At the word "domestic rats" many people are squeamish and immediately imagine animals that run around the yards, damage property and may well be carriers of diseases. But in reality, pets can be quite interesting. It has been proven by science that rodents are very intelligent, easy to train and unusually smart.
What to consider when choosing a domestic rat? The colors of the animal are diverse. There are white, black, gray, orange, brown, blue, beige pets that children like so much.
Description of the animal
Rats belong to the class of mammals. The dimensions of the body can be up to 30 cm and weight 300 - 400 g. The animals lead a lifestyle terrestrial. In nature, there are rats that can climb trees. They live in minks alone or as a family.
In addition to wild rats, there are also affectionate, caring pets. Currently, many interesting decorative specimens have been bred. They are very good in contact with a person.
Among them, it is possible to meet a unique animal without fur - a sphinx or, conversely, curly-haired animals. The rat may be tailless or with a flat tail and with ears of various shapes.
A very interesting specimen is a rat dumbo, the coat colors of which can be gray, white or black. And the dignity is the ears. The larger they are, the more valuable the instance.
The color of the rat is an important criterion when choosing a pet.
In China, Ancient Egypt and Japan, these animals were revered as sacred animals, lived in temples. It was believed that they were able to predict events.
Pets
Professionals know a considerable number of rat colors. All of them in most cases appear in the form of a variety of color combinations. Meanwhile, not all rodents meet the requirements of the standard. Nevertheless, the owners of such rats can register them in the established form and present them as an independent breed.
The most important thing is to focus on a limited number of needed attributes. Concerned about the color and color of the eyes, breeders often neglect caring for the physique and well-being of the animal. As a result, almost many thoroughbred rats, unlike wild rodents, stand out for poor health and reduced vitality.
Every pet can be identified by color, marking and type of coat. Some rat color names were taken from other representatives of the animal world, namely cats and dogs. For example: Siamese, Rex, Husky. Currently, rat colors are often found in completely different shades, which can be red, black, silver. Siamese and Himalayan animals are found in large numbers.
Color division
Color is the color or shade of the coat of a decorative rat. Currently, there are a fairly large number of shades, and all of them are divided into homogeneous, ticked and combined, silver and marked:
- Homogeneous colors - this is when all the hairs are of the same color and tone. For example, black - the wool has a black color from root to tip. The undercoat is extremely dark. There may be other colors - blue, Russian blue, smoky blue.
- Ticked colors. Ticking is an uneven coloring of hairs. In other words, on the wool there are areas painted in various colors. Among these non-standardly colored hairs, the identical ones of the same tone are interspersed. Agouti rats are ticked.
- Silver color is absolutely any of the generally recognized colors. They can be uniform and ticked. Their main feature is the periodic repetition in the same amount of silver and colored wool. Any silver hair should be most white, although it is permissible to have a colored hair tip. The skin of such an animal gives the impression of brilliance and sparkle. If there are few white hairs, then the color is not recognized as such. In order not to confuse the silver color with the pearl color, silver should be pronounced.
- Combined colors - a combination of several colors. All colors except white can participate. Multicolor extends to the entire body of a rodent in accordance with the standard. Siamese colors are included here - Siamese and Himalayans.
- Marked - a combination of white and colored areas of the hair. And marking is a drawing in which a certain combination of white and colored zones is involved.
A direct relationship was established between the color of the hairline and the color of the eyes of the animal. The color of the eyes directly depends on the color that the coat has. Quite often, white rats are the owners of red or black eyes.
When breeding decorative animals with conditioned qualities, the laws of genetics must be taken into account. It must be borne in mind that the color, texture of the coat and a number of other physical characteristics are inherited by rats according to the general, well-known law of heredity.
Other animal colors
Sometimes you can meet a completely unexpected color of the hair of an animal. They are given specific names. For example - hood color. This original coloring, found most often. She looks like a dark “hood” covers her head, but her back and abdomen remain white. The animal with this color is born from two black parents.
New rare rat colors result from a mutation completely unexpectedly for breeders.
Very rarely, but still there are tricolor individuals. Numerous lovers of decorative rats know them under the name "mosaic". They are considered especially valuable and rare. It is possible to meet individuals with such an original color infrequently. With their specific color, they look like tortoiseshell cats. In addition to white on the coat, spots of two other colors can be noted. It can be gray, and red, and beige.
According to various sources, only two individuals of tricolor rats are known.
Rat named Solaris
The first three-colored animal was born in Alaska, in the largest state of the United States. This happened in February 2002. The name of the newborn was Solaris. Parents of a magnificent animal were owners of a black color marked "hood". His offspring were entirely hoods. Tricolor was not among them. It follows that the color mosaic is not inherited. Tricolor rats give birth to monochromatic cubs.
The only tricolor beauty
The second tricolor rat was born in 2006, received the original name - Dusty mouse Shabu-Shabu. This is an amazing baby who violates all previously formed concepts about the genetics of rodents. Her personality is that the coat is dyed in three colors. According to the marking standard, this animal has the color of a champagne hood. The tri-color rat Syabu-Sabu runs along the back, on the head and shoulders, a streak of champagne, and the rest of the body is white. But in addition to these colors, black spots are also visible on this original. It is theoretically believed that this is impossible.
More than 40 types of markings and colors are known to professionals involved in breeding and keeping rats.
However, there is not a single individual that has precisely three colors combined. The parents of the Shabu-Shabu Dusty Mouse were champagne and black hoods. In other litters, these parents did not observe anything like this.
Recently, rare white rats with red eyes have been observed . These are albinos. Such a white color and eye color suggests that they have problems with the production of melanin.
Cute animals similar to cats.
More recently, a rat with an interesting Siamese color has been bred. The color of this variation is very similar to the color of the Siamese cat. A black mask is marked on the face.
Siamese rats throughout the body have a light beige skin color. The onset of darkening is noted closer to the tail. In front of the head, in the area of the nose and legs, are black. There is an opinion that the darker the color, the more “rat” the rat looks. The eyes of Siamese pets are almost always pink. However, rats of Siamese color with black eyes have recently appeared. As it turned out, a large number of animal lovers prefer individuals with dark eyes.
Pet favorite color
A variety of shades represents the color of agouti. The impeccable beauty of this suit conquers the hearts of even harsh experts. Agouti - “wild” color. The reference is presented as gray, but actually red-black.
It is they who in most cases are kept at home. The agouti rat has a golden coat. Most individuals have a dark back and a light yellow or white belly. Sometimes a shade of orange may be present in the color. This is because the rat has a glossy coat. Agouti life expectancy at home can be up to 20 years.
Rat with the color of a four-legged friend
People who hear the word "husky" immediately think that we will talk about sled dogs. However, in nature there are still other animals with this name. These are home decorative rats.
The variety of the animal is very interesting, with various properties. Husky rat has its name due to the similarity of color with this breed of sled dogs. Unlike other varieties, they can change the coat color. Cubs are born with the usual color. May be black.
Their markings may be similar to banded. This means that colored spots are located on the body or body of a rat of a dark color, as if covered with a cloak, and the tummy is white.
But over time, as the animal grows up, the baby fluff changes to adult hair, and white hairs appear in the color. Such dilution in white occurs throughout life. Over time, the original color fades to white. So the rat changes color.
The ideal color of a husky is the color “salt and pepper”. On the face of the rat there is a white spot that resembles spots on the faces of dogs. It has a V-shaped inverted appearance and the name "blaze".
It is because of this trait that the animal is given such a name.
Markings of this color
Husky rats can only be one of two markings available:
- Berkshire Husky.
- Banded Husky.
Berkshire Husky is a raincoat type label with a white belly and a painted rat back. The head, like the back, is also colored.
Banded Husky is a hood-like label when the animal’s head, chest and shoulders are evenly colored. The exception is blaze. From the so-called hood, a strip of dyed wool passes along the back. In this marking, such a strip is very wide.
Beautiful blue rats
This amazingly beautiful animal is worthy of special attention. Among a large number of decorative animals, a blue rat is considered an aristocrat. The coat of the animal to the base and undercoat has a blue tint. The abdomen may have a different color: white or gray, a blue tone is possible.
Such a rat wears a very beautiful glossy coat. Loneliness is undesirable for her. She does not tolerate it. Therefore, they are turned on in pairs. But if there is no desire to have several such animals, then this one existing pet will have to pay more attention. Within a day, one hour of communication with a person is enough for them.
Predators in nature
As a rule, in urban areas, you can often find ordinary rats. They may have a gray, sometimes black, skin color. The colors of rats in nature have a palette from grayish to red. Sometimes you can meet a brown rodent.
The most common types of rat colors in nature:
- Gray rat. Young animals have gray fur. When growing up, they acquire a reddish tint. On the stomach, white hairs have a dark base.
- Black rat. On the back, the skin color has a greenish tint. On the stomach, dark gray or ashy hair color.
- Small rat. It has a brown skin color.
In the middle zone of Russia, for the most part, two species of rats are found: black and gray.
Conclusion
A fairly common phenomenon in the modern world is the content of animals as pets. In Asia Minor, rats with a white color were kept as tame animals for another 1000 years BC. Already at that time, among them there were not only white rats, but also individuals with various other colors that resulted from mutations. Animals of various colors as pets appeared later.