Hairless rats?

[Genuine_Equine]

Ok, I recently went to a very nice pe store to look at their rats in case I decide to get another 2. Anyway they carry hairless rats there and was wondering if anyone had any information about them. I'm not sure if I want a hairless animal or not but I still want a little info because now I'm curious, lol! They also had rexes which I think are interesting and if I do get any more rats I'll be going to this place because they are very knowledgable. Thanks in advanceto anyone who has any information regarding hairless rats!

[Becki]

I had a hairless rat, his name was hairy The only difference (aside from the no hair part) is that you have to make sure they can stay warm. Let me just say this, they start out ugly/funny looking and get worse! Every little scratch they get, which is more than normal b/c they don't have hair protecting them, turns into a scar. So basically, not much difference, I loved Hairy because he was so different from all the others. Oh, and ya know how alot of people are grossed out by rats.... multiply that by 10 for a hairless, it's fun

[SIChins]

We have 3 hairless rats, all females (the naked ladies ). Their names are Belle, Sugar and Ling.
Like Becki said, they need to be kept warm, so, what I did was made some sleeping bags for the girls out of some polar fleece material. They never seem to chew it, so I guess they know what it's for.
Oh, and don't breed a hairless female rat, a lot of times they don't lactate, so the babies would die unless you handfed them. if you ever want to breed hairless rats, breed a hairless male to a hairless carrier female. I just wanted to add that, as I have seen so many people get hairless females, thinking that they can breed them. That is how we ended up with 3 girls.

[Waggie]

I don't have a hairless, but from people I've met on rat forums, they say to keep them warm. If you put them in with rats who have fur, they could help warm them up!

I also heard that they are really slippery when you try to bath them...like bathing an inner tube!

I would recommend hairless rats to somewhat knowledgable rat owners. Because of the fact that there is no hair to protect the rat, in many cases other rats can scratch the hairless quite easily and harm them.

Just my $.2

[MinaHarker]

I've got a hairless. They are a bit tricky, and require more protein in their diets than other rats because of the higher metabolism.

I don't recommend getting rats from a pet store at all because they are almost always bred by people who do things in "puppy mill" fashion.

Not only that, but as a rescuer, it's incredibly unethical to get rats from a pet store when there are literally hundreds of rats in rescues and animal shelters already that need homes.

I don't know where the original poster lives, but I guarantee I could hook you up w/ people who do rescue and with breeders and you could get rats that way.

Don't contribute to the pet store madness. Really. It doesn't benefit the rats at all. It's really quite sad.

Awwwww....even hairless rats...this is amazing to me...I've opened up a new world by coming here You guys are great.
I too am so sick of pet stores....grrrrrrrrr...

I even have an aunt and uncle that breed dogs and I don't like it at all since there's so many animals that need good homes...sorry, but breeding animals for the sake of making a living off of them is just selfish and lazy.

[capnsweets]

Quote: but breeding animals for the sake of making a living off of them is just selfish and lazy.

I don't really believe that. I mean some people want a pure bred non-mixed dog, for their breed traits and abilities, for showing them, whatever. People that breed dogs are providing a breed that epoeple want. If anything the people that buy an animal and then ship it off to a shelter when it acts like animal, that is who I have a problem with. JMO.

I can understand your point, I guess I just see so many unwanted animals, that I think that perhaps some type of limits should be set on the amount of puppies bred by one owner per year.

I apologize if I may've stepped on anyone's toes regarding this subject and sorry to get off topic ~

[capnsweets]

It's alright! Everyone is entitled tot heir own opinion!

4 Out of my 5 rats are rescues, you should definately look up a rescue around you. It feels so nice to rescue a rat.

[renaissancerats]

hairless rats do take extra care but are just as wonderfull as the haird ones. i would say that if you want a good healthy,sweet tempered rat go to a breeder. as a rat breeder i can tell you that health and temerment comes before looks.

[angelaT]

I am completely for going to breeder's especially for rats because of illness and temperment. Saying that I found my two hairless ratty girls at petsmart and I couldn't ask for better rats but I rescued them because they were too young to be for sale to begin with much less in a pet store, so their age probably had alot to do with it.
Hairless are wonderful, just research just like you would with any other animal before you get one. Every animal has different needs!!!
AngelaT

I'd have to say "do what you're most comfortable with" when it comes to pets stores. I've gotten most of my present rats from pet stores (except for 2 which I bred myself), and of my other 12 which I had, 2 of them were pet store rats (including a BLUE one!) and 10 of them were from a litter I raised. I know for a fact that of the 8 pet store rats I've had, 6 of them were from harem breeding. The other 2 were bred right at the pet store and are both types of rats that I wanted (dumbo rex and sphynx/hairless).

The OP's question was not "How do you stand morally in regards to buying animals at pet shops", but was actually a question on the hairless variety itself, and I can see many who went way off topic spouting their moral view. People don't post specific questions in order to be preached to. I can understand how many are very adamant and are staunchly opposed to pet shops, and I can really level with them. But it seems the OP already has her mind set on buying from the pet shop, and considering it's her decision to make, I have no problem with it. And how do you (general you) know that the pet shop doesn't breed responsibly? The pet shop I bought my hairless at was very informed and bred a sphynx with a hairless carrier doe because they knew that hairless does don't make good breeders! They only got 4 hairless babies out of the bunch, and my Jadon was one of them. He's been handled a ton since the day he was born and is the friendliest, most loving pet shop rat I have ever been owned by! This definitely is not the standard for pet shops, but that's been my experience.

On to the original topic, hairless rats are wonderful pets. They are a tad more difficult to care for because of temperature and sensitivities, but it's worth it (in my opinion)!

Quote: Hairless are wonderful, just research just like you would with any other animal before you get one. Every animal has different needs!!!

How right you are! I did a ton of research and learned so much just on a few sites! Odd Fellows Rattery is one with a lot of info! Do a Google search...you'd be surprised how popular Sphynx's are!


Here's what I found out when I did my research:

~They need their cages cleaned about twice as often as furred rats because the ammonia/urine smell is hard on their delicate lungs, especially if they are kept in a tank. They also should not have wood shavings (unless its Aspen) because it has allergic properties for hairless (their eyes leak usually if something is making them sick). They should have a low dust litter (recycled paper pellets are great, or corn cob).

~They need extra protein to build up a layer of fat for warmth, this can be supplied with a high quality dog or cat food (I use Iams because I have dogs and cats), or by adding chicken, beef, or fish to their diet. They also eat more than furred rats because they have a high metabolism which serves to keep their temperature regulated.

~They should be kept at a minimum 70degrees for a single hairless, or 60 degrees for more than one. You can have more than one hairless together to distribute warmth, but I prefer to keep Jadon separate from other rats because he lacks the protection of fur and will get scratches easier. I keep a ZooMed heating pad under the spot he designated as his nest and provide peices of old cotton socks as well as polar fleece. If they do get scratched, you can put some peroxide on the scratches and then rub in a bit of neosporin (but make sure it's rubbed all the way in).

~They are different in personality, I've found. My furred boys are rambunctious, but Jadon just loves to be cuddled and rubbed behind the ears. He could sit with me for hours just chillin' out. My furred girls are rambunctious as well, but I've heard hairless does are even more so.

~As was mentioned, if you get a hairless doe with the intention of breeding, you've wasted your time. Hairless does (females) should not be bred. They tend to have problems with lactating, and most breeders have found that they eat their young and just generally don't care about them. The best way to get hairless babies is to breed a hairless buck with a furred hairless carrier. About %50 of the litter will probably be hairless. I plan on breeding Jadon with my dumbo rex Avery because they both have such beautiful personalities!

Even though it seems like they are a lot more work, they really aren't much more work than my other 7 furred rats. They are very enjoyable and I really don't mind the extra care...it actually makes me feel closer to Jadon because he requires more care than the others...kind of like the nurse falling in love with her patient. LOL

I hope you are confident in whatever decision you make!

~*Kerri*~
<:3( )---~

[lilratscal]

Hi fellow rat lovers: With any new rat you get from any where please remember to do a full quarrantine okay. this is extremely important especially now with SDA and Sendai viruses spreading across the countries.
You need to keep any new rat from any source quarantined for 2 weeks before introducing them in with another rat.
Many clubs and ratterys will no longer sanction rat and mouse shows because of the outbreaks of virusus. Rats are not vaccinated and different colonies carry different viruses. Keep your little ones safe okay.