can you dye your rats?

[Jenn]

I have one mouse who picks on the others from time to time. I was thinking about how I could mark him the next time I catch him doing it so he can become dinner at the next feeding. I was just going to put a dot on his head with a marker but decided against it. Any ideas?

[Beardedragon]

hmmm... good question. Mine are not feeders or breeders( yet) so i do not have to worrie about the dye hurting anything.

Maybe wrap a sting around its tail or let and take it off right before feeding him off?

[ADEE]

of course you can!!! (dye them that is) i dyed my two white pet rats to be able to tell them apart. i used koolaids, one cherry and one grape, it worked better on their tail than their coat but it made for neat pics if yuo want it to last i suggest using permenant markers, it doenst hurt them at all. The breeders use permenant markers on the base of their tails and if the actual pet rat breeders use it, its fine.. ive never heard of any adverse effects of doing either method i suggested

[slartibartfast]

A groomer I was speaking to last week told me that she used the concentrated food colouring paste used by cake decorators and that it lasted in the dog until the hair grew out and she finally cut it off a year later.

I'm seriously considering it with my poodle...he's a black phantom, and I think a dark blue wash would look awesome. :-D

[Jay_Bunny]

I was trying to think of a way to mark holdbacks from litters. Would using permanent marker on their fur work?

Also, I tend to have albinos from time to time and I can never tell two female albinos apart. Would dying a small portion of their hair work (Like a dot on the head) or something similar?

[wolfy-hound]

The concentrated food color is a great thing. I never tried it on rats. A dab on the head would probably work.
When I marked holdback females, I notched ears at the crawler stage. Sorry, but it didn't seem to hurt them, marked them effectively, and had no seen adverse effect. In fact, some of the last 10 rats I have are those females.

[ADEE]

I was trying to think of a way to mark holdbacks from litters. Would using permanent marker on their fur work?

Also, I tend to have albinos from time to time and I can never tell two female albinos apart. Would dying a small portion of their hair work (Like a dot on the head) or something similar?

I would use different color sharpies. i know the rat breeder i talk to does it and her rats are fine. you put a dot on the base of their tail, they dont lick it off and it stays put for a day or so. the dye doesnt work as well.

[ADEE]

A groomer I was speaking to last week told me that she used the concentrated food colouring paste used by cake decorators and that it lasted in the dog until the hair grew out and she finally cut it off a year later.

I'm seriously considering it with my poodle...he's a black phantom, and I think a dark blue wash would look awesome. :-D

my mil dyes her white maltese ears all the time!!! its so crazy, she treats the dog like a kid i swear, she has a new color on her ears every month or so. they also use koolaid

[littleindiangirl]

I use permanent marker to make a stripe down one of my albino girls when they are together to tell them apart. They do manage to clean it off eventually, like 3 weeks later it's just a faint smudge.

[Ginevive]

The concentrated food color is a great thing. I never tried it on rats. A dab on the head would probably work.
When I marked holdback females, I notched ears at the crawler stage. Sorry, but it didn't seem to hurt them, marked them effectively, and had no seen adverse effect. In fact, some of the last 10 rats I have are those females.

Actually I just watched a show that had lab mice in it. They were explaining about some weird regenerative mice that were bred! The lab routinely punched a small hole into the mouse ears of those that they wanted to tell apart.. Well, in these regenerative mice, the hole regenerated! Not just that it healed.. it completely closed up. I am not saying that anyone should go punching holes into their rats' ears.. I am just saying that labs do it with success apparently.