SELF VARIETIES [A self animal is one that is the same colour all over]

Dark Eyed Self-coloured rats

BLACK EYED WHITE: As white as possible, devoid of creamy tinge or staining. Eyes black.

BLACK: A deep, solid black, devoid of dinginess and white hairs or patches. Base fur to be black. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

MINK: An even mid grey-brown, devoid of dinginess, silvering or patches and having a distinct bluish sheen. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

CHOCOLATE: A deep, rich chocolate, as even as possible, devoid of any dinginess and white hairs or patches. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black

BLUE: A deep steel blue, without any brown colouration. Colour to be even with the belly colour matching the top. The colour of the fur when parted to be blue grey down to the skin. Eyes black.

BUFF: An even, warm magnolia with no sign of dullness or greyness. Belly colour to match top. Eyes to be dark ruby, as dark as possible.

Pink Eyed Self-coloured rats

CHAMPAGNE: An evenly warm beige, with no suggestion of dullness or greyness. Eyes red.

PINK EYED WHITE: To be as white as possible, devoid of creamy tinge or staining. Eyes pink.

MARKED VARIETIES

BERKSHIRE: Symmetrically marked, with as much white on the chest and belly as possible. The white shall not extend up the sides of the body, the edges shall be clear cut and devoid of brindling. Back feet to be white to the ankle, forelegs to be white to half the leg. Tail to be white to half its length. The body colour shall conform to a recognised colour variety. The white area shall be pure and devoid of any colour or staining. A white spot on the forehead is desirable.

IRISH: White equilateral triangle on chest with front feet white and back feet white to half their length. The triangle to be of good size, clear cut and devoid of brindling, not to extend in a streak down the belly but to occupy all the space between the front legs. The body colour shall conform to a recognised colour variety.

HOODED: The hood shall be unbroken, covering the head, throat, chest and shoulders, except in the case of light coloured hooded varieties where a pale coloured throat is permissible. The hood shall be continuous with the saddle, extending down the spine to the tail with as much of the tail as possible being coloured. The saddle width shall be one quarter to half an inch it must be as even as possible and unbroken. The edges of the hood and saddle shall be clear cut and devoid of brindling. The white area shall be pure and devoid of yellowish tinge or staining. Roxy and Guinness were both hooded rats, but neither was well-marked enough to show!

CAPPED: Top colour not to extend past the ears and to follow the line of the lower jaw bone, it should not extend under the chin. A white blaze or spot on the face, and the rest of the body white. Colour to conform to a recognised colour variety. White area should be pure and devoid of yellowish tinge or staining.

VARIEGATED: The head and shoulders should be of a distinct colour with white blaze on the forehead. The variegation should cover the body from the shoulders to the tail including the sides. The colour to conform to any recognised colour variety. Underside to be white, devoid of creamy tinge or staining.

SILVER: Should be of a recognised coat colour, the coat containing equal numbers of silver and non-silver guard hairs. Each silver hair to have as much of its length as white as possible - a coloured tip to be allowed. Silvering to give an overall sparkling appearance. It should not be possible to confuse a Silver with a Pearl or a Self. Foot colour to match top. N.B. Silver blacks are to be known as Silver Grey. The belly colour on silvered Agoutis or Cinnamons is judged as Agouti and Cinnamon standards. Belly colour on other silvered varieties to match top.

SILVER FAWN: A rich orange fawn, evenly ticked with silver guard hairs. Belly fur to be white. The demarcation between the top colour and white belly to be sharp and clear cut, devoid of irregularities and brindling. Eyes red

AGOUTI: A rich ruddy brown, evenly ticked with black guard hairs. Belly fur to be silver grey. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

BLUE AGOUTI (OPAL): An attractive blend of mid-blue ticking over a medium fawn ground. Undercolour blue down to the skin. Belly colour silver. Feet dove grey. Ears and tail covered with blue hairs. A brown tinge is adjudged a fault. Eyes black.

CINNAMON: A warm russet brown, evenly ticked with chocolate guard hairs. Base fur mid grey. Belly fur as Agouti but of a lighter shade. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

HIMALAYAN: Body colour to be white, free from stains and even throughout. The points to be a rich dark sepia, as dark as possible. Eyes red. Colour areas: Face - not to extend upwards from the eyes; Ears - not to extend downwards from the base; Forelegs - not to extend upwards beyond the elbows; Hind legs - not to extend upwards beyond the ankle; Tail - not to extend beyond the tail root. Feet - colour to be solid throughout devoid of any white. Murphy was a Himalayan rat.

SIAMESE: Body colour to be medium beige, gradually and evenly shaded over the saddle and hindquarters towards the belly, being darkest at the base of the tail. There should be no white or very pale areas anywhere on the body, feet or tail. Tail colour to extend down the length of the tail. Belly to be light beige. Points to be a rich dark sepia and to shade evenly into the body colour. Eyes ruby.

CINNAMON PEARL: Coat to consist of three bands of colour from the base up - cream, blue and orange, with silver guard hairs, to give an overall golden appearance with a silver sheen. Belly fur pale silver grey. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

PEARL: Palest silver, shading to creamish undercolour. Each hair to be delicately tipped with grey evenly over the whole animal. Belly fur to be creamy silver. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

TOPAZ: A rich, golden fawn evenly ticked with silver guard hairs. Undercolour to be pale blue/grey carried down to the skin. Belly fur to be creamy silver. Top colour to be even and carried well down the sides with a clear differentiation between belly and top colour. Any tendency to sootiness or greyness of the top colour to be penalised. Eyes to be dark ruby - as dark as possible.

COAT VARIETIES

REX: The coat should be evenly dense and not excessively harsh, with as few guard hairs as possible. Coat to be evenly curled and also to a lesser extent on the belly. Curly vibrissae are normal for Rex. Colour to conform to a recognised colour or pattern variety.

Where silver or ticked rats are rexed, allowances should be made for the lower number of guard hairs present than in normal varieties.

LILAC AGOUTI (LYNX): An attractive blend of dove grey ticking, over a medium fawn ground. Undercolour pale grey down to the skin. Belly colour silver. Feet dove grey. Ears and tail to be covered with grey hairs. A pinky tinge is desirable. A blue tinge to be adjudged a fault. Eyes very dark ruby to black.

BLAZED: Wedge-shaped symmetrical blaze of white should extend up the face, running from the muzzle to the ears. Markings to cover whisker bed, and to taper to a fine point between the ears. Faults: blaze asymmetrical, too narrow, or too short. Markings not to extend onto the cheeks or the eyes. To be present on Variegateds or Berkshires only.

COFFEE : A rich, creamy caramel throughout, from tips of the fur down to the skin. Colour to be as even as possible, devoid of dinginess, white hairs or patches. Foot colour to match top. Eyes black.

HAVANA : A warm, rich brown. Eye colour mid ruby, to harmonise with coat colour.

DUMBO : A dumbo rat is simply a normal domestic rat with a mutation that enlarges and widens the ears and places them lower on the head. Somewhere along the line most of these rats appear to have been heavily selected for a docile temperament. They suffer no disadvantage due to their unusual ear set and size and slightly broader, flatter heads. The ears should be moderate in size and free from folds, but there is quite a bit of variation in ear size and shape. Dumbo rats are shown according to colour and hair type.

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