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The Pink-Eyed White Rat

History Of The Pink-Eyed WhitePink-Eyed Whites, likeFrosty, have a long history in the rat fancy. The Albino rat (officially known as the Pink-EyedWhite or PEW) is most likely the very first mutation to be discovered and purposely bred. Albinism is a verycommon mutation even in wild populations, showing up in many animals including dogs, horses, ferrets, rabbits,cavies, and many others including rats and mice. Naturally, the white coats and pink eyes of these animals wouldmake it very difficult for them to survive in the wild. Discovered by someone with an interest in animals, however,an oddly colored white rat might well have been captured rather than killed.

Mary Douglas (the mother of the rat fancy) once stated that Albino rats were introduced to great Britain by atraveling entertainer around the year 1800. In Victorian times, wild rats were caught in huge numbers for the ratpits that were popular at the time. Between the 1840s and 1860s some of these rats were kept, bred, and sold aspets. Pink-Eyed Whites were among them. In 1908 Beatrix Potter published her book Samuel Whiskers (a storyabout a wild rat and his wife). She dedicated it to the Albino rat which was a favorite pet when she was a child.

Pink-Eyed Whites were among the first of the colors to be bred specifically for exhibition purposes. Theirdescription was in the National Mouse Club standards when they first included classes for rats in 1901. They wereincluded in the National Fancy Rat Society standards when that club was founded in 1976, and in the AFRMAstandards in 1983. The first PEW rat to be shown at an AFRMA show was Snowy owned by Nancy Ferris. Frostyowned and bred by Nancy Ferris was the first PEW to win Best In Show, and of course Frosty holds the record forthe most Best In Show awards won by any rat of any color at AFRMA shows.

Frosty at the March 16, 1985, show.

Description Of The Pew According To The AFRMA StandardPink-Eyed White rats are described as: Color is a clear sparkling white, showing no yellow cast to the hair. ThePink-Eyed white has a pink eye of medium color (not ruby).

This is probably one of the simplest standards to visualize. Simply put, a PEW should be white, white, and nothingbut white. A really good example has no yellow tinge to the coat, no discoloring of the undercoat, and no staining.

This sounds simple, but once you see a really nice example of a PEW, you realize that 99% of whats out there isactually cream or ivory colored.

Showing The PEWThe key to showing the PEW is its conformation. Because any litter of PEW babies are all going to be white, typeand size are THE factors that should be used when choosing breeding stock. (Assuming of course that no onewould choose to breed a rat with poor health or temperament). There is no excuse for a PEW with poor type.

The best way to think of Pink-Eyed Whites is as a blank canvas on which to show what the conformation of a ratshould look like. Often a judge will put up a rat with beautiful color and/or markings, even if its type is less thanexcellent. Most judges will not do the same for a PEW just because it is white.

Pink-Eyed Whites are probably the hardest color to maintain in show condition. Their coats must be white-whiteand free of staining. Tails, also, must be very clean. The overall look is an immaculate, sparkling white animal.

There is also no excuse for a dirty PEW on the show bench. You can get away with not bathing some colors andvarieties, but the PEW isnt one of them. A sparkling white rat with beautiful type and condition will attract theattention of any judge and is a spectacular exhibit on the show bench.

Breeding The PEWPink-Eyed White rats are fairly simple to breed, and are an excellent variety for the beginning fancier. There areactually two types of PEW rats out there. The first one we see most commonly is the true Albino. The second kind is

http://www.afrma.org/mbisrat.htmhttp://www.afrma.org/mbisrat.htmhttp://www.afrma.org/mbisrat.htmhttp://www.afrma.org/mbisrat.htm

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not specifically bred for the show bench, but its good to be aware that they do exist. They are simply pink-eyedMarked (Capped or Masked) rats which have been selected for less and less color. Eventually you get rats that arewhite all over with pink eyes.

Though these are not Albino rats, they are indistinguishable from them. They are not genetically the same,however, and if you breed one of these to an Albino rat, or breed two of these rats together, you will get babieswho have colored spots. Incidentally, breeding for less and less color is how Black-Eyed White rats are created, andit is possible to make Odd-Eyed White rats in this same fashion. The Pink-Eyed White rats which are bred for theshow ring are the true Albinos.

Albinism is a simple recessive trait. PEW bred to PEW will give you a complete litter of PEW babies. It should be

kept in mind that the Albino gene covers up or prevents the expression of whatever color or pattern happens tobe present on the rat. The color and pattern are still there, you just cant see them. This makes no difference if youare breeding PEW to PEW; however, if you breed to anything else, you may get surprising results. Most of the PEWrats currently kept by fanciers are actually Hooded, so when you breed to other colors/markings you would expectto get the same results as if you were using a Hooded rat.

Pink-Eyed White bred to Siamese will give you a litter of all Himalayan babies. This is how Himis are made, butkeep in mind that if you use a PEW that is genetically Hooded, you will get a litter of babies with no color on theirfeet and possibly none on their tail.

When breeding the PEW with intent to show, there are two points to concentrate on: color and type. As was saidbefore, the PEW should be white, white, and nothing but white. Rats that show yellowing or staining should not beused in a breeding program. Type is also extremely important for the PEW. Because they are relatively simple toproduce (PEW X PEW = PEW), babies kept should excel in the area of conformation. You do not have toconcentrate on producing the correct shade of a color (just white), or on making sure the markings are correct, so

you end up with complete litters of babies that could all be shown. The difference between a Best In Show PEW anda show bench dud, is as simple as its conformation.

Sunflowers Follow the Sun

Common sunflowers (Helianthus annuus) exhibit heliotropism -- they follow the Suns daily round. Not to beconfused with phototropism, which is a plants growth response to any light, heliotropism refers to the plantsresponse to the daily cycle of the Sun. Heliotropism most likely helps to increase the development of pollen -- oncepollinated the sunflower head remains facing east. This daily dance with the Sun results from motor cells in aflexible segment of the stem just below the bud known as the pulvinus. These cells enlarge or shrink according to

the turgor pressure of the water against the cell walls. As pressure increases on one side and decreases on theother the stemresponds by drooping or stiffening. Sunflowers are native to the North American prairies, and someseeds have been carbon dated to be over 4,000 years old. Sunflowers were taken to Europe in the sixteenthcentury and proved to be a big hit in Russia where research and selective breeding created a plant with muchhigher oil content. Now Russia is a major producer of sunflower seeds and oil. Often mistaken for a flower, the headofHelianthus annuus is made of many tiny flowers. The florets on the circumference of the rim are sterile whileonly the inside florets can become seeds. It's not unusual to see sunflowers, such as the beauty above,photographed in a garden in Alexandroupolis, Greece, exceed heights of 7 ft (2.13 m) in mid-summer. Photo takenon July 24, 2010.

Benefits

Heliotropism or phototropism enables a plant to absorb more warmth and light. This creates a warm andwelcoming environment for insects, increasing the likelihood of pollination. Increased light and warmth may alsoenable heliotropic flowers to maintain ideal conditions for the production of pollen, improving their reproductive

success. Phototropism may enable the plant to grow more seeds, according to Cambridge University SeniorLecturer in Plant Sciences David Henke.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflowerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflowerhttp://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HEAN3http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e32/32b.htmhttp://www.biol.umd.edu/Forsethlab/leafmovements.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulvinushttp://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Turgor_pressurehttp://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Turgor_pressurehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44igB-0PVqAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44igB-0PVqAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandroupolihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandroupolihttp://epod.usra.edu/.a/6a0105371bb32c970b013485c83f12970c-pihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflowerhttp://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=HEAN3http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e32/32b.htmhttp://www.biol.umd.edu/Forsethlab/leafmovements.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulvinushttp://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Turgor_pressurehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44igB-0PVqAhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandroupoli