# age vs. size charts?



## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

In order to get a better idea of how old my rat is, I was wondering if any one had any charts or whatever that show you how big a rat is at what age? I couldn't find a reliable on on the internet, so I was hoping some of you could share your baby photo diaries?


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

I'm not sure that's really possible, as most rats grow at different rates. As an example, our youngest rat was the same size as our adult female when she was just 4 months old. We thought she was going to be massive, but she's stayed the same size as our adult rat...


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## KayRatz (Apr 5, 2007)

Rats are different sizes, too. Klardae is just a tad smaller than Zinc.


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## Stephanie (Mar 25, 2007)

my biggest boy is 1 and a half pounds and he is younger than my smalles adult male LoL


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

Could you post a picture? I'm fairly good at judging age with rats


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

Ooh Night! Can you tell how old Bert is? (Sorry to butt into your topic, but I just got curious >_>)


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Poppyseed, post good pics of all angles, including a standing side shot (very important since when a rat gets older it starts to walk on the whole bottom of his hind foot rather than on his toes like a younger rat would). They don't spring and hop the same. Baby rats have very distinct features...I'll post some baby pics and explain what I mean from my oops litter last August.

14 days - sprawly, eyes still be closed, (they open between 12-15 days), ears are still against the head quite a bit,starting to lift their head up more as they skuttle around.








16 days - eyes just open, rather squinty still, ears coming off the head quite a bit, still stubby faces (the better to get closer to mom while nursing) starting to stand up more, active llil critters.








21 days - pointier heads, bigger open eyes, ears almost off of head now, filling out nicely








24 days - mini-rats, big open eyes, ears properly off of head now








4 weeks old








5 weeks old








6 weeks with mom on the right








7 weeks old








8 weeks


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

ooh, hehe such cute babies! Those pics make me squee lots.

Just what exactly do you mean by all angles >_> *is an ex photographer and an artist and knows there is an infinate amount of angles a single pose can poses XD


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Oh I guess I meant side/standing normally...head ons are useless for aging a rat (all you get is a cute head), a moving shot shows how they are walking now, etc.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

thanks for the pics, those help quite a bit! i want a baby baby rat now... ohmigoodness those stubby little tails...  i know that no 2 rats grow at the same rate, but all animals have a general growth pattern, so i was hoping for some help.

pictures! these are of picasso when i first got her, about a month ago. they're the best i could do, i think. pretty sure tho, that i have more pics of her than i have of my two dogs that i've had for 4 years.

on travis' neck:









crawling (and pooping) all over my computer desk:









cleaning her face in front of my roommate brittnie's:


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

the pictures are adorable though for some reason se reminds me of Golem from Lord of the rings movies... maybe its the sparce hair. she looks like a doll though! am i right in guessing she around 3-4 months on those pictures? her face seems about right for then but she seems so small... though maybe i just don;t have the right thing to compare size with...


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

this isn't the best picture but does it helps establish her size as compared to my little hands and hoodie?  it was taken like an hour ago, so she'd be a month older than in the first pics.









and yeah, she's kind of a wierd fuzzy. she's got little black hairs all over, and her belly hairs are white. her whiskers are all curly, too. her hair gets lighter and darker all the time though. or maybe it's her skin under the hair, but it's wierd. one day she'll have a dark face and the next she won't.

does any one know at what age hairless rats will lose their baby fur? i know that some never really, but i was wondering. picasso's fur is sparser between her shoulder blades than when i first got her.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

from that last picture i'd say she's around 4 months at best guess


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## Night (Feb 23, 2007)

From the pictures, I'd say she was about 6-8 weeks in them, so she'd be about 3 months old now.

Poppyseed - I can certainly try! Go ahead and post some pictures


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

thanks guys, that really helps!


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

I would say 3 months also from her build.

She isn't a proper hairless, she is a double rex, and it sounds like she is a black berkshire. She's adorable and I don't normally like the "hairless" varieties. Some double rexes, lose their fur and regrow it (patchwork rex), but she should end up fairly hairless with some fuzz on her later on.


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

haha, yeah i figured. it's cool tho, her little fuzz makes her sooo soft and warm. i love when she sleeps under my chin or under my shirt.  and yes, a lot of the true hairless, especially when they get a little overweight, are not the prettiest things i've ever seen, lol.


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