Tailess rats

**luckies4me** · 12-05-2002, 05:33 PM

Tailess rats have he complete abscense of a tail. Here are a few pics. DO NOT EVER breed a tailess doe, they will die!

The first tailess ratty to be born in my rattery!

**luckies4me** · 12-05-2002, 06:15 PM

Wouldn't rats look weird if they had fur on their tail!!!!!

**Aspen and Misty** · 12-05-2002, 07:08 PM

Why can't you breed a tailess doe? I love your rats! Your Dumbo's are soooo cute!

Ash

**luckies4me** · 12-05-2002, 07:12 PM

Well some people do but it's very risky. Tailess does have their hips fused or their pelvis is too small and are unable to give birth. Some stupid breeders still breed them for money and let them die but keep the babies. Other breeders have them x rayed before hand to see if the pelvis is ok and others make the does go through C-sections. It's very sad. Tailess are hard to breed and their genetics are very confusing. There are two types of tailess genes, one dominant and one recessive. You can breed two tailess together and not get any!, as with dumbos if you bred two of them, you would have all dumbos.

**aly** · 12-05-2002, 10:37 PM

Those are really cool. How rare are they?

**luckies4me** · 12-06-2002, 11:29 AM

Well considering the genetics are complicated they are still a pretty rare type of rat in the pet trade. Most breeders don't even sell their tailess without them being first altered or spayed because there are so many complications in breeding them. Most does are spayed beforehand to prevent a possible terminal pregnancy. You can breed tailess carrier females to buck and also shorties (have a short tail) to tailess bucks.

I have a few more tailess carrier does and a new buck comming in December and hopefully I plan to begin breeding different types into the lines. My goal is a merle dumbo tailess. I had the first dumbo tailess ever born in Oregon.