Hairless rats?

[Bettacreek]

Before I got into snakes, I was an avid rat lover. At one point in time, I bred true hairless rats, dumbos and siamese. The petstore here once told me that the hairless rats were preferred by snake breeders. Is this really true? Shouldn't the snakes get rats with fur instead of hairless rats?

[littleindiangirl]

No, feeder breeders do not prefer hairless rats because of the higher care they take and often poor lactating abilities. We want to have the biggest healthiest and largest producing rats out there, not junk rats.

[Bettacreek]

That could be obtained with breeding either rex females to get the "hairless" double rex, or with true hairless carrier females to a hairless male. But, other than production issues, are there any reasons to feed hairless or any reasons not to?

[nevohraalnavnoj]

Is there a correlation between hairless rats and quality? I don't see the connection as to why hairless rats are junk? I know some big named rat breeders that can provide all hairless rats upon request.

In terms of digestibility, given that virtually the only part of the rat that is undigested is the hair, it makes sense that a hairless rat would be easier to digest.

JonV

[littleindiangirl]

That could be obtained with breeding either rex females to get the "hairless" double rex, or with true hairless carrier females to a hairless male. But, other than production issues, are there any reasons to feed hairless or any reasons not to?

Lots of people have rex/wavy rats, its very common, but if your talking true hairless, no, it's not preferred, and there is no reason to concentrate on breeding hairless feeders for snakes. There just isn't any reason to prefer it nutrition wise.

[littleindiangirl]

Is there a correlation between hairless rats and quality? I don't see the connection as to why hairless rats are junk? I know some big named rat breeders that can provide all hairless rats upon request.

In terms of digestibility, given that virtually the only part of the rat that is undigested is the hair, it makes sense that a hairless rat would be easier to digest.

JonV

Jon, I didn't mean that hairless are junk rats, just that feeder breeders want the very best, not junk. It was not intended to imply all hairless are junk rats.

True Hairless rats dont have hair and require higher protein and fat content to stay warm. Female hairless also tend to not lactate very well or at all. They have sensitive skin because they lack the hair, making small scratches and injuries more common.

My snakes poop all looks like a big brown turd, with no discernible hair. Maybe some snakes need to have hairless rats, but I have never heard of any reason why its necessary. They eat furry/feathered things in the wild, they are perfectly capable of handling fur whenever necessary.

[Beardedragon]

As far as super rex's go I have seen no problem with them breeding and having babies. The only thing is, is that they eat and drink more so ive been told because of how hot they get. Its not that I prefer them or anything, its just when I see the only hairless out of a bunch that is a female my soft spot gets a little softer and I stick them in a grow up bin

NVM, super rex's do not have any problems anyways, Thanks Connie

[littleindiangirl]

As far as super rex's go I have seen no problem with them breeding and having babies. The only thing is, is that they eat and drink more so ive been told because of how hot they get. Its not that I prefer them or anything, its just when I see the only hairless out of a bunch that is a female my soft spot gets a little softer and I stick them in a grow up bin

Super rexs are mock hairless or patchwork hairless, they aren't technically a true hairless rat which are a simple recessive genes.

[Bettacreek]

I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but, I think they said something about better acceptance of a hairless rat. I'm not sure though, and I heard this years ago. Plus the added fact that the petstore also tells people that pine bedding and seed mix is healthy for the rats.
I just personally like the true hairless rats, and wasn't sure if there was anything actually special about them in the snake world or not. Some true hairless lines are being worked on to produce females that can raise their own young. Other people (myself included) would breed hairless females to hairless males, and use a wet nurse to raise the litter if it was necessary. Hairless do have other issues though, true hairless get eye abcesses and such, and double rex and true hairless both get cuts and infections easier than regulars.
For those who use rex rats, have you noticed any difference with feeding them? Are the snakes picky about the different texture of fur?

[littleindiangirl]

I'm not sure if I remember correctly, but, I think they said something about better acceptance of a hairless rat. I'm not sure though, and I heard this years ago. Plus the added fact that the petstore also tells people that pine bedding and seed mix is healthy for the rats.
I just personally like the true hairless rats, and wasn't sure if there was anything actually special about them in the snake world or not. Some true hairless lines are being worked on to produce females that can raise their own young. Other people (myself included) would breed hairless females to hairless males, and use a wet nurse to raise the litter if it was necessary. Hairless do have other issues though, true hairless get eye abcesses and such, and double rex and true hairless both get cuts and infections easier than regulars.
For those who use rex rats, have you noticed any difference with feeding them? Are the snakes picky about the different texture of fur?

Yea... pet store people aren't very smart I've noticed.

I have about half and half rex and smooth coated, and none of the snakes care. As long as it smells like a rat, looks like a rat, moves like a rat (or not LOL), they eat em.

The only snake I own that is picky is my spider BP, she only takes ASF now, but thats okay because I raise those too.