Rat genitics/ colour prediction

[KingFfaj]

Ok, so I think i'm gonna get rats to breed (unless some 1 thinks gerbills are better) and I want to know what are the best colours to buy - I want a varied range of colours in the babys produced..
I'm thinking maybe a white and ginger rat and a white and grey/ brown rat? I need info on this.
my snakes deffinatly seem to like two colours on there rats as opposed to one (takes longer to eyeing them up)
I know if you breed one black rat to one white rat most of the litter will be black, some white and (maybe some B&W rats) but i would like info on the above;) thanx (this may get technical):)

[reverendsterlin]

serpwidget has a decent website on basic genetics(though the focus is reptiles). purebreds give purebreds, mixes give mixes, if you want a couple of specific colors get the pures. Feeding, time, housing, and stink don't save enough money for me to switch to raising my own over buying bulk frozen JMNSHO.

[Linds]

If your snake prefers multicoloured rats, your best bet would be to start off with hooded rats. They come in every colour and coat type as well.

[Emily-Fisher]

I can't really answer your question but I've noticed that rat/rodent genetics are weird. In my last litter, I got mostly all white babies from a black mother and a brown father!!

[vanderkm]

There are several good websites related to rat and mouse color genetics - there are many fancy rodent breeders who have done a lot of work on the colors. You might check out these for a start

http://www.afrma.org/

http://www.nfrs.org/

Rats are definately easier to breed than gerbils and although gerbils have much less odor they do create a lot of dust, are very wasteful of food, have smaller litters and have a much lower growth rate than rats.

good luck with breeding,

mary v.