Varieties
Varieties include coat types and other body features of a rat that are judged apart from the color or markings.
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| Standard |
Smooth shorter coat but may have longer guard hairs, upright ears free of folds, curling or creases. Whiskers straight.
Faults: Ears too low on the head; ears are creased, folded, or curled.
Disqualifying: Coat is curly or wavy. Dumbo ears.
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| Dumbo |
Large, roundish ears, set lower on the head. May be "tubular" or "roundish" but with no prominent point, heavy folds, curling or creases. The body type on a dumbo may be stockier than a standard.
Genetics:
dudu
Dumbo is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express
Faults: Ears are pointed, folded, curled, or tubular.
Disqualifying: Ears are too small and look like standard ears.
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| Satin |
Longer silky coat with a lustrous sheen. Hairs to be thinner and longer than standard, and should be fine to the touch. The coat has a sparkling look on some colors; white on the rat will have a yellow cast. Whiskers may be kinky/wavy/curled. May be shown in any color.
Genetics:
sasa
Satin is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express
Faults: Coat lacking the proper sheen. Other faults as for the respective color. |
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| Rex |
Curly coat and whiskers. Coat should be even and dense but may thin with age. Texture will feel rougher than a velveteen. Color to conform to a recognized color or marking.
Genetics:
Rere
Rex is an autosomal semi-dominant trait
Faults: No curl to the coat or coat is too thin
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| Double Rex |
Mock hairless or patchwork fur. Fur to be thin and sometimes patchy. Can be any standardized color or marking. Color to conform to a recognized color or marking.
Genetics:
ReRe
Rex is an autosomal semi-dominant trait |
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| Velveteen |
Wavy coat and softly curled/wavy whiskers. Coat should be even and preferably dense. Older rats coats may thin with age and this is a fault for show. Texture to be soft. Can be any standardized color or marking. Color to conform to a recognized color or marking.
Genetics:
Cucu
Velveteen is an autosomal semi-dominant trait
Faults: Coat is rough or curled too tightly
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| Harley |
Undercoat and guard hairs should be soft, wispy and stand away from the body giving the rat a ruffled appearance from the face to a tail base. Head and underside of the rat should match top. Overall coat should appear longer.
Two types of Harley coats:
Curly coated - Curls should be uniform.
Straight coated - Generally denser and straighter but will still conform to standard of Harley.
Genetics:
haha
Harley is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express.
That being said, a rat carrying Harley usually has a softer coat.
Faults: Lack of coat length, coat too thin
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| Silvermane |
Also known as D’Argent through AFRMA. Coat should have a solid undercolor with silvery-white tips. The hairs give an overall silvered look. Should have a facial mask with darker fur around the muzzle and the eyes. Coat to be silky soft and give off a visible sheen.
Genetics:
Sm-
Note: Pheomelanin (red) colors are diluted.
It's suspected that double Silvermane is lethal in utero.
Faults: Fur is patchy or lacks enough silvering. Undercoat color overpowers the silvering. |
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| Hairless |
No hair on body but may have slight fuzz around eyes and whiskers. Rats may have curled or slight whiskers. Skin should be healthy, not dull or flakey. Body should conform to basic type, good length, nice eyes, etc. Faults are on a sliding scale for amount of hair on body and given for uneven skin color/tone. (markings are also judged).
Genetics:
hrhr
Hairless is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express
Faults: Marks or scars on the skin; small or watery eyes; an excessive amount of
hair due to molt.
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| Werewolf |
Also known as "True Patchwork." Whiskers long and wispy as babies, but break off as they age. Fur to be thicker and coarser than double rex or hairless. The coat has been described as feeling almost like a "soft sand paper." Patterns change over a matter of days. Symmetrical patterns are preferred, but not required. Patterns show best with a dark color such as black or Russian Blue.
Genetics:
wwww
Patchwork is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express
Patchwork is not related to any other genes and are a unique variety all of their own.
Disqualifying: Not a true werewolf.
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| Manx/Tailless |
A Manx rat should be more rounded in body shape, not fat but the whole body should appear more rounded and shortened. They should not have points taken off for being too small. When allowed to walk they may sit a little higher in the rear then most rats. Hind legs should be slightly longer then the front legs (not dramatically). The judge may have treats for this class; the rats should be able to stand on their hind legs with ease! Their spine should feel like it ends where the tail would begin. There should not be anything sticking out. You should be able to feel the last vertebrae in their spine. A rat should not be docked for having a small piece of skin sticking out so long as there is no bone. Check the rear end for scars, if it looks like the rats tail was CUT off, they should be disqualified!
Genetics:
The genetics for manx rats are not fully understood. It does not appear to be a simple recessive. It is speculated that there may be multiple types of tailless with different genes, and they may also be polygenetic, requiring more than one activated gene to express.
Disqualifying: Deformed or shuffles when walks; tail was removed.
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| Dwarf |
There are two dwarf rat standards that we allow.
Genetics:
dwdw
Dwarf is recessive and needs two copies of the gene to express
Miniatures:
The rat shall conform to color, marking, temperament and condition standards as for regular rats. May have curious and busy personalities. Body size should be 1/3 size of standard rats. Feet are smaller in proportion to body. Tails are short in proportion to body size. Legs are short. Eyes should be large. The facial features of males may be more feminine and this should not be faulted.
Faults: Small standard rat that is not genetically a dwarf rat.
Stockys:
The rat shall conform to color, marking, temperament and condition standards as for regular rats. May have curious and busy personalities. Body size should be 1/3 size of standard rats. Feet are smaller in proportion to body. Tails are short in proportion to body size. The facial features of males and females are shortened and wider than miniature dwarf rats. Eyes are very large and out of size proportion. Legs are short. Kittens may have thin tails.
Faults: Small standard rat that is not genetically a dwarf rat. |
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