Blue Rat?? PICS

[snakeynewbie]

The spotted ones are called dalmation, might be easier to find them that way.

Ingie no rat should look like that even when it is moulting, I'd give it a spray with some mite spray although sometimes their cage mates can get a bit overzealous with the bathing so that could do it to.

 

[ingie]

It is a double silk rat that is moulting into a mink coat. It looks exactly as it should look. They go completely bald and grow it back in a new colour. (It is pretty skinny though, it is a blue carrier and some of it's litter mates already faded, i'm hoping it gains some weight).

Another double silk going through it's moult so ugly!

The proper name for the speckled rats is mismarked BEW (black eyed white). Lots of people call them Dalmatians too though

 

[Rattler]

Good on ya ingie!

 

[Helikaon]

the black eyed whites are cute, those other buggers are hideious.

 

[ingie]

They really are hideous lol. Once they get all the hair back they look pretty though Next step is making silk BEW's with mink (grey) spots. Started today

 

[snakeynewbie]

Ah right, hadn't occured to me that it might be a silk, don't know how common they are now but back when I was breeding fancies they were almost unheard of.

 

[PicklePants]

What Rat Is That? has pics and a description of an assortment of colours and markings too. Nice looking bunch you have posted. I've just recently thrown some marking and colour variations I haven't had before. It makes things interesting

 

[GeckoJosh]

Ah right, hadn't occured to me that it might be a silk, don't know how common they are now but back when I was breeding fancies they were almost unheard of.

Double rexes moult like that as well and they have been around for yonks

 

[snakeynewbie]

I didn't look like a rex though and when I was breeding rexes were something I had only ever seen in photos they weren't easy to find

 

[ingie]

What Rat Is That? has pics and a description of an assortment of colours and markings too. Nice looking bunch you have posted. I've just recently thrown some marking and colour variations I haven't had before. It makes things interesting

That is a good site to see colours. I like the sunshinerats page best though because it explains the genetics of all the colours, markings and coat types so you can get a bit more technical with what you are producing with each pairing. For the nerds hehehe.

Be careful adding new colours and patterns lol. It turned me into a crazy person! I am not particularly fond of rats as pets, I just like the genetics behind it, and having a goal to work towards that may take many generations to produce with the animals I have.

Ah right, hadn't occured to me that it might be a silk, don't know how common they are now but back when I was breeding fancies they were almost unheard of.

Apparently the first silk rat ever was discovered at a little produce store near where I live I think silks are getting around a bit now in the fancy rat scene, but I don't think they have been dispersed through pet shops etc so I don't know if many other people would have them yet.

 

[PicklePants]

Yeah, I get confused with genetics and I like the surprise that comes with not knowing how each litter will turn out. I don't breed for pets, although a few have been saved from the freezer by friends over the years.

 

[GeckoJosh]

For those who get a bit confused this "Litter predictor" is a great tool

Rat Litter Predictor - Sunshine Rats

 

[Kimberlyann]

Wow it all got a bit technical for me there, one of our mothers spat out a blue batch she was a cream hooded as far as i can tell you (i have no idea about technical names) we were so excited about them since i had never seen them before. All our blues have the crown at some stage but loose it when they get older, pretty sure all our rats are blue these days apart from a couple that come out white or cream and we had a black one come out of no where aswell but our first male we ever had was pure black.

 

[ingie]

Wow it all got a bit technical for me there, one of our mothers spat out a blue batch she was a cream hooded as far as i can tell you (i have no idea about technical names) we were so excited about them since i had never seen them before. All our blues have the crown at some stage but loose it when they get older, pretty sure all our rats are blue these days apart from a couple that come out white or cream and we had a black one come out of no where aswell but our first male we ever had was pure black.

Do you have any photos of them? The 'crown' is a thing that mink or mink carrier rats get. It is called a moult cap it is possible that your rats are mink and not blue. They look very similar until you put them side by side.

Yeah, I get confused with genetics and I like the surprise that comes with not knowing how each litter will turn out. I don't breed for pets, although a few have been saved from the freezer by friends over the years.

I tried breeding for pets but the pet rat people have extremely high standards health wise, which are virtually impossible to meet with mycoplasma around and other ratty respiratory issues. They often want to know pedigrees, including the lifespan, temperament and any issues of the parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles lol.Too much fuss for me but they just want to make sure they get a pet that lasts a long time.

I basically am still only breeding to feed reptiles but I have a lot of fun along the way. I have my favourite stud males that are pets I suppose, but the females are all just pretty coloured breeders.

 

[Helikaon]

my one never had the moult cap, i have watched her grow and yes she never had one. Does that mean anythign other then shes not a blue mink. i will get into this a bit more for fun i think. my rat colony takes more time then my snakes but they are fun and i do like genetics

 

[GeckoJosh]

my one never had the moult cap, i have watched her grow and yes she never had one. Does that mean anythign other then shes not a blue mink. i will get into this a bit more for fun i think. my rat colony takes more time then my snakes but they are fun and i do like genetics

She could still be a Blue mink as their moult caps can be so faint that you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for it.
The only way to know for certain is by breeding to a rat with known genetics and seeing the results

 

[Helikaon]

i see isee. ah well. Any chance there is a way to breed the black eyed whites?

 

[GeckoJosh]

Do you already have some?

 

[ingie]

To produce black eyed whites you need to already have the N gene present. Rats that have a white dot on their head, or other white face markings, are BEW carriers (Nn). So if you can't find anywhere to get a BEW, try looking for a 'headspot' or 'blazed' rat. If you mate 2 of those together you should get a few BEW's, not to mention some really pretty patterns on the coloured babies

Funny - the rats that I planned to work towards making next - BEW's with mink spots - turns out I already made some by accident! In normal coat and rex. Yay

 

[GeckoJosh]

To produce black eyed whites you need to already have the N gene present. Rats that have a white dot on their head, or other white face markings, are BEW carriers (Nn). So if you can't find anywhere to get a BEW, try looking for a 'headspot' or 'blazed' rat. If you mate 2 of those together you should get a few BEW's, not to mention some really pretty patterns on the coloured babies

Funny - the rats that I planned to work towards making next - BEW's with mink spots - turns out I already made some by accident! In normal coat and rex. Yay

Not all head marked rats are BEW hets, all the blazes and head markings I produce are from a non BEW lineage