Colours

Agouti 

Agouti is a ticked chestnut brown with dark slate undercoat and is commonly known as the "wild colour" which can vary in shades of brown. These rats have a silvery grey tummy and black eyes.

Black

Black rats are ideally a dark lustrous black, devoid of rustiness or white hairs but in NZ they range from deep black, silvery black or different shades of brown. Babies tend to darken up as they moult, but silver in their senior years. Their eyes are black.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon rats are a warm russet brown colour. They are considered a lighter version of agouti, with a slate undercoat and dark guard hairs as they have the mink gene which causes the dilution of their coat. They have black eyes.

Mink

Minks are a mid-grey, but can come in a variety of warm or cool tones, with some looking dark brown or others light grey. They have black eyes and the mink we have in New Zealand is known as "Australian Mink" overseas. 

Fawn

Fawn rats are more yellow than Argente, their coats are a rich golden fawn with silver guard hairs, with a pale grey undercoat and creamy silver underside. Fawn have ruby eyes. 

Dove

Dove is an even dove grey, with no blue. It is less warm than buff and paler than mink. Dove babies do get skullcaps, which helps differentiate them from buffs. Doves eye colour is ruby. 

Argente

Argente rats are a similar colour to cinnamon - a warm orange with grey guard hairs. Though they tend to be a little lighter. The base of their hair is creamy. Argenete have ruby eyes. 

Buff

Buff is a warm-grey-tan. It can look so similar to dove that it is hard to differentiate. Buff babies do not get skullcaps (A patch of lighter hair on heads) when they molt while dove do. Buff have ruby eyes. 

Silverfawn

Silverfawn are a golden orange with a pale cream tummy, they are very similar to "fawn" rats but are lighter, this is because their pink eyes dilute their coat. They have pink eyes. 

Champagne

Champagne is a very light beige or off-white, appearing to look almost white and can often be mistaken for Pink-Eyed White until placed next to one for comparison. They have pink eyes.

Apricot

Apricot is a pale golden coat with a cream tummy and pink eyes. They carry the mink gene and this is what makes their coat lighter than silverfawn, but it can be difficult to tell without seeing them side by side.

Mink Champagne

Mink Champagne can often look Albino, until placed next to one for comparison. They're a soft off-white colouring. Mink Champagne have pink eyes.

Pink Eyed White (Albino)

A Pink Eyed White (sometimes shortened to PEW) is a pure white with pink eyes. Genetically a PEW can have any marking and be any colour, but this is masked by the albino gene.