General Appearance | Standardized Colors | Standardized Markings and Color Patterns | Provisional Standards

General Appearance
Rats should have a healthy overall appearance.  The rat shall be of good size, with does being long and racy in type and buck being of bigger build.  There should be an arch over the loin blending will into the croup.  They shall be clean and neat with nails trimmed.  Weight shall be sleek, firm and slightly rounded, not too fat or too thin.  There should be no sign of illness, recent injury or parasites.  Males are to have two fully-descended testicles of equal size and shape.

Head
Well balanced head of medium length, displaying a short profile.  The muzzle should not be narrow or pointed, but strong, broad and blunt.

Eyes
Round, bold, prominent, large and clean, set wide apart giving width to the head.  Ideal placement approximately halfway between the tip of the nose and back of the ears.

Ears
Standard: Medium sized, oval shaped and upright.  They should be spaced well apart.  Faults: creases or folds, set too low.

Dumbo: Large, round, set low on the sides of the head.  When viewed from the side, ideal placement should be as low as possible while maintaining the balance of the head.  Should be of adequate thickness.  Faults: ears pointed at the edges, creases or folds, too small, set too high, oblong/tubular shaped.

Tail
Standard: Cylindrical with good length, at least the length of the body (nose to base of tail), with good placement at the end of the spine.  Thick at the base and tapering to a fine point.  Should be firm and not thin or bony.  Faults: not cylindrical, short, or thin.  Disqualification: Kinked or docked.

Tailless: Tailless to be shown in AOV.  To have complete absence of a tail, may have a cobbier body and rounded rump.  Disqualification: any evidence of physical abnormalities due to being tailless including walking, climbing, and skeletal problems.  Any evidence of a tail.  Docked tail.

Coat
Standard Coat: Should be smooth, dense and glossy. The ears, feet and tail should be covered with fine hair. Bucks have longer guard hairs and a harsher coat. Faults: wavy coat, thin coat, bald spots.

Rex Coat: Coat to be tight even waves or curls. Eyebrows and whiskers to show definite curl. Faults: frizziness, lack of wave/curl, straight whiskers, bald spots.

Satin: Satin rats may be shown in any recognized color or marking.  The ideal coat has a unique and distinct appearance with its lustrous sheen.  The coat is thinner and longer-looking.  The hair should be fine to the touch.  The satin coat has a sparkling look on some colors; white will have a yellow cast.

Hairless: Hairless to be shown in AOV. To be as hairless as possible, with allowances for some facial hair. Preference shall be given to the rat with the least amount of hair. Disqualification: patches of hair on body.

Teeth
Normal set of two upper and two lower incisors, none misshapen or missing. The rat should be able to close his mouth normally, with top incisors in front of the lower.

General Faults
Rats of insufficient size, over or underweight.
Stained, or dirty coat and/or untrimmed nails.
Healed injuries which detract from the overall appearance of the rat, such as a tattered ear.

General Disqualifications
Nursing or pregnant does.
Obvious ill-health, recent injuries/wounds/scabs/sores or parasites.
Difficult to handle, intractability.
Dyed coat.
Males missing one or both testicles.
Missing body parts.

General Appearance | Standardized Colors | Standardized Markings and Color Patterns | Provisional Standards