# 8 Rats (Hairless Dumbo) - Staffordshire



## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

*Contact/organisation details:* PM Ratscallions or email [email protected]
*Does the animal have rescue back up?:* Yes
*Location:* Staffordshire
*Number of groups:* 2

_Please read all before contacting me._

*Group:* 1
*Number of animals:* 2
*Type/Breed/Variety:* Dumbo Hairless Rats
*Sex:* Male
*Age(s):* Approx 4 - 5 months
*Name(s):* Jigsaw & Squeak
*Colours:* Jigsaw has a pale hood, and Squeak has a dark hood
*Neutered:* No
*Reason for rehoming*: Unwanted accidental litter.
*Temperament:* Nervous but friendly when settled
*Medical problems:* See info below please.
*Neutering:* NA
*Will the group be split:* If going to experienced owners with other rats.
*Transport available:* Can be arranged.

*Group:* 2
*Number of animals:* 6
*Type/Breed/Variety:* Dumbo Hairless Rats
*Sex:* Female
*Age(s):* Approx 4 - 5 months
*Name(s):* Unnamed as yet, apart from Pumpkin.
*Colours:* Some have slight hoods.
*Neutered:* No
*Reason for rehoming:* Unwanted accidental litter.
*Temperament:* Mostly friendly, slightly nervous.
*Medical problems:* See info below please.
*Neutering:* NA
*Will the group be split:* Preferably
*Transport available:* Can be arranged.

*Other Info:*
- These guys aren't ready for rehoming yet, but I'd like to get homes lined up as early as possible. They are still in quarantine, but also some of them have wounds that need to heal.
- Evidently these rats had been fighting in their previous home, probably over food; as a result many have bite wounds, mostly around their neck and ears. 
- Because of the fighting I would prefer them to go in pairs than as a large group. (Nb, they have not actually fought since they've been here)
- Pumpkin (female) had many bite wounds. She has a lot of scar tissue around her neck. She will need to go to someone who is prepared to moisturise that area frequently so that she has no problems with it.
- Jigsaw (male) has a very damaged ear. He may need surgery on it before he leaves here. The ear is in such a way that it might or might not get caught on something at some point in his life. (Pictures will help when I take them). He needs to go to someone who is prepared to have the ear surgically repaired if he should get it caught later on in life; so you will need to have a rat savvy vet.
- Squeak (male) has two encapsulated abscesses on his lower abdomen. They are causing no harm other than soreness, but my vet wishes to remove them before he finds a new home. As such he will not be available for a few weeks.
- All have been health checked by two of my vets; apart from the bite wounds and Squeaks abscesses they appear to be in good health.
- If anyone is interested in any of the hairless I would like to hear what you know about caring for hairless.
- I will be seeking donations for these rats, as they're already costing us a fortune lol.

_Incidentally, I am not an expert on hairless rats. My own hairless have no fur at all except for facial whiskers. The rats I am advertising here have a slight fuzz on their faces, and fuzzy tummies .. I am therefore not 100% certain that they are hairless, but they are not double rex, so I am not sure what they are. Anyone?_


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## spoiled_rat (Mar 24, 2008)

Nim said:


> _Incidentally, I am not an expert on hairless rats. My own hairless have no fur at all except for facial whiskers. The rats I am advertising here have a slight fuzz on their faces, and fuzzy tummies .. I am therefore not 100% certain that they are hairless, but they are not double rex, so I am not sure what they are. Anyone?_


There are multiple hairless genes in the fancy, so they do vary in appearance quite a bit :thumbup:


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## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

spoiled_rat said:


> There are multiple hairless genes in the fancy, so they do vary in appearance quite a bit :thumbup:


Someone described for me the various types of hairless and double rex. I hadn't realised there was more than one type of double rex. It seems that these guys are probably one of the types of double rex ... the type that has virtually no fur all of its life, but a tiny fuzzness.


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## spoiled_rat (Mar 24, 2008)

Nim said:


> Someone described for me the various types of hairless and double rex. I hadn't realised there was more than one type of double rex. It seems that these guys are probably one of the types of double rex ... the type that has virtually no fur all of its life, but a tiny fuzzness.


Well unless both parents were rex, they wont be double rex...theres only 1 type.

I would doubt they are double rex, just one of the various types of hairless knocking around to be honest as there is so many in the litter also.
More info on hairless here: http://www.petforums.co.uk/rodents/114940-there-anyone-out-there.html


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## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

spoiled_rat said:


> Well unless both parents were rex, they wont be double rex...theres only 1 type.
> 
> I would doubt they are double rex, just one of the various types of hairless knocking around to be honest as there is so many in the litter also.
> More info on hairless here: http://www.petforums.co.uk/rodents/114940-there-anyone-out-there.html


Thank you for the link.


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## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

spoiled_rat said:


> Well unless both parents were rex, they wont be double rex...theres only 1 type.
> 
> I would doubt they are double rex, just one of the various types of hairless knocking around to be honest as there is so many in the litter also.
> More info on hairless here: http://www.petforums.co.uk/rodents/114940-there-anyone-out-there.html


Laura, copying from your post on that page, can you give a quick description of each type of hairless? Ie, without having to PM them, are there any clues as to which are which?

_Fuzzy (FZ) were created in 1976 in an american lab and their leading cause of death is progressive kidney failure and Polycystic Kidney Disease that pops up around 11-12 months old, depending if they are in inbred or outbred strain.

Shorn (SHN) are the most widely used hairless strain nowadays, and were created from a combination of Sprague Dawley's and the above FZ rats, in america in 1998 and again suffer from severe kidney problems.

Rowett Nude (RNU) were first bred in scotland labs in the late 50's and they dont actually have any Thymus, which means that theyre immune system is pretty non-existant, and are really prone to infections of the respiratory tract/eye/gentials._
Ref: http://www.petforums.co.uk/rodents/114940-there-anyone-out-there.html


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## spoiled_rat (Mar 24, 2008)

They are visually indistinguishable on the outside nowadays, but the different types are often easy to seperate on necropsy


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## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

spoiled_rat said:


> They are visually indistinguishable on the outside nowadays, but the different types are often easy to seperate on necropsy


I'm not planning to PM them before rehoming them lol, so how are they visibly distinguishable on the outside?


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## spoiled_rat (Mar 24, 2008)

They arent...as per the previous post


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## Nim (Jan 4, 2009)

This thread can be closed.


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