There is no other oddity in the animal world than an fur less creature. An animal lacking fur would never survive except in the homes of their cherished owners. 
Keeping one of these bizarre and incredible creatures welcomes both conversation and delight. However, to enjoy this special animal you must provide special care.

 

 

Without fur a rat gets colder!
Hairless rats need more warmth. Period. Summer temperatures will keep a hairless rat adequately warm. But in the winter, the temperatures should not fall below 60F. Degrees (with multiple rats) or 70F. Degrees with a single rat or pairs. Providing a hairless rat with a same sex companion, with or without fur, is essential to its survival. Not only will it provide a social partner, but in the cooler evenings they will snuggle together. A warm lamp over a corner of the cage or a heating pad taped to a side are two ways to increase the housing temperature if your home is on the cool side. Make sure there is an area in the cage that they can get away from the heat.

 

No fur equals higher metabolisms.
Hairless rats need eat more often to keep warm. A normal rat needs a well balanced diet of grains, seeds, and a protein source. Hairless rats eat more of it. Also, although not proven, a higher source of protein seems to benefit their health. Generally, a quality, non-allergenic dog kibble can be added into the diet to meet these needs. I feed my older hairless rats either lab block or dog chow, pasta and oats twice a day. I do avoid corn in the diet as much as possible.  Furred rats require rodent lab block or dog kibble with a lower protein ratio. Hairless rats drink more water than furred rats, so make sure that you fill the water bottle often.

 

 

Hairless rats are prone to Illness
Generally, hairless rats are fragile creatures in comparison to furred rats. They may have more allergies and may be more susceptible to environmental stress causing them to become ill.  This is especially true of strains of hairless deriving from laboratories and passed onto the pet stores. Diseases common to laboratory and pet store hairless rats are cancer and tumors, excessive abscessing, wasting, kidney and bladder infections, heart disease, eye disease, diabetes, excessive respiratory infections, head tilt, and skin problems. Just in the last few years since the first publication of this article, fancy rat breeders have made great strides in breeding out health issues that formally plagued hairless rats.  Now, some lines of hairless rats from reputable breeders are just as disease resistant as furred rats and can be expected to live as long, two to three-years-old. Reputable breeders eliminate tendencies for these diseases through selective breeding. They monitor their lines over time and end lines where offspring continually have health problems that crop up before two-years-old.  Good breeders choose only the healthiest rats to breed. Hairless 
rats not selectively bred can be expected to live 18-24 months.  Out crossed hairless rats to furred lines tend to be more robust and live longer than those born to hairless parents.

 

 

Allergies/Bedding
possibly lead to bacterial respiratory infections that will require antibiotics to cure.  Selectively bred hairless are heartier. Signs of eyes issues include weepy eyes which may come from a increased sensitivity to allergens or possibly dry eyes. Many hairless rats wake up from long naps with this. You may see them clean their eyes. If the problem is severe, treat the eyes with an antibiotic eye cream called Terramycin, a couple of times a day.
Removing the allergens by using a Hepa Air Cleaner and by avoiding wood bedding and those with high dust content. I have had the most success with recycled newspaper pellets. These can be found in grocery stores as Yesterday Mews Cat Litter, Good Mews Cat Litter and at feed stores as Crown Animal Bedding. Farm feed stores usually carry it for half of the price of grocery stores.

 

Stress/Cage Cleaning
Environmental stresses are too low or too high temperatures, drafts and chills, such as when a window is left open, and not enough food or water. Also, urine build-up in a rats cage or aquarium will lead to health problems. Cage cleaning is essential and should be done weekly to discourage a urine build-up which stresses the rats lungs and compromises their immune systems. Change bedding weekly and wash down the cage with hot soap and water, a sanitizer, or a Odor neutralizer and cleaner.

 

Breeding Heartier Hairless Rats
Most reputable breeders will seek to breed heartier hairless rats. We do this by breeding in genes from haired rats into our hairless lines. We breed a hairless male to a furred female that carry the hairless gene. Then, we choose only the healthiest hairless males from pedigreed lines. The litter will consist of 50% carriers and 50% hairless rats. These rats are usually healthier and heartier than those born from two hairless parents. By 2004, hairless rats bred at Odd Fellows Rattery are living as long as furred rats, with some living even longer to almost 3-years-old. Hairless babies are either born hairless and stay hairless or they will grow fuzz after birth and loose it by their 8 week-molt. Both kinds can retain some fuzz or become completely naked by adulthood.

 

Breeding "True Hairless" Females equals Disappointment!
I get many emails each week about hairless rats being terrible mothers. They eat, squish or starve their babies. At Odd Fellows Rattery, in 2001, we bred four different does from different backgrounds. The resulting babies from all of the litters were either cannibalized, squished, abandoned or starved due to poor parenting and/or inadequate or no lactation. Only one hairless doe (born to furred parents) lactated. However, she cannibalized more than half of her two litters, but lactated and protected the remaining babies. With that said, this does not occur in every hairless female. Those that have been out crossed with furred rats may inherit positive qualities that allow them to rear babies normally. But, how do you know if your rat is like this? Avoid the disappointment and breed a hairless carrier female to a hairless male and the chance is high all offspring will survive. At Odd Fellows Rattery, all of our hairless rats are out crossed with furred rats.