Origin:  Evidently these guys came out of actual lab work (on purpose) in 1953.  They invented a weak, short-lived, disease-prone sport and refined it into three strains each worse than the other.  Somehow, they got into the pet hobby and were crossed with normal pet rats and after many such crosses turned into a keeper.  That’s the good news.  The bad news?  They are still ugly.  But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Some people get a real kick out of hairless rats.

LA
Most hairless rats (like other rats) take naps during the daytime.

Schedule:  Rats prefer to work the night shift.  You’ll notice this the first time you turn off their lights at night.  In cages with lots of rats, they stand up on their hind legs, wave their “arms” in the air and mouth the words to that Tommy Roe song everyone boogies to.  Add a strobe light.  They keep this up for hours even without the glow sticks or pacifiers.

LA 
Hairless rats mixing it up in a Texas glass cage smackdown.

Arguments:  Rats like to squabble amongst themselves, but not seriously like gerbils and hamsters.  Among many rodents, the stranger is beset upon and severely wounded if not killed.  Rat duels are more exercise than warfare.  Injuries and nips are more visible on hairless rats.  Do not panic.  Use a dab of antibiotic salve if you feel the need.

LA
The top hairless rat is sniffing a coat sleeve.

LA
"What's shaking, baby?

Friendly:  Perhaps inquisitive fits them better.  Hairless rats like to explore.  They crawl up your arm, into your sleeve, and into your pocket.  They like people -- perhaps because people feel warm and give them tasty treats?

LA
Most rats like to pile; hairless rats even more so.

Temperature:  You may have noticed their lack of an overcoat.  Hairless rats would never make it at your local dump (do they still have those?) during the winter (most of us still have those).  If you have more than one, they help keep each other warm.  If you have a single, you may want to add a heat pad.  They also like a hide box (which helps them stay warm).

LA
No hair on this rat but he still has the black and white markings.

Colors:  Yup, you can find hairless rats in different colors.  However, the whites and greys show up most frequently.

LA
Wide variation in degrees of hairlessness in hairless rats.

LA
She has over a dozen pups under her.

LA
You can see more of them here.

Hair Variations:  You get quite a bit of hairless variation within litters.  Some are naked.  Some are fuzzy.  Some are patchy.  And some vary with age.  The out-crosses with normal rats have made today’s hairless rats much stronger and sturdier than the originals.  You would not want one of the originals.  Actually, some people don’t appreciate the new hairless rats either.  Wait a minute.  Some people don’t appreciate any rats.  There’s no accounting for taste.

LA
These homemade mangers make great labor savers.

Foods:  Any of the good pet blocks make perfect foods.  They contain the exact nutrition your hairless rats need and the hard blocks help keep their teeth ground down.  Although, rats brux their teeth daily, they do not floss.  Bruxism means grinding your teeth.  In the absence of chew toys, your rats brux their teeth to keep them ground down.

LA
Hairless and haired rats get along together just fine.

Supplements/Treats:  Hairless rats need no supplements but they love treats.  If you want your rat to like you, “treat” him well.  You can find canned treats on our shelves or make your own.  First, forget cheese.  Most rats like dried peas, beans, yogurt drops, sunflower seeds, Cheerios, bones, raisins, popcorn, dried fruits, and peanuts in the shell.  If you look at one of the commercial rat food seed mixtures, you’ll see lots of “treats” mixed in.  They pretty much ignore the alfalfa pellets.

Dirty Cages:  Don’t do like I did the first time I kept rats for our psychology lab.  They saddled me with two ugly, overgrown male rats to take home and care for all summer (in a little round 12-inch diameter circular cage made out of hardware cloth).  Summer is not the time to delay cleaning rat cages.  Luckily I had large windows in my bedroom with a great big exhaust fan.  Hairless rats could not have survived that summer.  I did find out, however, that regular rats will pretty much eat whatever you give them.  Weekly cleanings work fine unless you keep a large herd.

LA
Rat-proof water bottles work best

Water:  If you give your hairless rats a water dish, they kick litter into it and occasionally take an unwanted dip in the pool.  If you give them a hamster water bottle, it may last a week.  Rats can gnaw thru concrete and hamster bottles.  You really need a rat-proof water bottle.  P.S.  The little devils will eventually gnaw into your rat-proof bottle.

LA
And, of course, hairless rats make excellent hat ornaments.

Last Words:  Hairless rats are fun.  Ugly, but fun.  LA

Want to have more fun with your rat, hairless or not?  Go to this great link for a whole passel (not just half a passel) of rat games:  
dapper.com.au/toys.htm  
You will see that Australians are just as crazy as the rest of us.

Added Info From Michael Guinn, April 9, 2005

I love your site for information, I’ve been breeding fancy
rats for over 10 years, I specialize in dumbo, double rex, teddy rex
and true hairless. I figured I would give you guys the missing
or incorrect information on these guys. It also helps their lifespan
hugely.

Origin: Same as the normal rat, a Mutation in the genes. 

Foods: A mixture of Lab Block, Seed Mix, Fresh Veggies, Elderly Dog Food.

Hairless/double rex rats need more protein in their diet because
of heat loss.

Rats should always be housed in groups of 2 or more, it not
only cuts down on boredom, but allows them to groom/clean
each other, and they will compete for attention. A single
housed rat, will become more aggressive, and less friendly as
well as not live as long.

The images of the rats you have are all double rex's, their origin
is simply 2 rex genes. A single dominant rex gene causes a rex’d
rat, 2 rex genes will cause a mostly hairless or patch work double
rex. They were not invented, this is a naturally occurring mutation.

A rex rats can easily be spotted by their curly whiskers.  Both normal
rex, as well as double rex are the only rats who have this feature.
This includes rexed sub groups such as teddy and velveteen fur
types. They are all a variation of the same genes.

True Hairless have no hair what so ever, except males will grow
hair around the genital area. The females as well have large
problems with lactating. This is why most rat breeders use a double rex female for breeding with true hairless.

I also saw in the rats section you talked about holding by the tail.
This is very incorrect and can not only break their back and lead
to death, but can damage their tail. The correct way to pick up a rat
is to cup your hands and gently lift him up.  Hope this helps & Thanks for your time.  Michael

© 2005, © 2006  LA Productions