Downunder rat

Origin & Description

The Downunder rat is a fancy rat possessing a coat colour/pattern which is unique to Australia. This strain of Fancy Rat is said to have been first developed in Queensland by the noted breeder Tracey York of bRATpack and RatmanDU rattery.

The Downunder rat has made its way to fancy rat breeders in the United States who cherish the Australian fancy rat for its relative lack of disease (as compared to breeds common in the US and Europe).

The Downunder is also known as a 'dalmatian' rat and comes in variegated (spotted), hooded and berkshire. The 'Downunder' marking refers to a patch of colour on the underside of the rat which matches the coat colouring on the top. It is also possible to have a rat with the Downunder marking in conjunction with another marking, for example a downunder blazed rat (a rat with a white stripe on its nose) or a downunder split-capped (white stripe extends up over head, thus 'splitting' the cap marking).

The coat colour ranges from black and white through to all coat colours including agouti, topaz, mink and dove.

Down Under Rats

Down Under rats were first imported from Australia into the United States by Connie Perez in December 2002.

"Down Under" is a pattern that is a dominant spotting gene which produces spots of color on the belly of the rat. According to [http://www.skyclyde.com/DownUnder.html Odd Fellows Rattery,] "The white belly is splattered with color as paint is on a canvas. Thus, the best mates for Down Unders are rats with a lot of white on them so more canvas is exposed."

This trait is the result of selective breeding of rats in Australia.

PESONALITY & HEALTH

Down Under Australian rats are purported to be more disease resistant than rats from American and British lines. It is claimed that in some instances they are living a year longer than rats from other continents, some may live to be 3-4 years-old. "At first, the majority of the hybrid rats in the USA had very busy and curious personalities. Now-a-days, one will find an assortment of temperaments, including very laid back, as different lines of rats have been bred to the Down Under line." [http://www.example.org Link text] .] Some Down Under lines in Australia have genetic heart problems and some carry a faulty eye gene, causing small eyes, where one or both eyes are smaller than normal or missing eyes where one or both eyes are missing.

Some Rat Links

*New World Down http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/nwdus/
*Down Under Rats http://www.skyclyde.com/DownUnder.html
*The Rat and Mouse Club of America http://www.rmca.org/
*PetRat.Info Formerly the Pet Rat Information Sheet - A general rat care information sheet. http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/
*Virginia's Rat Page - A comprehensive categorised listing of just about every rat-related article on the internet. http://pages.interlog.com/~audiotre/rats/
*The Ratlist Especially 4 Newbies Collection - An archive of helpful and entertaining articles compiled by members of the ratlist. http://members.aol.com/juliesrats/e4nindex.html/
*"Rat Health Care" - A booklet by Debbie Ducommun, recommended for all pet rat owners and their vets. http://www.dapper.com.au/rathealthcare.htm
*Rat Guide - A comprehensive medical guide of great source of useful medical advice http://ratguide.com/
*Ratly Manor Links - A Page that has over 50 link about: rat breeders, clubs, organizations, information,enthusiasts, sites, and suppliers. http://www.ratlymanor.com.au/links.htm