A Colorado Rat Breeder-Camarattery
A Colorado Rat Breeder Blue Dumbo, Dwarf & Standard Rats Dark American Blue, Russian Blue, Siamese, Burmese & Roan or "Husky". Self, Hooded Down Under, Recessive Blazed, Masked & Patched. Satin, Rex, Hairless & Harley Coat. Color Breeding.
Roan Rats - What Makes Them Different?
 |
Agouti Roan Bred By Rat Genesis
This page will contain information I have learned about European Roan rats.
This Is What Is Important For Adopters To Know
Roans change color! Roans are born solid colored, but from the age of about 4-6 weeks they start to exhibit roaning. This is a steady increase in the amount of white hairs intermingled with the solid color, starting with the face sides and tail root on the juvenile, then working its way up to the nape of the neck with the molt. With each molt the rat becomes progressively lighter, the final effect not really complete until the rat is well into adulthood, at this time the rat looks more like a solid white rat. This is what is important for adopters to know.
Roans show up better on darker patterns such as black and agouti although it is possible for them to be any color. The lighter colors seem to fade faster. Better quality roans fade slower whereas the lesser quality roans fade more quickly.
Healthy roans come in Self, Hooded and Banded. The blaze on a roan is not high white and is safe from megacolon. However, it has been found that if it is bred on a spotted pattern such as variegated or dalmatian for example, megacolon will display. So breeding them to a spotting gene is strongly discouraged since it seems to be lethal. This information is what I gathered from the rat genetics forum from the UK breeders who exported the gene to the U.S.
This gene seems to be recessive, needing two copies of the gene to display. Roan comes from the UK where the name Husky is more commonly used for the variety. The U.S breeders use the term "Roan".
Also, more good reading found at: http://www.nenuphar.plus.com/pendragon/features/husky/index.html
