HairlessRats

Hairless Rats by Debbi J. Needham

OFR Roswell has pink colored eyes. She
lived to be almost three years-old.

OFR Pharoah is a pink hairless with black
eyes and not a hint of hair on his body. He
was born Jan. 2001. He won Best
Hairless & Best of Variety at RatPacNW
Show on 3-24-01. On 9-22-01, he won
best of Variety & Best of Show! April 2002,
Pharoah had two tumors removed from his
side at a veterinary clinic. He recovered
fast. His tumor regrew in Sept. 2002.

This is OFR Shaggy, a dumbo pink
hairless and the son of Pharoah!
He was hand-fed shortly after birth to
weaning because his mother failed to
lactate after two days.

OFR Pharoah

D61 Piggy Jr., First place Dumbo hairless
kitten, RatsPacNW 3/02. OFR
Leonard,(right) is the son of OFR Shaggy
and OFR Lucky. He won BOV and First
Place Hairless at RatsPacNW on 3/02.

OFR Eddie, Best of Variety Hairless and Best
in Show Reserve Hairless, RatsPacNW Rat
Show - Oct. 2004.

2010 Repost
Genetics of Fancy Rats - "Hairless Rats"
by Debbi Needham (2002)

Homozygous recessive alleles hr, hr combine to cause hairlessness in rats. The rats appear to have no
hair on their bodies and have tightly curled whiskers, if any. They can be any color or marking. They
can have Dumbo ears or standard ears. They can be born naked and stay that way or born fuzzier and
shed out all of their hair. There are lines of hairless rat that have lowered immune systems and can
become ill easily. There are hairless does that have trouble lactating, thus many hairless does will eat
their litter or abandon it right after birth. Hairless males can be bred to furred does carrying a hairless
gene (or having a hairless father) to produce a litter with healthier hairless offspring.

Dash, our fast and plucky hairless gal
had dark skin and eyes. She was
euthanized Nov. 2001. She
developed a severe a head tilt that left
her unable to function.

OFR Peanut is the daughter of
Roswell and Pharaoh. She is
extremely friendly and curious.
She was hand-fed puppy milk
from a pipe-ette shortly after birth
to weaning. She won first Place
Hairless on 9-22-01! Peanut had
an emergency Surgery to
remove a abscess in Dec. 2001.
She developed a head-tilt during
the recovery. However, the
head-tilt does not impair her
frisky personality. Peanut finally
died in Summer, 2002.

Lucky is a hairless born in
a furred litter. She had
hairless babies and lactated
well. Lucky was euthanized
on May 23, 2002. She was
always healthy until she
developed an abscess that
involved her inner jawline.
She had difficulty eating and
continued to loose weight.

Rosebud, pink skin, pink-eye, was
a trade from a Tacoma breeder. She
was heavily wrinkled and very
shy. We enjoyed her delicate ways
for a little less than a year before
she passed on March 7, 2002.

Links on this Site
Hairless Rat Care Sheet
Breeding Hairless Rats