Colour Changes In Rats

[moxy 617]

How long does a colony have to thrive before it starts to throw colour changes in the population?

I've cleared the odd rat in the past. Had the few with white or dark patches. What do you make of these?

Semi rural location with a healthy population. Thrown gene? Introduced pet somehow?

Possibly more to come but until we start going through mountains of rubbish we won't know.

 

[Ratmanwan 66]

I think it's a throwback from a released or escaped rat that can go back years , just like black rabbits that pop up in certain areas every few years.

I have a place that has a healthy amount of white rats on it, probably one in every 30 is white.

[EDDIE B 3,168]

  On 12/06/2017 at 06:37, Ratmanwan said:

I think it's a throwback from a released or escaped rat that can go back years , just like black rabbits that pop up in certain areas every few years.

I have a place that has a healthy amount of white rats on it, probably one in every 30 is white.

Don't think it's anything to do with escapee pets personally. Black rabbits can be found in many area's, and doubt they are all throwbacks from said pets.

 

It could have something more to do with dence populations and inbreeding. As said with rats. Off coloured one's are often found where there are healthy populations.

[mackem 28,553]

A friend of mine worked on a small island just off either jersey or guernsey i cant remember which,but the rats on the island were grey versions of the brown rat.

[The one 8,534]

I always think its a released pet as nature would deal with them first as there easily seen

[Ratmanwan 66]

Eddie b, your right about the dense population and inbreeding, bit surely the white pigment has to come from somewhere originally ?.

[EDDIE B 3,168]

  On 12/06/2017 at 10:01, Ratmanwan said:

Eddie b, your right about the dense population and inbreeding, bit surely the white pigment has to come from somewhere originally ?.

And where did white pet rats come from originally?

 

Not being smart, just think about it.

[Phil Lloyd 10,738]

Once lamped a pure white rat on a maggot farm,...and as the terrier hit it,...there was a discernable crackle and crunch....

The poor critter had some kind of mange,...he was a mass of scabs....it was emotional...

 

Only ever caught, one genuine wild white rat,.and I've never managed to catch a white rabbit...but,.taken scores of Blues, Blacks, Part-colours and Orange conies...

 

I doubt the animals taken in remote areas, have any influence via escaped/released domesticated stock,...I just think, same as white/golden moles,...it is, what it is...

[mackem 28,553]

I went to the temple of the rats once AKA karni mata,tens of thousands of rats in there,all scabrous,some with half a nibbled tail,there was a couple of white rats in there though i didnt see one,i just saw thousands of normal scabby black rats.

[Squirrel_Basher 17,101]

We have killed just over 19000 rats on the chicken farm we do with the terriers and never killed a single one off color ,much to my disgust as mutations intrigue me .Added another 348 last night to the tally .

[EDDIE B 3,168]

  On 14/06/2017 at 06:11, foxdropper said:

We have killed just over 19000 rats on the chicken farm we do with the terriers and never killed a single one off color ,much to my disgust as mutations intrigue me .Added another 348 last night to the tally .

I suppose like the golden moles, some area's have them, and some don't.

 

I've only ever caught two silver mink in all my years of trapping them. Both were caught on the same little stretch of river, but they were caught around 17 to 19 years apart.

[neil cooney 10,416]

When you think of it with their ability to breed so often and with large populations which has to lead to inbreeding it's surprising there's not more mutations in the brown rat ? I've never seen one.

With cannibalism quiet common in rats maybe freaks don't even get to leave the nest ?

[EDDIE B 3,168]

  On 14/06/2017 at 11:20, neil cooney said:

When you think of it with their ability to breed so often and with large populations which has to lead to inbreeding it's surprising there's not more mutations in the brown rat ? I've never seen one.

With cannibalism quiet common in rats maybe freaks don't even get to leave the nest ?

Well I suppose with colour variation and albinoism the most important aspect are gene's, and passing on these odd gene's. Interbreeding would only make it more common for these colour varations to resurface more often. That is why selective breeding in captive animals can result in lots of colourful rats, rabbits etc.

 

Edited just to add. If there is no defective gene pool in an area, then you won't have any oddball rats etc no matter how dence the population.

Edited June 14, 2017 by EDDIE B

[ratattack 111]

White ones of any species are rare as they are easily predated on, Therefore the "line" dies out quicker.