what IS a fancy rat?

Question
I've had pet rats since I was 5, but I have no idea what a fancy rat is. What makes a fancy rat fancy? Also, do you know what types of rats pet rats are bred from? I read that they were a mix of two or more wild rat species, but I don't remember.

Answer
Hello,
A pet rat is a fancy rat. Fancy just means domesticated, or not wild. Such rats, as a dumbo rat, or any of the colors and markings such as Hooded, blue, Agouti, are considered fancy. Any of the rats you can buy in a store, or from a breeder are Fancy rats. I do not know which wild species went in to making the domesticated rat for sure, but I think it was the Ratus Ratus. I think the other one, the Norway Rat, CAN be hybrid in to the Fancy rat, but am not sure. There are a few breeders in the country that breed hybrid rats, I am not one of them. Most fancy rat breeders breed their rats from other fancy rats. My breeding rats have 16-27 generations on their pedigree of fancy rats, and if I were to do more research into them, the pedigrees would go farther back to more fancy rats.

You could do a google search for more information on hybrid rats, and breeders if you wanted to.

Hope I helped you!
Becky