Fur/coat question

[September555]

Ok....I have a questions.......wanted opinions.

I have two small females I would say they are less than 6 months old...I know everyone is gonna cringe but I got them at petsmart a while back. They were the only two left so I took them. They are both hooded....one grey and one white. I of course do not know if they are "truely sisters" who knows when they come from petstores right?

So here is my question. My grey one Daisy is very very soft and silky and feels like velvet. My other one....Bailey she is black with specks of brown in it....she feels course and kind of weird. I dont know how to explain it, it is course yet soft yet feels long yet feels a bit curly yet feels bushy and thick yet feels thick yet feels?????? I know it sounds crazy but I don't know how to explain it. They eat the same diet, get the same treats, etc. Could it just be her? Is she lacking something in her diet, or am I just silly. I am going to put some pics in...you can kind of see it in the pics a bit. I think pic Bailey 5 shows it the best....

Bailey (one in question)

Bailey 2

Bailey 3

Bailey 4

Bailey 5 shows the best??

Daisy is velvety

 

[lilspaz68]

hard to tell from the pics but it sounds like you have a velveteen rex (or poor coated rex) on your hands. Your grey girl is actually blue.

They look sweet

 

[September555]

Hi and thanks Lil. Yeah one is the blue colored one. She is sooo soft and cute.

So I assume that the velveteen or poor coated rex is just a "breed" and she is ok, right, like hooded or hareless? That doesn't mean she is ill or anything, right?

Thanks for the info.

 

[jorats]

I've never noticed any of my girls ever having coarse hair. Do you mean rougher to the touch? I guess one could say that a rex or velveteen is rougher than a the standard rat. In boys, the rex is definitely a coarser hair but they also have a lot of sebum coming through.

 

[lilspaz68]

If this helps...

this is a decent coat on a rex girl...curly whiskers, crimpy fur, bit of a different texture than a standard coated rat. Aura used to feel very rough, but with a good diet her coat is really soft now.

2 standard coats (the agouti on the left is Aura's daughter)

and a Velveteen

Wilbur on the right is a velveteen, straight whiskers, but the slightly crimpy fur

Rex, Standard, Velveteen are all coat types...Hooded is a marking. There is only the one rat breed

 

[Vanessa]

All of the 'fancy' rat coats are pretty much recessive genes that will result in only part of the litter having them with the remaining rats having a standard coat. It is normal to have that, there is nothing wrong with any of them.
I have noticed that some markings coincide with a different coat type and that has probably been from many generations of the two being bred together.
Coat issues can indicate health issues, though. This doesn't apply to your two, they are fine, but things like poor diet and parasites will reflect in the condition of their coat. Sparse or dull coats could mean problems.

 

[September555]

Thanks again for the into. Lil...her coat looks like Wilbur's fur. Just feels like maybe longer thicker fur, yet a little course. Like Jo said maybe rougher? Just Daisy has short fine silky hair...and Baileys seems so much different. Maybe it is just longer to the touch so it seems different. I looked at her whiskers and they are not curly...kind of like Wilburs, straight wiskers but different hair.

As long as they are well I am good. =) Wilbur is adorable by the way