Possibly a Himalayan?

I came across a suspected hooded Champagne in a batch of feeders I received a few weeks ago and liked the color of her so I decided to move her into my breeding program.
Here is what she looked like when she arrived:
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...4/DSC_0480.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...4/DSC_0487.jpg


Over the last few weeks I've noticed her hood color was getting lighter and lighter, to the point where now she looks like this:
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...DSC_0542-1.jpg
http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...4/DSC_0546.jpg

I thought at first she had faded to white, but after taking a closer look I saw she had kept Champagne colored points at her nose and at the base of her tail.
Could it be possible she is a Himalayan and it just took awhile for it to express?

I had a rat do this to me just recently, haha. Yes, apparently they just take a while to 'develop'.

The color of the coat will give it away, Himalayan is white and Siamese is light cream colored.
It's one or the other, from your pic it looks like a Himi to me :gj:

Looks himi to me! They're so funny as babies, especially if the weather is humid, their coats can be just crazy!

Never thought id say this.. But that rats kinda cute... Wish they were legal here

Where are fancy rats illegal?

That is exciting I have quite a few champagne, and blue hooded just weaned. I am excited to see what happens with them now. :gj:

I didn't realize there were rat morphs that could start off as hooded and then transform as they grew. Interesting stuff.

Please let me know if I have my genetics straight:

The Himalayan gene (ch) is on the albino 'C' locus. it is recessive and will only express if paired up with another Himalayan gene or the Albino gene (c)

A Himalayan rat (white backround with color points) is a rat with a single copy of the Himalayan gene paired up with a Albino gene (ch c)

A Siamese rat (darker points, overall tan or some shade of brown coat color) is a rat with 2 copies of the Himalayan gene (ch ch)

Both Siamese and Himalayan rats should not have a agouti gene (A), they should have a Black (aa) background. A Siamese or Himalayan rat with agouti washes out the color and points, making it hard recognize as a Siamese or Himalayan.


Since the rat in my original post started off marked as a hooded before (ch c) overwrote it I believe all the genes at work in her are:
aa / ch c / hh

Correct?

Sounds correct to me, my only comment is that the siamese/himalayan doesn't really 'overwrite' the markings. My girl who started as a cream split mask (body entirely white, aside from her 2 cream face spots), is now a siamese, but the split in her mask is still noticeable since it crosses the bridge of her nose.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MoshBalls

Where are fancy rats illegal?

That is exciting I have quite a few champagne, and blue hooded just weaned. I am excited to see what happens with them now. :gj:

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Im in Alberta Canada

The rat didn't overwrite the genes, it just molted into it's adult coat.