Odd Fancy Rat Markings

Fancy rats come in a variety of common, uncommon, and straight up RARE markings. There are so many beautiful ratties out there that it is mind boggling! Unfortunately, none of us can have them all. However, we can dream right?

If you find that your rat has a unique or odd marking, see if you can match it up with other known markings! Every year, new mutations occur within the pet fancy rat trade. Whether or not the breeder or owner has knowledge of it, it could start a new trend in rat markings; much in the way that the popular Down Under rat has!Dumbo eared blue rex rat with star and broken mismatched cap



Hooded Rats

Caramel/Fawn Ruby Eyed Top Ear and Black Veriberk Top Ear With Star!

Caramel/Fawn Ruby Eyed Top Ear and Black Veriberk Top Ear With Star!

Hooded rats have some of the most common markings. They have solid colored heads, front legs, shoulders, and a portion of the back. The colored hood stops about 1/4 of the way down the back, and continues as a stripe down towards the tail. If it goes all the way to the tail as 1 solid color, it is a complete hood. A broken stripe or splotches is a broken hood. A broken hooded rat is perhaps the most common.

Bareback Hooded Rats

Bareback rats are just like hooded rats, only the do not have the color splotches or stripes. Instead, the back is entirely white with the exception of the colored hood. Bareback hooded rats are slightly harder to find, but they are still somewhat common.

Siamese Rats

siamese rat

Siamese Dumbo Eared Rat. Photo Credit: Alexey Krasavin

Siamese rats are absolutely stunning. They have an off white, cream colored body, with points on the nose, ears, paws, and tail base. Usually, a Siamese has brown or orange tinted points. Usually, you do not see Siamese rats as commonly as you would see Himalayans.

Himalayan Rat

 

dumbo eared himalayan marked rat

dumbo eared himalayan marked rat

Unlike a Siamese rat, a Himalayan rat usually only has 1 or 2 points; the nose, or the nose and tail base. The points tend to be brown. The rest of the rat is usually white, and they tend to have pink eyes. They are minimally marked as compared to the Siamese.




Blazed Face

A blazed rat has a beautiful blaze on its face. A blazed rat could have a wide variety of markings on its body, whether it be a berkshire, veriberk, irish, variegated, and more. Usually, when one thinks blazed, they think of the wedge blaze. A wedge blaze comes to a point on the forehead, but begins on symmetrical sides of the muzzle. Other blazes may run along the side of the face, or may have squiggly edges rather than the perfect triangular wedged blaze.

Berkshire Markings

dumbo rats

Dumbo rats come in a wide variety of colors and coat types. Isn’t Pico the rat adorable? He’s in a brass like tiny vintage bird cage.

A berkshire rat has a perfectly solid colored body, with some white on the belly. Unlike the veriberk, the white does NOT extend up the sides of the rat’s belly. Any white will be solely on the underside of the rat. Berkshires are extremely common.

Veriberk Marking

pet rat sleeping in wheelLike the Berkshire, the Veriberk is a solid color with some white on the belly. However, these rats have much more white on their undersides. You will see that the white will run up the sides of the rat’s body, sometimes reaching up towards the spine. Generally, the white will extend 1/4 to 1/2 of the way up the rat’s sides.

Variegated Markings on a Rat

Variegated markings are absolutely gorgeous! The rat may be capped, hooded, or nearly barebacked. The color on its back will either be lightly or heavily dappled, spotted, or splotched; much like an appaloosa or roan horse. Or, you could even think about a blue heeler dog’s markings.