Rat with 2 different eye colors!

[Mike41793]

if you see it on time i guess you can feed it off but if i find one that has a big bulge i would not because thats all poop that cant pass dont.

Yea true i didnt think about it that way lol

[Coleslaw007]

might not want to use her as a breeder, i have a male with the same eyes and i was told this (copied from another forum)

I would consider removing the odd eyed boy from your breeding program (and related offspring). The gene that causes this.. also causes mega colon. Basically the lighter eye is lighter because the gene stopped pigment working in that area. The same for any white areas on the body. In about 90% of cases the gene affects the insides of the rat as well, mega colon is basically where their intestines don't work and they can't process food or poop right. You will notice these babies, they are sickly looking they don't thrive like the other babies.. they look bloated and their death is very painful for them.

Whoa....I had no idea. Thanks for the warning. She seems perfectly healthy so I do think I will still try breeding her like most said but now I will know to watch for it so thanks a lot

[Coleslaw007]

I personallly would still breed her then bc it only effects them "sometimes" and its a female so it will be only one clutch at a time compared to a male with the defect breeding multiple females. Couldnt you just feed off the sickly babies when they pop up once in awhile right away? or would megacolon be bad for your snake?

Lol I love how all us reptile people tend to call any group of any type of baby animals "a clutch" as compared to a litter or whatever. I was into breeding racing homer and roller pigeons long before I got into herps so I've been doing that forever.

[Michelle.C]

Actually, megacolon can be bred out of a line that is proven to carry it. Most reptile feeder breeder have no desire to take that much time to do so. With the rat hobbyist, it is unethical to do such because of the loss in life getting there.

Odd Eyed don't always carry megacolon, nor do dominant high white rats. Even with carriers, it requires two copies of the SOX10 gene to display megacolon. That being said, if you are messing with a high spotting line and it does carry megacolon, even when you breed a blazed/odd eyed (carrier of SOX10) and don't hold back any of the offspring but Irish/English or Berkshire, they could still carry SOX10 (Megacolon).

Unless you want to prove the line does not carry megacolon, do not breed her back to her offspring and only breed to self/irish/berk markings.

If you do breed her and she doesn't give birth to any blazes, that's great news! You have found a recessive blaze line and it is usually megacolon free!

[Coleslaw007]

If you do breed her and she doesn't give birth to any blazes, that's great news! You have found a recessive blaze line and it is usually megacolon free!

Huh good info. Does this mean I can't breed for blaze? they're my favorite

[Michelle.C]

Huh good info. Does this mean I can't breed for blaze? they're my favorite

Nope, if it's recessive you just breed one of her sons back to her, or siblings together, etc. Do linebreeding/inbreeding to get blazes.

Either way, you can breed for blazes, you just have to be selective in breeding. I have four separate lines of high whites (blazes, dalmatians, black eyed whites, etc). Three are recessive, one is a dominant line that I am still proving out as a non carrier of Megacolon. Five generations in and no megacolon.

Oddly enough, it's one of my recessive lines that produce Odd Eyes. While Odd Eyes are a marker for Megacolon, nothing is for certain unless you prove it out genetically.

I have a suggestion for you. Breed her to a self (solid colored male) or as close to one as possible. If she throws blazes, hold back all of your females. Take half of them and breed them to their brother (as well as breeding him back to his mother). This will be a good step in testing for megacolon. I know megacolon can be devastating, but it's best to find out now. Unless it's late onset (rare) Megacolon, it should show at 4-6 weeks when they are eating solid foods.

The other half of females you hold back, breed them to a self (or as close as you can come) male. I would not breed them to their father because if they do carry megacolon, the less you inbreed the better. With this set of girls, continue out breeding and heavy selective breeding. Avoid inbreeding.

[Orijin0XazN]

Thanks for all the helpful information! She is really active and looks healthy so I'll give it try. If I see signs of megacolon on her pups, I will stop breeding her. Wish me luck!

[Homegrownscales]

You won't see megalacolon usually until they start weaning and eating and drinking in their own. You will notice it though if it should happen. It's truely gruesome on them and they die a nasty death if not immediately euthanized. I've had my fair share bc I learned about that through experience. I had to feed off a whole litter at 3-4 weeks bc they all blimped up like balloons. Trust me if you can avoid it do so.



Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com

[Mike41793]

Lol I love how all us reptile people tend to call any group of any type of baby animals "a clutch" as compared to a litter or whatever. I was into breeding racing homer and roller pigeons long before I got into herps so I've been doing that forever.

Hahaha it didnt even occur to me. I meant litter, and pups

[snakesRkewl]

Odd-eye rats are produced when the high white gene covers a portion of the eye diluting it in color.

Mega colon is caused by the high white gene in it's dominate form, If you have the recessive trait high white then you can breed them until you are blue in the face and you will never produce mega colon.

If you find you have a dominate trait high white you need to cull it and remove any of it's offspring from the breeding program.

I have produced thousands of blazed rats, wouldn't have it any other way.