I have a friend who has decided to start breeding rats for her snake. She only has one snake so she has a single pair of rats that she is breeding. She started talking to me over text message about her new female rat she had picked up and sent me a picture. She looked like a very pretty black berkshire. Then my friend said "She's half dumbo. The guy at the store showed me the difference between her and her sister. Their mother was a dumbo, and she's half dumbo." I then told her there was no such thing as "half dumbo" and that dumbo was a recessive gene so what the man probably meant was she carried the gene for dumbo. She then says "No, she's half dumbo. The guy showed me her sister and there are a few differences between them. He said dumbos have softer fur which she has, and a wider face. Her ears are also larger than her sister's." I again told her there was no such thing as half dumbo and that she carries the gene for dumbo and thats it. But she seemed convinced her rat was "half dumbo" because her ears were slightly larger and she had softer fur, and the guy at the store has been breeding rats a long time and knows what he's talking about. When I finally saw this rat in person, I can tell you this rat is not a dumbo by any means. She is a berkshire with normal ears. But I did notice something interesting with her color. She is black but there are small spots of white on her back and I think on her sides. I can try and get a picture the next time I go over to her house but the best way I can describe it is small spots of white fur. Is there a name for this kind of marking?

And the male is interesting as well. He looks like either a black self or a really dark agouti. And when you look at his face, part of the fur on his face almost looks brown, sort of reminds you of a brindle dog, but darker. Any thoughts? I can try and get pictures but I only really go over to her house every few weeks.