# I have heard a bit about "Hybrid" rats?



## Hatchet_Chick (Sep 4, 2008)

Are they Wild rats and Domesticated bred together?


I was under the impression they were different species. Or is it like a Dog and a Wolf?

And another post I saw "African Soft Furs", what are those?


P: Thanks!


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## Suzuks (Jun 25, 2008)

I don't know about hybrid rats - but domesticated and wild rats are the same species. 
even all of the fancy varieties - dumbos, silky, rex, hairless are all the same - they're just variations. 

And, I think the "african soft furs" were being sold by someone on CL, but none of us could find any pics of them.


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

African Soft-Furred rats

http://pics.hoobly.com/full/TGW5EZ3I4JMVSRB2IZ.jpg

Wild and domestic rats are the same species, the only real difference is mildly physiological (as pet rats have been bred domestically so long, their anatomy and genetics differs slightly from the common wild rat) and behavioural. I believe that's it anyhow


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

There are some "breeders" producing hybrids (1/2 wild, 1/2 domestic) saying things that they are trying to improve rats overall with the more vigorous and healthy genes of a wild rat. Its actually a "red flag" to an adopter. Wild rats live incredibly short lives and hybrids (I had 7 from an outside rescue oops) are nothing like our domestics and don't always make good pets. Ration's Max (pure wild) is the exception not the norm in behaviour, and she was brought up by Ration before her eyes were open.

African soft furs are the natal rats right everyone? They are very skittish and do not make good pets at all...a look but don't touch pet, and are often used for breeding as snake fodder.


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

There are many different species of rats, not all wild rats are the same as our domestic pets. 

The domestic rat is _Rattus norvegicus_. In North America, the two wild species are _Rattus norvegicus_ and _Rattus rattus_, depending on your area. In my specific location, we only have _R. rattus_. 

The so-called "hybrid rats" (not true hybrids) are crosses between our domestic pets and the wild _ R. norvegicus_. As lilspaz said, there are breeders who do this to improve the health of our domestic rats. In reality, this is a VERY BAD idea. 

The idea is that wild rats must be healthier because if they weren't they wouldn't be alive. This also stems from a misunderstanding of the saying "survival of the fittest". This is simply not true. Wild animals are NOT healthier than our domestic animals. It is true that the sick animal will die, but that's not to say they will die before reproducing. "fitness" refers only to reproduction. A "fit" animal is one who has reproduced and passed on its genes. It doesn't matter how long that animal lives or how health it is. If it reproduces, it is "fit", if it doesn't it is "not fit". "Survival of the fittest" only means that those animals who reproduce are the "fittest" and it is their genes that will survive. If those animals are sickly, then those sickly genes will survive. And many wild animals are not healthy in the same sense that we want in our pets. Wild animals reproduce young, then die young. They typically don't live long. Being wild is hard. It's a constant fight to survive. You have to fight with your neighbors for territory and resources. You have to fight for food, fight for your life. It takes a lot out of an animal. 

One major problem with breeding to wild rats is temperament. Wild animals HAVE to be aggressive. If they aren't, they aren't going to survive. This aggression is not learned, it is inherited. IF a breeder can even succeed in breeding a wild rat to a domestic pet (it's very possible that wild rat can KILL the domesticated rat), the babies will NOT be good pets. They will be aggressive, nervous, and wild. Those traits are inherited, and it takes many generations to breed out those traits. Our domestic pets are very different from their wild counterparts. Comparing our domestic rats to wild rats is like comparing our domestic dogs to wild wolves. There is a world of difference, and you simply do not want to get involved in mixing the two.


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## Hatchet_Chick (Sep 4, 2008)

I see,

I was browsing through Yahoo Answers quite a while back and saw that someone's rat had gone out and gotten pregnant (outside).

And ya'll said that the "hybrid rats" were a red flag on another threat that I was reading and just wanted to know what that mean. P: Thanks!


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