# What color is THIS? 3 colors on one rat... rare?



## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

This is my new little girl, i am keeping the whole litter of 6. All are dumbo and normal type colors- grey, cream ect..
She is the oddest- she is a dumbo, with a cream body. There are dark grey tips on the hairs in the lower end of her body. She has a wide white blaze, and black spots and speckels on her body- the largest are on her head. her belley is a lighter color nearly white. She opened her eyes the other day and they are an odd color whitish blue rings around the edges but basicaly red.
What would you call this strange coloration? is it rare? i have never heard of 3 colors on one rat before.


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

drat! i cant figure out how to put the photo on here!! 
help


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## Stace87 (Jun 24, 2008)

There's a sticky on how to post photos here.


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

[img=[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/2luqpgi.jpg[/img]


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi Stace87 i did the tiny pic thing.. joined ect.. and its not working.
i am going to put her into my thumbnail image here instead


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

You shouldn't need to join Tinypic.com on the home page click upload image and when its done loading it then highlight the second link for message boards. Your icon is wayyy to small to tell any colors.


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

WOO HOO! i did it. thanks so much. above is her cute little face. i love this baby!


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## AvaAdoreSmashing (Dec 31, 2009)

horsart said:


> [img=[IMG]http://i47.tinypic.com/2luqpgi.jpg[/img]


Looks like the color is russian blue? The blue around the eyes you're talking about I believe is just normal. My girls have black eyes and theres blue around the rim of their eyes. Looks like yours could possibly be odd eye? or Rudy not pink... My guess. Can we see a picture of both eyes together?


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## sorraia (Nov 10, 2007)

I'm not seeing the cream color in the pictures, but from what you describe, it sounds like she's probably a pearl merle. 

The ruby eyes and "gray" coloration on the splotches indicates mink.

Pearl, which only works on mink, adds a white/cream "band" at the base of the hair, with a mink colored tip. There's a dark phase pearl, which has more color to the tip, and a light phase pearl, which has less color. Your girl would be a light phase pearl.

Merle, also only works on mink, creates mink colored splotches. You would not see merle spots on a regular mink, because the merle spots would be the same color. But on a pearl you would see the merle spots, because the spots are mink while the rest of the body is pearl.

She is also marked, probably a berkshire, which gives the white belly and feet, with a blaze.


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi thanks everyone. both eyes are the same color, she has the feet looking very faint white, probbly wont be able to tell till shes more mature.
ill try to post another photo
that shows both eyes. would you say she is a rare color[img=[img]http://i49.tinypic.com/2yw8flt.jpg[/img]


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## illmithra (Apr 15, 2008)

rare colour or not she is simply divine. <3


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Not rare in Ontario, all the rat mills (and hence BYB's) are supplying minks, mink merles, pearl merles...

Moth had a very pretty back with a variety of shadings


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

mine are from a small local pet shop here in OH, im near the KY border. all i have seen are solid and hoodeds mainly black hoods. i did get a 'jester' female once. Thats her in the next photo. shes a sweetheart. laid back personality loves to cuddle on my lap when i watch TV. she was about 4 weeks old when i got her.
I wont buy from petsmart. they allways have black hooded and they are very old and worn out looking , they remind me of retired breeders from a farm type place.
i feel bad for those petsmart rats. your rat in the photo looks like the mother of my fancy baby here, only the mother does not have any black on her. she was white for a long time, and then she turned tan and white hooded gradualy as she matured. she is in the photo also.
(next page)


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

[img=[img]http://i50.tinypic.com/15pii38.jpg[/img]
Stripey, ****** and Blaze. ****** in the middle is the mother of my colorful baby. ****** has no dark on her. she was born white and as she matured gradualy turned into the tan hoodes as you see her here.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

****** actually looks more like a pearl to me, or a very light pearl merle with no real merling.

here's an example of 2 brothers. One is mink merle, and the other is a lighter pearl merle. 










Webster really was light









here is my pearl girl









You can see how light she is here. Her eye was recently removed due to glaucoma.


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## horsart (Oct 31, 2009)

Theyre gorgeous!!! poor baby though with the eye. does she have a harder time managing around the cage?


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

horsart said:


> Theyre gorgeous!!! poor baby though with the eye. does she have a harder time managing around the cage?


At first she was having a few issues because the perception has changed and she's a tilty so her perception is already different. But now she's back to being the rude agile alpha she always was.


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## Lokirat (Mar 20, 2010)

i voted mink too, lovely colouring!  please keep us updated!


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## nertnie (Jan 4, 2010)

lilspaz68 said:


> horsart said:
> 
> 
> > Theyre gorgeous!!! poor baby though with the eye. does she have a harder time managing around the cage?
> ...


She's adorable. She makes me think of one of those well-loved teddy-bears with one eye missing.. possibly covered with a band-aid or replaced with a button. Especially because of the expression on her face in that pic. So cute.


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## LisaLQ (Oct 14, 2007)

Webster looks almost russian pearl on my monitor.


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