# Rex Rats



## penelope (May 1, 2007)

So the people at the store said that these are Rex rats. But only one has slightly curly hair and none have the curly wiskers...any clue on what they are?

Also, these are pics of my new girls! yea!


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

It's possible they might have been breed with a rex or maybe had grand parents that were rexs. I see what you mean though, They seem like your normal fancy rats to me. Coming from a petstore we might never know where they got rex from. They are SUPER cute though!!!!!


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## penelope (May 1, 2007)

They are super cute. Two are really shy but one is a spitfire. There are more pictures of Amy for a reason :wink: 

I'm just upset that the Rex rats cost more and they charged me the higher price than the Fancy rats. It's not like I wasn't going to get them cause they were 3 dollars more a piece. But they were in a seperate cage from the Fancy rats and I think they just wanted to make money on naive rat owners like me. arrg!


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

are they all from the same litter? if mom and dad were rexes techniquely they are too but just rex carriers if they don't show the gene. but rex coats are really hard to keep. when they molt they can molt into a straight coat and even if they keep the curl it often lessens with age instead of getting tighter. there are the ones that stay quite tight in their curl but out of all the ones born with the gene they are a minority.


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

*Only $3.00 the pet store I got to a lot charges up to $7.00 and law as about $3.99ish. I do agree they are super super cute!!!*


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## penelope (May 1, 2007)

No, they were 10 dollars. But they were 3 dollars MORE than the fancy rats (6.99 for the fancy rats)

And yes they're all from the same litter. So since one has wavy hair I'm assuming the other 2 just got stuck with the straight hair gene, thanks Twitch


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## fallinstar (Nov 26, 2006)

aww so cute! my toby n codt were 2 for Â£8 and roobs was Â£10


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## Athanasia (May 10, 2007)

It is possible that they are velveteen. Rex' almost always have curly hair and whiskers and patchy spots. Velveteens have curly hair and slightly screwy whiskers....basically they are like a muted version of a rex. 

I thought my Nugget was a velveteen until he got older. His hair started going more wirey and bald and his whiskers began to curl a lot more.


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## Athanasia (May 10, 2007)

Ps. Those rats don't look like rex rats to me at all but I could be wrong.

http://www.ratspacnw.org/varieties.htm
http://www.skyclyde.com/GeneticsCurlyCoats.html

Check the links out, you can see the velveteen has slightly bent whiskers and slightly curly hair while the rex has VERY curly whiskers and very curly/patchy hair.


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## penelope (May 1, 2007)

Yeah, I think they are just fancy rats and they were just trying to charge me more or they were ignorant of what the rats actually were. Doesn't really matter to me, I'd just like to know what I have. 

Thanks


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

yeah, it's possible that mom or dad was a rex so they are being sold as rexes, even though the petstore isn't really sure what rex is. i think that's probably most likely.  they're cute though, so yay (but what ratty isn't?)!


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## Nazarath (Feb 20, 2007)

* oohhh sorry about the money issue lol, I'm a goof.*


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## Holly (Dec 31, 2006)

I always hang around the pet stores and check out their rats, just for fun. Most of the rats I see are "fancy rats" of one kind or another. The usuals around my area are albinos, hoodies of all colors, blue rats, and the usual array of the solid "fancy" colors. (I'm still a little confused about how rats are classified by their coats, so, more often than not, I'll make up my own name for the color. Gregor was a hoodie with a chocolate covered hood. Gus has an agouti [multicolor] hair pattern for his hood and stripe. I've seen "caramel" rats and "coffee" rats, too.)

I just noticed that I seem to compare the colors to food quite often! :lol: I guess they're so cute that I just want to "eat them right up," as the expression goes!

Anyway, last week, I saw my first "Rex Rat" that actually looked a little bit like a Rex Rat. His hair was only a little wavy, and his whiskers were more "wavy" than "curly," but I had a (Petsmart) employee with me at the time who really knew his rats, and he said that the Rex Rat I saw had a brother who had been sold earlier, and the brother had very curly hair and whiskers. Apparently, there are different degrees of curliness, and they don't necessarily stay the same throughout a lifetime.

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On a tangent:

There was a debate earlier about PetSmart vs. PetCo. I never added anything, because everyone seemed to have it covered pretty well. However, this is what is going on in my area:

At PetSmart, the ~stores~ are "sexed." Females aren't even on the same premises as males. The clerks were very helpful, and, indeed, the young man who was discussing the Rex Rats with me showed a great deal of interest when he learned that I had purchased my first rat (Gregor) at that store. He asked about Gregor's health, and eventually heard the whole "Gregor Story." He took the time to talk with me, and was genuinely interested.

At PetCo, where I got my current rat, Gus, the stores are not sexed. (Since I buy males, it isn't really a problem for me, but it doesn't reflect well on the store.) When I bought Gus there, the clerk may as well have been a mannequin. She had NO information. Are the rats socialized? Do they have information on the parents? When were these rats born? DON'T ask the clerk - she doesn't know. She did NOT give me ample time to visit with Gus, to listen for labored breathing, etc. She basically seemed to want me to just pick a rat and leave.

Having said this, there is one very important fact which must be stated:

Gregor, who came from the "good" store, was ill with tumors most of his life, although we didn't know it. Since he was my first rat, I was unaware, but now that I can compare with Gus, I realize that Gregor should have had a lot more "pep" than he did as a young rat. I thought he was just calm...but in reality, the silent tumors were wearing him out. And Gregor only lived to be a little over a year old...a fairly short life for a pet rat, kept in luxury, with regular vet checkups.

Gus, who came from the store that doesn't care, ironically seems to be doing great, touch wood. He has tons of energy, absolutely is following the descriptions of the rats on this forum - he's at the end of the "zooming fuzlet" stage right now - and is in very good health so far. Of course, no one knows what the future holds, but so far, Gus appears to be a far healthier rat than Gregor.

To wrap it up, it's probably "luck of the draw" at any chain pet store. Only a breeder can give you 100% of the information. I've decided that, when the time comes to bring a new rat into my life, if I can't find a breeder in my area, I'll adopt a "rescue rat," of which there are plenty. I'd be happy to give a good home to someone who really needs it.


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## deercreekrattery (May 14, 2007)

Those are rex rats, but just have poor quality coats. Since they are out of a pet store, that's pretty common. They could be poor teddy rexes (the same as velveteens, plush coat with few guard hairs) but it's hard to tell from the pics. Rex is a dominant trait, so it cannot be carried. One or both of the parents have to be rex in order to display the rex coat.


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## curlycue (May 22, 2007)

Holly said:


> I always hang around the pet stores and check out their rats, just for fun. Most of the rats I see are "fancy rats" of one kind or another. The usuals around my area are albinos, hoodies of all colors, blue rats, and the usual array of the solid "fancy" colors. (I'm still a little confused about how rats are classified by their coats, so, more often than not, I'll make up my own name for the color. Gregor was a hoodie with a chocolate covered hood. Gus has an agouti [multicolor] hair pattern for his hood and stripe. I've seen "caramel" rats and "coffee" rats, too.)
> 
> I just noticed that I seem to compare the colors to food quite often! :lol: I guess they're so cute that I just want to "eat them right up," as the expression goes!
> 
> ...


I only like to add on by saying that it also depends on the area that you live in. For example where I live the petco has females and males seperated, and for the most part seem to have some knowledge on rats. where Pet-Smart only carries males. On more than one occasion I've gotten sick rats from petco. I finally got my first male rat from petsmart and so far so good. Knock on wood. I really like getting rats from these places and have found a place that is a small pet shop and they breed their own rats. Which they have gotten from a breeder. They know where petco get their rats and don't allow it there. The owner use to work at the mill outside of seattle and the living conditions where un heard of. So I just got plum lucky. Not to say that it's perfect but for a pet shop I've been really happy with them. They take really good care of their animals and they are knowledgeable.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

My Rex girl Aura









My Velveteen (or poor rex coat) Hestia (straight whiskers, slight wave to coat)










Oh and btw girls are more likely to lose their curl as they age (after that first moult mostly)

Kismet as a 3 week baby (nicknamed Frizzy Kizzy)

















Kizzy as an adolescent









Kizzy as a young adult (on left, standard coated Fayth on right)


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## OnlyOno (Apr 4, 2007)

tee hee, i want a rex baby now, they look so bedraggled i just want to make all their worries go away.


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## hydra (Feb 19, 2007)

i've got a hairless dumbo rex rat named Lucy. She was 10 dollars at an exotics shop. Shes such a sweetie


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

She is cute. She is a dumbo double rex.


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## Holly (Dec 31, 2006)

I can tell that Lucy really wanted to pose for that picture! :lol: :lol: :lol:

All of these rats are so beautiful! I love the "three week old" picture - babies are really darling, with their curious eyes and wiggly noses!

Why do I want to own every rat I ever see? :roll:


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## RatMom (May 23, 2007)

Can't go wrong with a black dumbo rex those are my favorite  Of course I love any rex, really any rat I don't care what they look like


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