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Every hair on a rex's coat is crimped and makes it stand out from the body. The coat should be harsh, dense and springy - without flattness or parting anywhere - including the belly.
The rex coat can be of any colour - the most common being the agouti breeds as these have been known to have a coarser coat then the self colours - there are always, however, exceptions.
From birth, the baby rex's coat will appear "wavy" and it is clear that they are rex when born. But it is very much a waiting game to how good (or poor) the coat will turn out. You will hve to wait until around the 18 month mark to see your rex's full coat potential.
In the "show scene" young rex tend to have flatter coats with less density then their adult competition. This improves as the cavy matures and with regular grooming. Grooming out the guard hairs a few times a week will help to densen the coat, as the shorter guard hairs will blend in with the hairs.
Boars tend to have the better, harsher coat for showing, as sows often have changes in coat texture when in heat, but there are always exceptions and a true example was in 2001 Melanie Barnes, Bumbora Stud NSW, won Best in Show at the Australian National Cavy Show with a rex sow.
The rex breed is very similar in appearance to the "teddy" cavy exhibited overseas, however genetically they differ - and I have heard before that if a rex cavy and a teddy cavy are bred together, they will produce straight coated babies.
For the best result to maintain the coat texture, it is advised to NOT bathe a rex cavy within the two weeks before the show - but you will probably still need to clean the grease gland on the boars.
Common breed faults are:
Flatness on sides, lacking belly curl, parting on the shoulders, poor coat density, soft in texture, parting of the belly hair..