# Hairless Rats? What to know before buying?



## Saures

I'm really keen on these guys, but know nothing about them! 
I've heard you need to house them with another furry rat, but other than that I'm clueless.

What are the most important things to know about them before getting one? or maybe two...


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## Iggy82

If you read up a bit more I think you'll find most experienced rat owners steer clear of hairless rats. The reason for this is it is generally seen as cruel to breed this type of rat for pets, they do not live very long due to numerous health issues. These health issues arise because they were created by man in a lab for animal testing and are often used for reptile food.

When I was new to rats, our first 2 rats were hairless. Although they were sweet and adorable, one died after a year, the other a few months later. I would advise you to steer clear of this type of breed, just like you should with many "normal" rats bred for pet superstores. Stick to breeders when acquiring rats!


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## Babs

I've had hairless rats before, and recently I took a baby hairless from a friend. Originally the plan was to rehome the little guy, but he reminded me so much of my old hairless, Donna, that I've become a wee bit attached now and will probably keep him. The thing is, they do tend to have health problems. I wouldn't feel comfortable paying for one in the same way that I wouldn't feel comfortable paying for a pug dog, you're practically buying vet bills. I would say the main thing you can do for hairless is make sure they're well fed (I tend to keep mine with a bit of food scattered around all the time, because they just look so thin without the fur!), get them comfy hammocks and furry buddies to keep them warm. Other than that I usually treat them the same as my other rats, but I've never had one that's lived past a year, unfortunately that might be just my own bad experience. I wouldn't be an expert on the hairless, but I do really like them.


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## lilspaz68

If you absolutely don't have to have one, don't. I love my nakies but as said, a LOT of health issues.

My first 2 I took in lived til almost 3, but one lost her eye to an accident which meant about 6 vet visits, pain meds, drops, and antibiotics. They both also had chronic URI.

My 2nd was Lilith, and she had eye issues most of her adult life. She would get things stuck under her 3rd eyelid (like other rat's hair, bedding, fleece bits) and she would have to go to the vet, be lightly gassed down and the debris removed and her eyes flushed. If she had gotten an infection she would need antibitoics afterwards. I had to put drops in her eyes every day once this started.

My 3rd was Eli, and he came to me with a ruptured eye that was removed. Later on he had a seizures and the other eye died, so he ended up blind.

I now have 4 young nakies with eye issues from a breeder  They are unadoptable. First their eyes filled up with debris and it all had to be carefully removed and flushed under anesthetic. They are on a lint-free environment (no fleece, no litter, no bedding) and can only live with each other so no fur gets in their eyes. One of the boys had to have one eye removed already. They are now battling URI's and bacterial infections on their eyelids. 

We just collected money for a friend whose rat had such a bad infection the eye was removed, BUT it keeps happening to her good eye, even with all sorts of precautions, poor Olive keeps getting gunk in her eye, so we are helping this woman pay for the final eye to be removed on Monday.

My advice? Don't.

My 3rd was Rhesus and he's been relatively healthy, my 4th is Linnet, healthy


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## TrueDatxD

Ive never had any health issues with my hairlesses.....must be my luck then.


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## A.ngelF.eathers

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207316_1903056426772_1552562601_1975408_5052753_n.jpg
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/407369_2846187524460_1552562601_2749641_1011123143_n.jpg
^<-This is Cassius, my double rex. All the fun of soft, warm little rat bodies without the added health risks. All the advice I have to offer, really xD


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## lilspaz68

A.ngelF.eathers said:


> http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/207316_1903056426772_1552562601_1975408_5052753_n.jpg
> http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/407369_2846187524460_1552562601_2749641_1011123143_n.jpg
> ^<-This is Cassius, my double rex. All the fun of soft, warm little rat bodies without the added health risks. All the advice I have to offer, really xD


Don't fool yourself, mine are double rexes too (not genetic hairless)...watch his eyes carefully as they don't have the whiskers to keep things out normally.

Melvin arrives with carefresh stuck in his eyes










Little Yara 










And with flushes, antibiotics, daily drops, lint-free environment and expensive bedding...

Melvin had one eye removed










Yara









But now we are dealing with a bacterial infection


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## A.ngelF.eathers

lilspaz68 said:


> Don't fool yourself, mine are double rexes too (not genetic hairless)...watch his eyes carefully as they don't have the whiskers to keep things out normally.


He's over 2 and hasn't had a single problem. So maybe it's just him.


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## lilspaz68

Very glad to hear this!! You just made it sound like double rex didn't have these issues.


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## Nekopan

I have a genetic hairless. Perhaps I'm lucky because outside of URIs and dry skin, he's been quite healthy. He has fuzz near his nose and I'm pretty sure he has eyelashes still, so perhaps that's why he doesn't have the eye issues. He's also a pooping machine! He poops more than any rat I've had. We call him Blooper the pooper.


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## Babs

@Nekopan, my hairless poops constantly too! I'm still working on training him and he's getting better about not doing it outside his cage, but still does it way more than any of my others. Maybe it's a hairless thing XD


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## shawnalaufer

My hairless, Scarlett No-Haira had a hairless parent and a rex parent. She has practically NO HAIR at all... just the thinnest little bit of fuzz on her nose, she barely has any whiskers either! 








As far as any special care, so far all I have had to do is wipe her eyes daily was a slightly damp cosmetic sponge. I use a cosmetic sponge since unlike tissues, paper towels or even washcloths, it doesnt leave any thing behind, which would defeat the purpose of wiping her eyes in the first place. As you can see from this pic, I had not yet wiped her eyes so there is a touch of discharge. 

I also give her a weekly ratty massage using a touch of olive oil. It helps moisturize her skin and keeps it soft and supple.


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## British

I'm glad I read through this thread! I have been admiring the pictures of the hairless ratties, especially Shawna's Scarlet No-Haira (love the name, too), and would have been open to adopting one when I'm ready to welcome my next rat. I will steer clear now, even though they are ridiculously cute! So sad that they have these eye problems


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## lilspaz68

Babs - nakies have a much higher metabolism to keep warm, since they don't have fur to trap in the body warmth, so more food eaten and then pushed out. Its just part of owning a nakie LOL

Shawnalaufer - with a double rex, the offspring take 1 rex gene from each parent, so a double rex would only pass on 1 gene, the rex would only pass on 1 gene, and you end up with a double rex yourself. A very cute one.


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## RatLover232

lilspaz68 said:


> Don't fool yourself, mine are double rexes too (not genetic hairless)...watch his eyes carefully as they don't have the whiskers to keep things out normally.
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> And with flushes, antibiotics, daily drops, lint-free environment and expensive bedding...
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> Melvin had one eye removed
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> But now we are dealing with a bacterial infection


I am new to hairless rats. But where do the bumps come from. :O


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