Some really fuzzy little creatures

[rattfan]

This photo from Nutbush Rattery shows my new ratlets; a black and a white Selkirk, which as far as I can tell is a kind of rex rat.  I'd never heard of the designation before.  The one without fur is - you guessed it - a hairless rat.  I'm not interested in those;  if it's meant to have fur, it should have fur!

They'll be arriving after Christmas, when they're old enough to strike out on their own.  Technically, being boys, they've already been separated from their mother and sisters, but most reputable breeders like to keep them another couple of weeks to be sure everything is all right.  These two will be on their own, but sometimes they're headed for a cage with older rats, which can be rough on very small guys.

photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOu17BreftBmTOEaHfOwW9NHvmMDtKkn3PSY78LHxd-Bx2MFQwjJwoZzhLQQtYtCg/photo/AF1QipPeYxVnmsg79C5uiRb8D2Uhthv9ModSsn3r2hyi

Comments

[rachelmanija]

What darlings!

The hairless rat looks like a tiny anteater.

[rattfan]

All I know about those is that that litter is younger than the Selkirks, so that one is probably only about four weeks old. They look bizarre to me. You can also get partial hairless where the hair grows in and falls out in different areas throughout the rat's life. I just think "why?" It's only been in the last few years you could get them here; they're an import from America. I'm not sure how it was managed!

[leecetheartist]

They all look very cute! But the hairless... yes, it is cute, no, doesn't really do it for me. Extreme breeding definitely not my thing.

[ankh_hpl]

Yay for your new Selkirks! I assume only one of the black ones is yours? So glad you've found a new set of rodent roommates. Long life & good health to them in 2021!

[rattfan]

Yes, one black and one white. I'm letting the breeder pick, since the rattery is too far to visit. [Town of Gidgegannup at least half an hour out from Perth.] I've been through having identical rats. You go through a lot of food colouring as ID, and the buggers do their best to clean it off. This when you are trying to remember just WHO is getting the antibiotic and both insist they are :-) It's concealed in infant soy formula, which believe it or not, is like chocolate for rats.

[mific]

So cute and furry! I don't like hairless cats or rats, nope.

[siyamau]

Oh, they're beautiful!