Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but not all bloodred corns turn solid red. Some show evidence of the blotches and will retain that through out their lives. I would say by the time the are two to three years old, their adult coloration will be fully developed. The blood gene is a diffusion gene which is expressed better in some bloodred lines than others. It pays to shop for good bloodred corns. If I understand it correctly, its more than simple recessive genetics at work. Really crappy bloods almost look like normal corns with the blotches still easily visible and little diffusion going on when adult. However, they should still have the patternless bellies!! On the flip side, I have seen some normal corns with blood genes in them that were gorgeous!! Its almost like a dominant gene at times. The really solid bloods from the past were also extremely line/inbred and were sometimes difficult to get feeding. Most of todays lines have been outcrossed and redeveloped.

I think weanling rats shouldnt be a problem nutritionally and its a preference matter as what is most convenient for you. Since you keep balls, I assume you have mutiple rat sizes available. That should be fine for your corns. The hatchling corns/young juvies will need pinky mice. I would think even the smallest pink rat to be too big. By the time they can take fuzzy sized mice, you can probably start with similar sized rat pinks and work up from there. A big hefty corn can tackle small weaned rats, but thats a really big corn IMO!!

Good Luck!
KevinM

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