Here are a couple pics of them...
Here is the male..He is pretty black....

Here is the female...She has alot more pattern visible, but she is getting darker with every shed....

Im originally from SE Missouri and these guys came from NW MO.
Like you, I was used to the black rats being jet black, and when I moved here to KY, the rats here are totally different....
Here is my KY rat....

Brian
>>Hey, I just noticed that your black rats are MO locales.... have any pics? what part are they from? I'm in SW and ours are the biggest and blackest I've ever seen!
>>-----
>>0.1 Snow Corn "Hope"
>>1.0 Redtail "Kilo"
>>1.0 Ball Python "Road Hog"
>>1. Orange Albino Black Ratsnake "Chunk"
>>.1 Orange Albino Black Ratsnake (no name yet)
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RATS
1.0 Corn snake "Warpath" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Corn snake (KY locale)
1.0 Black rat snake "Havok" (KY locale)
1.1 Black rat snakes "Reaper and Mystique" (MO locale)
1.0 Albino Black rat snake "Malakai" (Dwight Good stock)
1.0 Everglades rat snake "Deadpool" (Dwight Good stock)
0.1 Greenish rat snake "Rogue" (Dwight Good stock)
0.0.1 Great plains rat snake (TX locale)
1.0 Grey rat snake "Punisher" (White oak phase)(Dwight Good stock)
RACERS
1.0 Eastern Yellow Belly racer "Nightcrawler" (MO locale)
KINGS
1.1 California king snake "Bandit and Moonstar" (Coastal phase)
1.0 Prairie king snake "Bishop" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Prairie king snake (KY locale)
0.1 Black king snake "Domino" (KY locale)
1.0 Desert Kingsnake "Gambit" (TX locale)
0.1 Florida Kingsnake "Shard"
MILKS
0.0.1 Eastern/red Milk intergrade "Cable" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern/Red Milk intergrade "Omega Red" (KY locale)
0.0.1 Eastern Milk snake (KY locale)
BULLS/GOPHERS/PINES
0.1 Sonoran Gopher "Husk"
Good luck and Happy Herping
Brian