Hairless rats.

I just wanted to share a few pics of my hairless rats, Bellatrix and Narcissa. :)

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...rats2getha.jpg
Bellatrix on the top and Narcissa in the hammock.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m.../ratalicia.jpg
Narcissa hanging out in my friend's pocket.

http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m...ratalicia2.jpg
Narcissa still being a pocket pet, up-close.

Does anyone else own these "adorkable" pets?

they look like thoes hairless cats a lil lol

I have a hairless rat. They are such cute ugly but awesome little creatures none the less.

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Originally Posted by lillyorchid

I have a hairless rat. They are such cute ugly but awesome little creatures none the less.

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Yes, they are. :cool:

...except when they chew a hole in your fave pair of jeans! My mom graciously sewed them this weekend. (I don't mind holes in general but this one was too close to the crotch... :rolleyes:)

Anyway, you should post pics too.

Ahhhaha, they are so ugly. That would be the only reason I would get a pair!

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Ahhhaha, they are so ugly. That would be the only reason I would get a pair!

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Aw, but they're cute in their ugliness. Anyway, they definitely make up for it with their sweetness, although there are reasons why they're named after the evil sisters from the Harry Potter series...

I have too many rats as it is. Maybe when I could accomidate a pair of hairless i would consider buying some. My bf thinks they are just the shiznit.

A friend gave me one a long time ago, but I didn't keep him. I'm too into coat colors, I guess? They are adorable, nontheless, and the new home my former hairless went to absolutely loved him. :)

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

I have too many rats as it is. Maybe when I could accomidate a pair of hairless i would consider buying some. My bf thinks they are just the shiznit.

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They are the shiznit! Hehe. :cool:

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Originally Posted by Rakshasi

A friend gave me one a long time ago, but I didn't keep him. I'm too into coat colors, I guess? They are adorable, nontheless, and the new home my former hairless went to absolutely loved him. :)

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Aw, lol. Well, at least it's in a good home! :)

He has passed on, now, but yes, he was in a fantastic home. :) His new owners worshipped the bedding he walked on, *lol* He was a true lover. He went a lot of places with them...they took him to the post office, the park, etc. He had a really good life. I made the right decision letting them have him. :)

Great pictures, I had around 23 hairless years ago after I tried breeding a pair and they were very very good at it. I miss them, they were great pets.

True hairless have so many health problems, I wouldnt breed them just because I know i would grow attached and get hurt. The closest I would get to a hairless would be a double rex. I havent heard about any kidney problems, liver problems, or poor immune systems with the double rex.

I have 3 hairless, 2 males and a female, and none of them have health problems. My last hairless girl, Harry, lived to be over 4 years old and was VERY healthy(if you didn't count the mammary tumors and subsequent surgeries 4-5 times) until her liver just failed from old age.

Just from looking, your two girls look healthy, just a bit thin, especially the girl in the hammock. Hairless rats have very high metabolisms to be able to keep their body temp up, so they require a bit more protein and a bit more fat in their diet to keep up. What is their diet like?

That's amazing your girl lived to be 4 years old! I would hope some of my favorites lived to 3, but not knowing how their parents were, I am very doubtful.

I guess I would rather a rat with the "shorn" locus over the "fuzzy". The fuzzy's are said to have the kidney failure and short lives.
Of course I really wouldnt know how to tell the difference between them, except the shorn are 'supposed' to have less hair on their face or something... I dont know.

You never know Connie. My HoneyChild was just a pet store pickup, granted a decent private pet store that actually did breed their own rats. She just passed this week at 3 years of age or thereabouts. The male I got back then with her, Casanova, is still going strong and keeping the younger breeder males in line. :) They are/were both just regular hooded rats so perhaps that's part of it.

I'm hoping my favorite little girl Squeakers will hang around for some years. She's extra small female that unfortunately coughs every once in a while since she was young. I think she just hit 250 grams, and she must be around 8-9 months old now. She's my baby girl though, and I love her to death! (no pun intended)

After having pet rats for years well before we ever owned snakes and bred rats, I really think part of keeping them living longer is good nutrition and keeping them from getting fat on treats. Our pet rats were sadly allowed far too many treats and were overweight to some degree or other. Working with the breeder/feeder colony I've learned a lot, changed the way the rats are feed, fed them far more healthy treats and they seem to do so much better overall. Fat rats just never seem to live as long as they should, get more cancers, have more strokes, etc. I like the rats well fleshed and never skinny but definitely more fit than fat.

You know, speaking of fat rats, my Himalayan is still gaining weight. He must be around 750 grams now! I've been giving him a handful of food daily (mazuri) and he still packs on the weight. I don't know what to do short of starving him. I don't give him any treats except for a hard dog biscuit for him to chew on once a week.
I am sooo at my wits end with him. His "brother" that we got at the same time is around 500 grams. And it's such a difference in size. Lil Pimp is such a fat rat! I'm hoping he's not diabetic, or has that fatty gene. I want to take him out of our breeding program, but Chris doesn't see it that way. I would love to get a new male, but the only pet store's are petsmart, and Pet paradise (and pet paradise is just so nasty now). We still have 2 females in quarantine as it is, and they are getting over the sniffles. It's been about 2 months for them. Getting another male to quarantine for some different blood is going to put those other girls back to day 1.

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

I have 3 hairless, 2 males and a female, and none of them have health problems. My last hairless girl, Harry, lived to be over 4 years old and was VERY healthy(if you didn't count the mammary tumors and subsequent surgeries 4-5 times) until her liver just failed from old age.

Just from looking, your two girls look healthy, just a bit thin, especially the girl in the hammock. Hairless rats have very high metabolisms to be able to keep their body temp up, so they require a bit more protein and a bit more fat in their diet to keep up. What is their diet like?

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Woo, this topic came back to life without my noticing.

They're always provided with plenty of those food blocks from the pet store. *digs out bag* Fortified nibbles... lol... I also give them fresh veggies and sugarless cereal as treats from time to time.

They've actually always been small and rather peaky-looking. But they've got clean bills of health and they're very active and friendly. :)

Try to find Mazuri 9F(9% fat, 16% protein) from a local feed store that carries Purina products.

Anything you find in the pet store, food wise, is usually going to be crap. If it's Kaytee brand, get rid of it. It has been known to make them more predisposed to cancer.

Mine get fed the Mazuri blocks, a mostly organic mix that I make from foods from HEB(plus the Wellness Senior dog food in small quantities) and fresh foods a few times a week.

They really need a bit more fat and protein added to their diet. Hairless rats use ALOT of energy just keeping themselves warm, so their metabolism is through the roof. Try suppplementing with NutriCal(petsmart.com has it and you can print out the webpage and take it to the store so they can price match it) or NutriStat. And finding a better source of blocks will help them.

Have you considered finding them a haired female friend(after a 30 day quarantine of course)?

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Originally Posted by SatanicIntention

Try to find Mazuri 9F(9% fat, 16% protein) from a local feed store that carries Purina products.

Anything you find in the pet store, food wise, is usually going to be crap. If it's Kaytee brand, get rid of it. It has been known to make them more predisposed to cancer.

Mine get fed the Mazuri blocks, a mostly organic mix that I make from foods from HEB(plus the Wellness Senior dog food in small quantities) and fresh foods a few times a week.

They really need a bit more fat and protein added to their diet. Hairless rats use ALOT of energy just keeping themselves warm, so their metabolism is through the roof. Try suppplementing with NutriCal(petsmart.com has it and you can print out the webpage and take it to the store so they can price match it) or NutriStat. And finding a better source of blocks will help them.

Have you considered finding them a haired female friend(after a 30 day quarantine of course)?

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Thanks for the feedback/tips. And, no, I don't plan on getting any more rats.

Since it won't let me edit my post, I'm double posting. Sorry the other one was short; I had to run.

The brand I use is LM Animal Farms. 22% protein and 5% fat. I'll keep an eye out for the food and supplements you suggested.

Oh, and there's a bunch of reasons why I do not plan on getting another rat. For starters, the cage I have is quite big enough for two but I feel like three might be a crowd. And if, for whatever reason they didn't get along, I'd have no extra cage/space to house another separately. Also, I have allergic reactions to haired rats. And... my roommate would probably kick my butt. :P