Oh my gooodneeess! :D What a bunch of handsome boys! :3 <3

I can always tell. Although I will admit sometimes PEWs have gotten me mixed up, but that was only with a pair of boys from the same litter who looked EXACTLY alike.

PS - SUCH HANDSOME BOYS!

PEWS are harder, I have to admit. Especially siblings. I had something like 5 PEWS all living together at one point :o

I found hairless to be the hardest though, particularly baby hairless. I had three baby hairless dumbo brothers come in once, and I kid you not, IDENTICAL. I had to put permanent marker on their tails to tell them apart.
Once they were older, it was easier as they fleshed out and became distinct but as little ones it was impossible!

One of the first rats I ever has was a black one. <3

well, i guess raising them and knowing them as well as you do there's not question who's who.

but i gotta ask... what are the differences between them? it's hard to tell much from on static photo.

Mainly, its in the eyes.
I find rats have more variation in eye shape and size than anything else. With these lads, Strahm, on the far right, has quite big, round eyes. Whereas Moses, on the other end, has squintier eyes generally (and a small wart on his nose!).
Chase is easy to tell because he's the dumbo, and the oldest with the scruffiest coat.
Mark, beside Strahm, has quite a pointed face, in contrast to Strahm who has a more blocky head. But thats impossible to see in a pic like this!

Even rats with white on them, I still tend to go by their head shape/eyes than by their variations in white markings; its just quicker :P

It looks like there are subtle color and texture differences in their fur as well. I had 2 boys that were pretty much identical with only a slight difference in hair color and a difference in how curly(rex) their fur was. One had slightly tighter curls than the other and a shade lighter in fur color, for a while they were called Thing 1 and Thing 2 when they were babies as the differences werent apparent.

I love how they all have a different facial expression goin' on there. :D I like Mark's!

Gorgeous!!!! They all have different beautiful faces. I've never understood either how people can't tell animals apart, but they tend not to be animal people.

SOOOOO CUTE!!!!!

My first ratty, Johann was black, miss him still after over 20 years. Really sweet and smart, I saw him make a bridge to get to where his food was stored.

Even though my boys are very different from each other, I've found that the shape and position of the ears is a very clear indicator too! My Banjo has ears like a fucking gremlin, it really sets him apart.