Hello! Somewhat-new rattie owner here.

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pixelrat

pixelrat

New Member
Joined
Jun 30, 2018
Messages
4
Location
England
Hi. I've had my rats for probably around 6 months now. I adopted them from the store I work at, where they had been brought in from a previous home at around 9 months old.

My boys are called Darwin and Gumball and I Iove them to bits! I very recently upgraded to the Liberta cage and they seem very excited over all the space they have now.

I actually wanted to ask a question, not being overly experienced with rats myself. I know that Darwin is a rex, but I am wondering if he's a dumbo too? I've tried comparing with pictures online but... it's almost like he's a mixture of fancy and dumbo? I feel really silly because it's probably an obvious answer to other experienced rat owners haha!

If I could have some advice I'd be grateful. Thanks!

(P.S - I'm uploading this from my phone so I apologise if the pictures are massive! D: )

Darwin:
15303630191621524029762750048164.jpg


Gumball:
IMG_20180630_105046.jpg


+ Bonus image
IMG_20180506_195322.jpg
 
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Hi. Fancy just means they're domestic rats as opposed to wild. Dumbo refers to the ears, ones placed on the side of the head are dumbos, as opposed to ears sticking up on top which are top-eared. Both your darling boys are dumbos.
 
Yes, they’re both dumbos for sure. I have both and it’s really easy to tell the difference when you see them side by side, but not so easy when you don’t.
I also have rexes and all of the rexes I have had are from the same family and are almost completely hairless. The other siblings in the litter have the normal straight fur that most rats have. I find Darwin’s coat fascinating because I’ve never actually seen a Rex with a full body of fur. My little guys had spindly little coats that eventually either shed off entirely or would grow in cycles, mostly on their faces. I’m interested to see if Darwin loses some of his coat in the future or if it stays the same as he gets older. Rexes are such an interesting breed of rat because they are all different and it’s great that you get to experience one as one of your first rats!
 
There are no different breeds of domestic rats ……………….. just different colours, hair type, ear placement and markings …….. babies in the same litter with the same parents can vary on all of these characteristics.

Luna&Ralph, it sounds like your rats are double rex … ie they received the rex gene from both parents. Rats who are double rex lose their hair in patches and it grows back. Rats who are rex (receive the rex gene from only 1 parent) do not lose their hair, although some have hair that becomes thinner as they age

Rex is not a breed, it is just a genetic trait, it is just a type of coat.
 
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Wow, that was passive agressive. I think there are much more important things to correct on this forum than the use of a single word. I thought for a while about whether the word “breed” would be appropriate here, and I thought it would make the most sense to the person who asked the question in this case. Actually, I did a lot of research before they were born and they can only be Rex if one of their parents was a double Rex and one was a normal furred rat. As I said, the babies originally had fur and some continued to, making them single rexes rather than double.
 
Actually, a lot of people are misinformed and think that there are different breeds of rats because of variations in characteristics. My response was in no way passive aggressive, but I apologize if my response offended you …. I haven't had much sleep for several days

Yes, a double rex rat bred to a rat with a standard coat will have a litter of babies with a rex coat, but a rat with a rex coat bred to a rat with a standard coat will produce a litter containing both rats with a rex coat and rats with a standard coat.

As I mentioned previously, from the description you posted of your rats it sounds like they are double rex rats, although it is possible that the rats with the thin coat that became bald when they were older were "poor" rex rats. From what you wrote, it sounds like they had two rex parents (Rere x Rere), resulting (statistically) in a litter containing 1/4 of the babies with a standard coat (rere), 1/2 of the babies with a rex coat (REre), and 1/4 of the babies that were double rex or homozygous rex (ReRE). Regardless, they sound like wonderful little ratties.

Edit: These may be of interest to anyone interested in rex rats
http://www.afrma.org/c-c_rexdoublerex.htm
http://www.afrma.org/rexrat.htm
http://www.afrma.org/ratvar.htm#rex
 
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