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For those of you new to rats, here are some much-used terms along with explanations of what they mean. I'm sure we'll be using these a lot in the future!
Agouti - A fancy word for the wild-type rat color. A pretty combination of warm cinnamony browns with black guard hairs. BEW - Stands for Black-Eyed White. Berkshire - A self rat with a white tummy and legs. Capped - White with what looks like a wig of a different color. Dalmatian - Like the dog! White with lots of spots. Dumbo - A type named after the elephant. A rat with ears lower down on its head, giving it a clownish appearance. Hairless - What it says! They are usually born with fur, but lose it as they grow up. Some are not completely hairless and have neat fuzzy patches. Since they don't have fur, they are more sensitive to cold temperatures. Himalayan - Like the cat! Creamy white or off-white darkening to brownish on nose, rump and legs. Usually with pink eyes. Hooded - A common color pattern. White with a different-colored hood and back stripe. Husky - A new color pattern. Their coats look just like Husky dogs! Irish - Similar to Berkshire, but with just a triangle of white on the chest. Odd-Eye - A rat with one pink or ruby eye and one black one. PEW - Pink-Eyed White. An albino-type rat. Rattus norvegicus - The Norway rat or brown rat. The majority of pet rats are of this species. Rattus rattus - The roof rat or black rat. Rattus norvegicus' smaller, more agile cousin. Rex - A rat with curly fur and whiskers! Satin - Having softer fur than most rats. Unstandardized. Self - Any solid color with no other markings. Siamese - Also like the cat! Blue-Point Siamese is a light blue with darker slate blue patches on nose, rump and legs. Seal-Point is cream or beige with darker brown nose, rump and legs. Both can have either pink or ruby eyes. Silvered - Any solid color with an even mixture of silver or white hairs throughout the fur. Tailless - Again, obvious. Difficult to breed for. Serious birth defects can result from the tailless gene. Also, since the tail helps with temperature regulation, they are much more susceptible to heatstroke. Variegated - Usually means a hooded rat with splotces of color on its sides. Can mean any spotted pattern, including Dalmatian. For examples of most colors and patterns, visit the RMCA's standards at
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Karen Yang's Rats and Rodents topic, please visit the Discussions page. |
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