Eva's Rat Colours & Rat Genetics Page

In Sweden we have the following colours and varieties:

• Self (a, b, c, d, rb, g, m, p and r) Standards colours: Black, English Blue, Ivory, German Blue, Russian Blue, Chocolate, Lavender, Champagne, Dove, Beige, Blue Beige, Silver, Mink, Ruby Eyed Mink, Pink Eyed White, Black Eyed White, Ruby Eyed White, Lilac and more.

• Marked Varieties (h, h^e, hⁱ, hⁿ, W) Hooded, Irish, European Berkshire, American Berkshire, Variegated, Capped, Bareback, Collared, Husky, Husky Hooded and more.

• Shaded Varieties (c^hc^h, c^hc) Himalaya, Black Siamese, Blue Siamese, and more.

• Agouti (aa) Agouti, Cinnamon, Chocolate Agouti, different Blue Agouties, Silver Fawn, Fawn, Opal, Lynx, Ruby-eyed Cinnamon, and more.

• Silvered (P^e) Silver Black, Silver Chocolate and Silver Mink.

• Pearl (P^e) Pearl, Cinnamon Pearl, Blue Pearl, and more.

• Coat Varieties (Re) Rex, Satin, Nude.

• Other Varieties Odd Eyed.

I always tend to divide the colours in two main groups:

• The agouti group. Where individual secondary guard hairs have three bands of colour.
• The self group. Where individual hairs are more or less one colour.

You can also divide the colours in:

• Not marked. No white patches of fur on the body (except for in albinos and silver fawns), same colour all over the body except in ticked varieties (A-).
• Marked. White patches of fur on the body.
• Shaded. Siamese and Himalayan.
• Pearls. Pearls and Cinnamon Pearls.

In order to learn more about colour genetics of the rat you may sometimes need to do a test mating .

Last update: 13th of February 2006.