What is a Dwarf Rat

While dwarf rats are somewhat a new species for rat breeders and rat enthusiasts, they do exist. I started looking into the different breeds of rats when I adopted the four young male rats I have right now and noticed something a little different about one of them. I believe that my smallest rat is at least part dwarf rat.

Dwarf Rat Characteristics

Dwarf rats have the same markings, colors and temperament of standard rats. The facial features of males may be more feminine than standard male rats and their eyes are larger and may be bulging. Dwarf rats should have a body size 1/3 the size of the standard rats, with smaller feet, tails and legs.

They have very busy and extremely curious personalities, but are shy, timid and jumpy. When I first adopted my four male rats and noticed something different about Brodie, he was shy, timid and jumpy and didn't like to be held, petted or talked to.

Dwarf rats are also more vocal than standard rats and I also noticed this in my smaller rat, brodie when he would play fight with the other rats. Brodie does a lot of squeaking even when he is just cleaning himself, he squeaks.

According to the American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association - "The Spontaneous Dwarf rat (SDR) arose from the Sprague-Dawley lab rats. They were first born and bred in the lab. They were found to be growth hormone resistant. Because of this growth hormone resistance rays were unable to develop most cancers even when intentionally injected into them. It was noted that dwarf rats had a more energetic personality, nippiness and they were easy to spook. They actually didn't act like the larger rats we were used to. They "monkey" around upside down on top of the cage, and "make noises" unlike the larger rats."

Do Dwarf rats Get Along With Standard Rats

While my small rat is very curious, vocal and jumpy, he also gets along really well with the other three male standard rats in the large cage I have. I think that may be the key to their living situation and getting along, they have enough room to run, jump, play and get away from each other when they want to.

While Brodie does jump on all three of the other rats I have and instigate play fighting at all times of the day, even while the others are asleep, they don't seem to mind playing along with him.

How To Tame Dwarf Rat

From my own experience, it was a lot harder to tame Brodie than it was to tame the other three. The three standard males I have were very friendly and curious from the very beginning, while Brodie hung back and ran away every time I got close to him. Over time I was able to get him to eat out of my hand, let me pet him through the bars of the cage and eventually let me pet him with the cage doors open. It took time, it's been three months since I adopted the boys and Brodie is just now starting to warm up to us.

I found it a lot easier to set the cage with one of the doors open, against the couch and let Brodie make up his mind whether or not he wanted to come out on the couch and play with the rest of the boys. It took a few minutes but because he is so curious he couldn't help himself.

Brodie, who I believe is part Dwarf Rat, took longer to tame than the rest but he is so much fun to watch run here and there and everywhere, it was worth it.

Sources:

http://www.ratspacnw.org/varieties.htm

http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=132845121366&topic=10373