Rat Types
By Emily of EaglesEye Rattery

Eyes:

Black eyes: Eyes are a deep black in color.  (This is the color of wild rats eyes)

Khats Logan- Black masked dumbo

Pink Eyes: Eyes are a clear pink color. 

EAGL Ariel- Triamese blazed cap-stripe

Ruby/Red eyes: Eyes are a dark color- but not black.  Some are a deep brown, while others are a crisp ruby.  (Looks black in most pictures)

Odd eye: Each eye is a different color.  Eyes can be Black, pink or ruby combined in any way.

Tails:

Standard: Rat has tail.  Tail is about the length of rats body and covered by small bristly hairs.

Tailless: Rat has lack of tail.  Preference is a complete lack of tail but 'stubbies' (Rats with partial tails) and 'hamster tails' (Rats with a tiny tail much like that of a hamster) exist.  True tailless are genetically born that way.  Manx rats tend to be smaller and more playful then their standard cousins.  They tend to have a slimmer build.  Many tailless rats hop instead of walk!

Size:

Standard: Normal sized rat. There are size variations based on sex, and lines within standard sized rats.

Dwarf: Dwarf rats are aprox 1/3 the size of standard size rats. This is an actual gene that causes growth restriction. There is an assortment of sizes of rats in the fancy. A small sized standard rat, is not considered a dwarf, nor would a large dwarf, be considered a standard rat.

A dwarf rat, compared to a standard sized rat.
Dwarf is burmese, and standard is Black Eye Siamese. Both are rex coated.
Owned by OFR. Photo taken at Sept '06 show

Coats:

Standard: Rats coat is strait and a medium length.  Whiskers are strait.  Females tend to be soft and males tend to have rough coats once they mature.

Rex: Rats coat and whiskers are curly.  (Esp. as rittens)  Does tend to loose the curl as they mature and look crimped.  

 Velveteen: Crimped coat and whiskers.  (Wavy not curly like that of the rex) Most velveteens are simply poorly curled rexes.

EAGL Benji- Black berksire velveteen

Satin: A noticeably shiner and softer coat.  Satin rats hair is finer than that of standard rats.  Lighter colors tend to get a yellow tint.

CWR Herr Blau- Blue self dumbo satin

'Harley': A noticeably shiner and softer coat.  Harley rats hair is finer than that of standard rats.  Lighter colors tend to get a yellow tint. It is unknown yet is this is the same gene as 'satin', but it's likely that it is.

Hairless: Hairless rats have a lack of hair.  (Sometimes they have 'peach fuzz' on their bodies and nose)  Care should be taken in breeding hairless does as many do not lactate.  Hairless need more food/ a higher protein diet because of the higher metabolism meant to keep them warm. 

Double rex (AKA Patchwork): Coat has patches that are hairless that change from week to week, this is caused by the rex gene bred together and makes the roots of hair thinner so they break off after a certain length.  You never see the same pattern twice on a patchwork!