need rat cage ideas PICS ADDED POST 12!!

[laughingdog]

i bet if you bred him to a rex showing female, or even bred back to babies of normal female, babies showing rex, offspring might come out hairless. hehehe mine did, was odd but desired on first try luck. now trying to breed down dwarfs or pygmies whatever you want to call, as had female come out tiny and only baby to survive as was biggest, so bred her back to father and got even tiner healthy babies, but sadly i culled the male, for some reason, before could tinker more with his genetics, but his raccon marked boy (was largest male, and maybe not right choice, but so darn pretty and such silkie hair!), might be promising, with his grand daughter (only female out of litter). anyone know how to look for, find or encourage the tailless gene t show up, or what to look for to get it? all i get are half tails except two long ago, who died as pups. want to breed tiny baby pinkie rats for baby snake food, so no more darned trying to breed stinky stupid mice (though loved breeding as child).

 

[ma2babygurl13]

So I am supposed to be getting a solid color female hairless tomorrow... when they breed what is likely to come of it?

 

[taraann81]

Since your hairless is most likely a rex, you'll get all rex babies.. some with less fur than others. "true" hairless rats are not very common. If I were you I would get a second female, hairless rats, a fair percentage of the time, do not lactate. So you would want to breed two gals at once and be ready to foster babies over if you don't see any milk bands.

 

[sheila3935]

My DD has Rats and has built cages and bought ferret cages. She has 2 girls and 8 boys. The boys and girls are in cages side by side and never had problems with the boys fighting. She had 5 hairless but is down to 1. It seems the hairless are not as hardy as the ones with hair and tend to get sick easy. Last winter we lost 3 due to pneumonia She spent over 500 dollars trying to save them, and one this last spring after a bout with an ear infection that wouldnt respond to the antibotics, but that was one that had survived the pneumonia and we think it weakened him. One of her girls has a mammary tumor that she had removed once but came back. She is doing fine with it. Vet said no more removing cause it would be too hard on her and it is probably cancer and there is no treatment for it. I was freaked when she first started with rats but they are the sweetest, smartest most loving animals I have ever seen. I dont think we could raise them for snake food. My DH has a Boa and I have a hard enough time when he goes to get a feeder. We tried the frozen rats but Jake wont eat them, so I just make it a point not to be around at feeding time. Her rats names are of course Ben, Mozzarella, Socrates, Romy, Roxy, Powder, Cheddar, Ralph, and 2 unnamed.

 

[NewHopePoultry]

Actually true hairless rats are becoming more and more common.
If your female is is true hairless, the babies will be rex, if she is a double rex (mock hairless) then you'll end up with more double rexes.
Hairless females with furred parents dont have problems nursing, but if she has has both hairless parents, then she may have problems producing milk.
I would get 2 females at the same time.