Online Rat Communities?

[aldebono]

I just joined that FB group, looks like a bunch of rat lovers!

I will admit my rats did not have the luxury of hammocks and wheels, but they did get food scraps and newspaper to shred and they had each other to play with and groom and I made sure they got along with their bin mates.

Artgecko, you reminded me of something that has to do with more your other thread so I will comment there.

[MrLang]

Just caught up on the last few posts here. Thanks for the input! Dwarvism is a recessive trait which inhibits growth hormone. The result of this is a tiny rat that is immune to tumors.

I have had a few BEW dumbos pop out recently. Cute little buggers but don't fit in with what I'm working on. My most recent holdback is a blue dumbo rex female with one perfectly round eye patch over one eye. She runs up to the wall to say hi and hops right in my hand when I reach in while the rest dart into their little hide. Looking forward to breeding her into the dwarves.

As for the pictures:
Non-rex sibling to the holdback but has a similar eye patch


Hard to see but this one is black eyed


Triple het dumbo dwarf siamese merle and blue pearl merle


Last but not least one of my black eyed siamese dumbo dwarf males - this guy is a full grown adult

[ballpythonluvr]

Just caught up on the last few posts here. Thanks for the input! Dwarvism is a recessive trait which inhibits growth hormone. The result of this is a tiny rat that is immune to tumors.

I have had a few BEW dumbos pop out recently. Cute little buggers but don't fit in with what I'm working on. My most recent holdback is a blue dumbo rex female with one perfectly round eye patch over one eye. She runs up to the wall to say hi and hops right in my hand when I reach in while the rest dart into their little hide. Looking forward to breeding her into the dwarves.

As for the pictures:
Non-rex sibling to the holdback but has a similar eye patch


Hard to see but this one is black eyed


Triple het dumbo dwarf siamese merle and blue pearl merle


Last but not least one of my black eyed siamese dumbo dwarf males - this guy is a full grown adult

Oh my gosh! They are just too cute! If I lived in Mass, I would so want a couple of those. I have a female dumbo rattie that I am just totally in love with.

[artgecko]

Very cool pics!
MrLang- Do you ever have any problems with megacolon in your high whites? I've heard that it's prevalent in high whites here in the US unless they come from dalmatian or roan lines.

I think the dwarfs are cool too... The personality of a rat in the size of a mouse.. Very neat. Do they have any behavioral quirks (other than being hyper)?

[ironpython]

Hey Mr. Lang Im like you a feeder breeder who enjoys the rat breeding as much as the snakes. Why dont we start our own FB page and get like minded folks together.

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[satomi325]

Do you ever have any problems with megacolon in your high whites? I've heard that it's prevalent in high whites here in the US unless they come from dalmatian or roan lines.

I only breed high whites myself because that's what I select for. I haven't had a single case of megacolon. My rats are also all recessive in their markings. Megacolon tends to stem from dominant forms of high white.



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[Michelle.C]

I am a rat breeder who also owns snakes. Not all rat breeders are snobby, many of us own reptiles ourselves. Most ethical rat breeders don't breed their own feeders, but some do. The breeders that do, keep their feeder line completely separate from their feeder lines. If you do that, I don't see most rat breeders having much of an issue with that. Not to say all will be accepting, but most will.

Also, there are lots of "high white" (which is a misleading term) genetics in rats that are completely safe. Such as Variegated (which can produce Masked, Patched, BEW, Odd Eye, etc.), Recessive Blaze lines, Roans, etc.

There are a few Rat Genetic groups on Facebook that I moderate/know the admins. Most are accepting if your questions are on-topic and you don't discuss the feeding aspect.

[Michelle.C]

Triple het dumbo dwarf siamese merle and blue pearl merle

Very nice Pearls/Pearl Merles. Especially top left. Just a little info though, Pearl and Merle only show up in Mink based colors. So, technically, there are no "Blue Merles". When they are that shade, they can be considered Dark Phase Pearl Merle, but most people don't differentiate between Pearl phases (from light to dark).

Pearl Merle.


Here are some various markings from safe lines.

Roan babies.


Roan starting to fade.


Recessive Blazed.


Variegated Downunder.


Variegated Masked.


Various markings in a Variegated line.


UNSAFE SOX10 Dominant (The marking gene that is associated with Megacolon) Chinchilla Cap/Stripe.

[artgecko]

Thanks for the info and pics Michelle C.
So I'm thinking that in order to know if a high-white looking baby is safe, you need to know what the parents were and be suspicious if all the litter is high white when one of the parents was a self, etc.?

[Michelle.C]

Thanks for the info and pics Michelle C.
So I'm thinking that in order to know if a high-white looking baby is safe, you need to know what the parents were and be suspicious if all the litter is high white when one of the parents was a self, etc.?

With most markings, it's almost impossible to tell if they are Variegated or SOX10 Dom. I can give an educated guess if photos/information of several generations are provided though.

Since Variegated is incomplete dominant (while SOX10 Dom is lethal (in utero) dominant), it wouldn't be unusual to see Variegated offspring in an Irish x Berk, Berk x Berk, Hooded x Berk, etc. Unless the Self was a Mismarked Berk/Irish, I wouldn't expect to see any Variegated offspring in their litter.

You can PM me photos, etc. and I'll take a look and see if anything stands out.