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Berkshire rat

Berkshire is a marking rather than a breed: a rat with coloured top and head and a clean white belly, ideally with white feet and a white tail tip, the division running evenly along the flanks.

It appears across any colour and coat type.

Underneath it is the domestic fancy rat, and the important thing about fancy rats is how good they are as pets. They are clean, highly intelligent, genuinely trainable, and demonstrably social — they recognise their keepers, respond to their names and, in laboratory work, will free a trapped cagemate before taking food for themselves.

Origin
A marking of the domestic fancy rat
Size
20–25 cm plus tail; 250–500 g
Lifespan
2–3 years
Diet
Formulated rat blocks, with fresh vegetables and occasional protein
Temperament
Highly social, intelligent, trainable, affectionate
Housing
Never alone; same-sex pairs or groups, tall cage

Related: Blazed rat

3 berkshire rat photos, newest first

Berkshire rat feed
  • Sooty, a berkshire rat

    Sooty

    Sooty reaches for the same dandelion seed every afternoon and has yet to catch a single one.

    FrostyOtter · 6 days ago

  • Quill VII, a berkshire rat

    Quill VII

    Quill VII loaded the trolley with every wooden spoon in the hotel and a rug, and there are still more coming out of the cupboard.

    FrostyOtter · 1 week ago

  • Quill VII, a berkshire rat

    Quill VII

    Quill VII was told to stay. Quill VII negotiated.

    MerryBadger · 2 weeks ago

Living with a berkshire rat

Never keep a single rat. They are profoundly social and a lone rat is a depressed one; keep same-sex pairs or groups.

Rats climb, so height and levels matter as much as floor area, with ropes, hammocks and platforms. Bar spacing of 1.2 cm or less for adults.

The two big health issues are respiratory disease, usually mycoplasma, which is near-universal and made worse by ammonia from dirty bedding and by dusty or pine substrates; and mammary tumours, which are very common in unspayed females. Spaying reduces that risk considerably.

The short lifespan is the hard part of keeping rats.

General guidance, not veterinary advice. Individual critters vary, and anything about a specific animal is a question for a vet who has seen it.

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