Hairless Rat

Coat and looks how to spot one

Hairless (bare skin)

A hairless rat shows thin, bright, slightly see-through skin, which can be any colour and carry the usual markings. Some wrinkling is allowed, the ears are especially large and smooth, and the whiskers are very short and curly or missing altogether. Fanciers separate true hairless rats, which lack whiskers, from the double rex type.12

Personality what they are like

Hairless rats share the gentle, inquisitive nature of other fancy rats and become very tame with daily handling.25

Daily activity how busy a day looks

As lively as any fancy rat. Most active around dusk and through the night, it needs daily supervised time out of the cage, things to climb and forage for, and short play or training sessions.56

Grooming and care the hands-on bits

With no coat to groom, care is about comfort: soft bedding without sharp edges, a warm, draught-free room and gentle handling, plus plenty of soft nesting material and hammocks to curl up in.126

Home where they are happiest

The largest multi-level rat cage you can fit, with shelves, ropes, ladders, hammocks and hideouts, dust-free bedding such as shredded paper, placed in a quiet room around 19-23 C away from direct sun and draughts.63

Food basics what goes in the bowl

A complete rat nugget or pellet as the daily staple, with small portions of vegetables, a little fruit, grains and cooked egg counted into the ration. Keep sugary or fatty bits for training rewards, scatter some food to encourage foraging, and provide fresh water from a bottle at all times.7

Company who they like around

A very sociable animal that should share its home with at least one other rat, in a same-sex pair or small group or a neutered mixed pair, and enjoys daily time with its people.52

The story where it all began

Research papers since the 1950s have described several different hairless mutations in laboratory rats, including the Charles River hairless rat. Fanciers took up hairless rats as pets, and AFRMA wrote a show standard for them in 1994.12

Recognised by the official bits

American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association (AFRMA)

Standardised on 9 October 1994 as one of AFRMA's seven varieties; the ideal is as hairless as possible, with thin, bright, slightly translucent skin.1

Rat and Mouse Club of America (RMCA)

Hairless is one of the four RMCA varieties.8