High White?

[starstrukk]

How can you tell if a rat is high white? I always got the impression that just blazes were high white, then there was conversation that they're not, etc. etc. So how exactly can you tell this? Also, what about if you bought them from someone else (so you don't know the lineage)- how can you tell what is high white and what is not?

I'm sure this is probably a silly question, but I'd really like to know (: Thanks guys!

[Rhasputin]

A high white rat, is, a rat with a 'high' ammount of white.

It isn't necessarily caused by a gene, but it can be caused by any number of spotting genes.

What happens is that you breed the rats specifically to have lots of white on them. The more you breed the rats with the most white markings the more 'modifiers' and 'k-factors' you may have in an individual rat, and the more white you'll have on them, and their offspring. This is the same with mice and several other species including ASFs.

[starstrukk]

I've seen several almost solid rats be labeled as "high white"- which is where the large amount of confusion is for me. I just don't want to risk producing rats with megacolon if it can be avoided. Are these rats just labeled wrong, or is it that they are prone to produce high whites, that they are labeled that way?

Sorry if I don't make much sense xD I just don't really seem to grasp this, for some reason.

[Rhasputin]

If the rat does not have 50% or more white, then it couldn't possibly be considered high white.

You can breed anything from a hooded to a capped to be high white. BEW would be a high white with NO coloured markings left.

Usually if a rat doesn't have a lot of white, it probably isn't going to produce more rats with lots of white on them.

[snakesRkewl]

If the rat does not have 50% or more white, then it couldn't possibly be considered high white.

Huh?
High white is a term for the gene not the amount of white on a rat?
A high white can be a hooded rat that has a head spot, it can be a berkshire with almost no white on the belly but if it has a head spot it's got to be considered high white.

I've always been told if a rat has white where it normally wouldn't be then it's caused by the high white gene.

Hooded rats are not high white and neither are berkshires or selfs unless they also have a blaze or a head spot or in the case of a hooded if the stripe is broken and white goes across the back

[snakesRkewl]

what about if you bought them from someone else (so you don't know the lineage)- how can you tell what is high white and what is not?

Since high white is either recessive or Dominate and it's the Dominate one you don't want,
you have to breed them.

If you breed a high white gene rat to a self(solid color) and you make rats that show the high white gene(blazed, etc.) you either have a self that carries high white or you just made high whites with a Dominate gene high white rat
Then in 2-3 weeks you'll know if you start dealing with dying rats from mega colon, not fun proving them out sometimes.

[Michelle.C]

Huh?
High white is a term for the gene not the amount of white on a rat?
A high white can be a hooded rat that has a head spot, it can be a berkshire with almost no white on the belly but if it has a head spot it's got to be considered high white.

I've always been told if a rat has white where it normally wouldn't be then it's caused by the high white gene.

Hooded rats are not high white and neither are berkshires or selfs unless they also have a blaze or a head spot or in the case of a hooded if the stripe is broken and white goes across the back

Agreed. High white is actually a misleading term. A rat can be 99% solid black with one tiny head spot (thus it being called the "spotting" gene) and it be high risk for megacolon, etc.

To the Op, High white or the "spotting" gene is where the rat is actually a solid color and it has white where there isn't supposed to be any. Such as blazed, capped, banded, variegated, dalmatian, etc.

Also, if you are wanting to breed high whites, just breed them to a solid colored mate. They will still likely throw attractive blazes, etc. If they don't, you have a recessive marked line which is considered a little safer to work with. That being said, I have a friend who works with proven megacolon rats but doesn't produce any due to selective breeding.

You can also post a picture up and someone on this or another rodent savy forum will be able to help you with the markings. If you don't know the genetics, assume it's a risky line and breed to self (solid colored or hooded) mates. Later if you want to find out if you have a line that has megacolon, breed two of the high white siblings together.

[starstrukk]

Thanks for all the great info guys (:

Could someone make a thread on this with pictures and all? Pictures help a lot. I've got a blazed girl pregnant now, but she was bred to a self so I should be fine then? But I figured I should ask for future reference (:

[snakesRkewl]

Thanks for all the great info guys (:

Could someone make a thread on this with pictures and all? Pictures help a lot. I've got a blazed girl pregnant now, but she was bred to a self so I should be fine then? But I figured I should ask for future reference (:

You won't know if it's a safe breed till you have babies and get them weaned without mega colon showing.

Another way i tell is breeding blaze to blaze which should result in 100% blazes, if it doesn't then you have a dominate blaze at work.

[Rhasputin]

Okay here's where I think the confusion is!

High white is NOT a genetic term. It can refer to a rat with the white spotting gene, OR a rat that is 50% or more white, from any gene, typically referring to a rat that is nearly all white.
BEWs with small amounts of colour on them are often refered to as high white, for example!

So we're all right.