AFRMA Fancy Rats - Unstandardized

AFRMA Fancy Rats - Non-Recognized Colors, Markings, & Coats

Some miscellaneous colors and markings of rats that have been produced by AFRMA breeders/seen at AFRMA shows but never standardized. There are many more out there. See Fancy Rat Genes for possible genetics.

See the AFRMA Official Color Standards Rat book for more.

Note: The pictures on this page are not meant to be true representatives of the animal’s color. Because of differences in monitors (CRT/LCD) and how the monitor is adjusted, the colors may be different. Seeing in person is always best.

Baldie Banded Capped-Stripe Collared English Irish/Irish Roan Snowflake
Tri-Color

MARKINGS
BALDIE - Color Pattern 15, Triangle 15, Color Fading 10, Color 10 Baldie rats may be shown in any recognized color. Markings will be similar to Capped rats with a colored top of head and the rest of the body a pure clean white free from spots or brindling. The colored area to be clear of the nose tip and jaw line, extending a short way behind the ears. They will have a large white triangle between the eyes with a white line running from the point of the triangle to the white on the neck. Baldies are from Essex rats and color fading is normal. [Accepted into Unstandardized April 28, 2007; removed from Accepted Proposed Unstd. December 1, 2012, and moved to Non-Recognized due to lack of entries.] Genetics: H^roh Note: Renamed from Baldie to Essex Capped in the N.F.R.S. in 2010. Baldie Standard kitten rat owned and bred by Mayumi Anderson. Photo ©2007 Mayumi Anderson.
BANDED - To have a white band circling the body similar to Banded mice. Genetics: from Hooded stock Banded male (and his Hooded mom) owned and bred by Jean Eirich. Photo ©1993 Jean Eirich. Read the information on Banded Rats.
CAPPED-STRIPE - To have a cap and stripe of color down the spine broken at the neck. Stripe to be of moderate width and even in shape. Genetics: h^reh? Blaze Capped-Stripe Standard owned and bred by Lorryta Bowker. Photo ©1997 Larry Ferris. AFRMA Articles: Restriction Gene Cap-Stripe Leathal? Reverse Hooded? What Kind of Marking Rat Research article: “Pleiotropic Expression of the Restricted Coat-Color Gene in the Norway Rat” Laurence G. Gumbreck, Allan J. Stanley, Randolph M. Macy, E. Edward Peeples. Journal of Heredity, Volume 62, Issue 6, 1 November 1971, Pages 357–358.
COLLARED - Markings to consist of a white ring encircling the body just behind the neck and just before the shoulders. Genetics: ?? (usually from Dalmatian breedings) Silver Black Collared Standard owned and bred by Karen Robbins. Photo ©2008 Karen Robbins.
ENGLISH IRISH/IRISH - A common pet marking. They have both the marking on the chest as well as the belly as the name implies, a.k.a. a lightly marked Berkshire. This is a marking that will not be standardized. Black EI/I Standard owned and bred by Karen Robbins. Photo ©2013 Karen Robbins.
ROAN - 20 points for roaning, 15 points for markings, 10 points for top color, 5 points for blaze or headspot Roan rats to be shown in any recognized color and come in Berkshire, Blaze Berkshire, or striped markings. Berkshire and Blaze Berkshire to conform to existing standards. Striped roan to have the body a pure clean white (devoid of creamy tinge or staining) and free from spots or brindling, with a colored stripe extending in an unbroken line from the head to the tail, be of moderate width, and be free of ragged edges or brindling. Striped Roans will also have a white blaze on the face to conform to existing standards. The color should be confined to the head and back only, not appearing on the underside (throat, chest, belly) or sides. Roan is to be judged on evenness and symmetry of Roaning, not amount of Roaning, as older animals will have more white hairs. White hairs shall be evenly distributed throughout the coat, though a darker center line down the spine is acceptable but not desired. Roan not to be confused with silvered animals. Eye color to match base color, though a ruby cast is common (to be accepted, but not desired). Clearly distinct from existing varieties, Roans are born a solid color. During the first molt, juvenile animals start to exhibit roaning. This is a steady increase in the amount of white hairs intermingling with the solid color, starting with the sides, face, and tail root, then working up to the nape of the neck and back. With each individual molt, the rat becomes progressively lighter, the final effect not fully complete until well into adulthood, at which point the animal is almost completely white. Faults: Patchiness, brindling, uneven or insubstantial roaning, colored spots in white areas/white spots in colored areas; too little or too much white on face on Blazed versions; other faults as to respective markings; Striped Roan: stripe too wide or too narrow; stripe broken, ragged/brindled edges to the stripe, any suggestion of a Hood marking. Genetics: recessive [Accepted into Unstandardized 1-6-18; removed from Accepted Proposed Unstd. December 7, 2019, and moved to Non-Recognized due to lack of entries.] Note: a.k.a. Husky; always comes in Berkshire/Blaze Berkshire or Striped (with Blaze) markings. When Roan is bred with Self, you get Self, not various types of markings. Further Reading: “The European Husky” (Roan)	Black Berkshire Roan Standard owned and bred by Helen Pembrook. Photo ©2003 Craig Robbins. Agouti Striped Roan Standard owned by Gina Hendricks. Photo ©2003 Craig Robbins. Black Blaze Berkshire Roan Standard owned and bred by Helen Pembrook. Photo ©2003 Craig Robbins.
SNOWFLAKE - To have small numerous spots of white on the belly with as many spots of white on the backside as possible. Genetics: unknown, doesn’t breed as normal dominant or recessive Note: Appeared in Helen Pembrook’s rattery, Viking Rat & Mouse Nest (VRMN), in 2004. Has appeared in other ratteries since (showed up in Dutch rattery of René Baastians in 2008; called stippeltjes in the Netherlands which means dots). Snowflake Standard kitten owned and bred by Helen Pembrook. Photo ©2004 Craig Robbins. Read the information on Snowflake Rats.
“TRI-COLOR” - “Tri-Color” rats have 2 distinct colors plus white. Genetics: an anomaly in the genes of the individual rat causing a change in color in one or more spots/areas Note: These so far are either somatic mosaics or chimeras and not reproducible. AFRMA articles for more on somatic mosaic and chimera: Mouse Keeping: An Explanation of Somatic Mutations and why they do not breed true Inherited Calico Traits; Tri-Colored Mouse? Colored Mice Odd Color Spot On Rat “Tri-Color” Mice; Tri-Color/Calico Mice Chimera Mouse Transgenic Mice & Tricolors Research articles: “On A Non-transmissible Tri-color Variation in Rats” W. E. Castle. Genetic Studies of Rabbits and Rats, published by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, May 1922, Pages 51–55. “An independent recurrence of the blue mutation in the Norway rat and a blue-black mosaic” M. R. Curtis, W. F. Dunning. Journal of Heredity, Volume 31, Issue 5, 1 May 1940, Pages 219–222.	Black or dark Chocolate male with “cocoaish” colored patch on the face, owned by Nicole Marlin. Photo ©2015 Karen Robbins. Beige Berkshire Standard male with black streak on face, owned and bred by Karen Robbins. Photo ©2002 Karen Robbins. Black Hooded Standard female with dark Beige spot on back, owned by Robert Womack (found in pet shop). Photo ©2000 Karen Robbins. Beige Capped-Stripe (no Cap) Standard male with 2 Fawn spots (one by right ear, other on right shoulder (base of Beige color), owned by Lorryta Bowker. Photo ©1998 Craig Robbins. Agouti Standard with half Fawn face, owned by Michelle Gallati. Photo ©1989 Karen Hauser.

Go to the AFRMA Rat Unstandardized page.
Go to the AFRMA New Standards/Unstandardized page.
Purchase the AFRMA Official Color Standards Rat book.

Updated December 15, 2024