want to continue that line you NEED to get a hairless somewhere! cause you cannot breed those two together, BUT again, if you breed one of those with a regular, you will not get anything like what your seeing.....
 
himmie said:
I realize this is a bit old but anyway, they definitely appear to be Rex. Curly whiskers and waved coat... Other than the true hairless/Sphynx (no whiskers, nothing) rats, hairless vary quite a bit. Hairless rats are generally the result of two Rex rats bred together, resulting in a Double Rex or "Hairless". This can be anything from random patches of fur, fur that comes and goes, to a slight peach fuzz on the body with more fur on the face--along with the curly whiskers. I would say definitely hang onto them and see what happens!
Click to expand...

ALSO sorry... just to let everyone know, its a myth that TRUE hairlesses dont have whiskers, they do!
 
I did breed the male to normals and got one litter that had several of these hairless babies in it. Breeding the female to a regular male produced no hairless babies though. Strange.
 
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