Rat Pups - Blue or Gray?

[KayleighBrown]

The 4 on the right, and I don't know what the pink one will be, I'm guessing albino.

They came from a dumbo rex female, that is mostly black with a white under belly, that kind of splashes up along her sides.

The solid black one in the middle, is exactly like her, though you can't see the white on the sides in the photo.

Any thoughts?

Really sorry for the craptastic photo, stupid phone didn't want to work correctly.

[wolfy-hound]

My guess would be (from left to right) 4 black hooded, 1 black, 1 blue?, 3 blue hooded and 1 albino(or possibly buff).

Blues do look lighter than blacks, even on the skin early.

[KayleighBrown]

Thank you! I had a hunch they were blues, their fur is coming in still now, they're past what I call the dandruff stage. I can't wait to see which ones will be dumbos, I already know a few of them are rex due to their whisker shapes. I'm excited! But this litter came as a surprise to me, I guess Peridot's parents may of been blues or carried the blue gene. Or it could of been Mac's parent's as well, he's the father of this litter and is a black and white hooded with the broken up pattern down his back.

[Smarion0006]

Either way, they are all super cute!

[sorraia]

In the photo they look blue, but I can't tell you which blue (American/British or Russian). If there is ANY hint of brown to their fur when it comes in, then they might actually be agouti. I've had agouti in the past that resembled blue just before their fur came in. Once the fur came in it was apparent they were in fact agouti, you can see the black and tan/brown ticking on the hairs. This photo looks too gray for agouti though.

[Lore]

These babies look very similar to one of my current litters when they were younger, how precious. The technical name for your female would be Dumbo Rex Mismarked Black Berkshire, if you are curious. :] I am going to make the assumption these are not from proven Russian Blue lines that you get from breeders, so it would be fairly safe to assume they are American Blue unless they develop heathering. (I can't see their bellies so I am guessing on their markings as far as Berkshire goes) I'm guessing either of these counts: (2 Black Hooded 2 American Blue Hooded 1 Black Berkshire 1 Sky Blue Berkshire 3 Sky Blue Hooded 1 PEW, Beige/Buff or Champagne) OR (4 Black Hooded 1 Black Berkshire 1 American Blue Berkshire 3 American Blue Hooded 1 PEW, Beige/Buff or Champagne) American Blue has a lot of variation depending on dilutes so do not be surprised (if your babies are American Blue) if you do not get several different shades as they grow older. American Blue, Sky Blue and Powder Blue are all from the American Blue (gg) and selected for being darker or lighter. Darkest to Lightest: American Blue > Sky Blue > Powder Blue