Dumbo rat

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Dumbo rat in the breeding color Mink Self

The Dumbo rat is a breed form of the domesticated color rat ( Rattus norvegicus forma domestica). She owes her name to the Disney character Dumbo , who like her has particularly pronounced ears.

features

In the Dumbo rat , the ears of the animal do not point upwards, as in ordinary rats, but sit on the side of the head and are usually not as folded as in the nominate form . The anatomically offset ears reveal the pronounced neck muscles, which makes the entire head appear wider. However, the ear hole in Dumbo rats is located at the same skull location as in pet rats with standard ears.

Dumbo rats are considered by some breeders and keepers to be the quieter pack members who would quickly become tame and could be integrated into rat populations quite normally. This is a fallacy, as is the claim that rats of certain colors are particularly friendly / aggressive / people-related etc. Dumbo rats have the same characteristics as other pet rats, so that from a behavioral point of view there is no reason to prefer Dumbo rats over other rats.

They can appear in all colors and drawings, as well as with Rex, Satin, Velveteen or Harley fur, fuzz and nude forms are also possible. Dumbo rats can be kept, fed and tamed in the same way as normal pet rats.

origin

Like all pet rats, the Dumbo rat originally descended from the brown rat ( Rattus norvegicus ). Since the 19th century, rats have been bred by humans for various purposes, be it for rat fights with dogs or as experimental animals . Through selective color selection, different color and drawing combinations have prevailed among the pet rats.

A Dumbo rat resulting from a spontaneous mutation was documented for the first time in California in 1991. Through targeted breeding, it was possible to pass on the recessive gene [you / you] and to transfer this gene to pet rats. After Dumbo rats enjoyed great popularity in the USA, Australia, Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Holland, the German rat breeders also introduced the Dumbo rat and continued to breed it.

After the import to Germany rumors arose about a genetic defect in the Dumbo rats, so that the accusation of torture breeding was raised. Allegedly, these animals are said to have a crippled and cartilaginous neck and head area, orientation difficulties and to be deaf. So far, none of the allegations has been scientifically confirmed, but no conclusive evidence has been provided to the contrary. In the opinion of many breeders (who, however, have to take this into account in the argumentation, also have an interest in selling their own offspring), the Dumbo gene is not a torture breed, since almost all Dumbo rats do not show any of the symptoms mentioned . With regard to the question of deafness, it is argued that, due to the same number in pet rats with normal ears, there is no indication that deafness is due to a genetic defect.

  • Siam cultivated form

  • Profile of a Dumbo rat

  • Comparison of the ears of a Dumbo rat with a standard breed

Remarks

  1. ↑ Esther Verhoef-Verhallen: Rabbit and Rodent Encyclopedia . Edition Dörfler in Nebel-Verlag, Eggolsheim 2002, ISBN 3-89555-073-6 .
  2. ↑ Information on breeding sphynx rats and nude rats ( Memento from April 3, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ cf. also Suhair Katerji, Nathalie Vanmuylder, Michal Svoboda, Marcel Rooze, Stéphane Louryan: Expression of Msx1 and Dlx1 during Dumbo rat head development: correlation with morphological features. In: Genetics and Molecular Biology. Vol. 32, No. 2, 2009, ISSN  1415-4757 , pp. 399-404, doi : 10.1590 / S1415-47572009005000041 .

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