Rats come in quite a variety, from albino rats with their intense pink-red eyes to “hooded” rats, those two tone colored rats. The range of colors and coats is quite extensive:from silvery lilac-grey, black, brown, white, bluish... even the velvety soft skin of hairless rats.

I tend to prefer female rats over male rats, though, because
#1–Females rats tend to stay active and playful as they get older and
#2–Male rats have HUGE testicles. They’re like the size of acorns on it’s cute little body. It’s a little grody for me to think of playing with a male rat and have him walking along my shoulder dragging his nuts! (Okay, sorry I’m a little sexist... hee hee hee)

Rats are fairly low maintainance animals, too. The main part of their diet should consist of laboratory pellets, and I’ve found I can never quite find “Rat Food” specifically, so you can always just purchase either hamster, gerbil or rabbit food. Seed mixes can be added sparingly, but too much protein can lead to obesity and possibly cancer. Some fresh vegetables and fruits are also good, but too much can cause diarrhea. Other foods good for rats are unsweetened cereal (like Cheerios), bread, plain popcorn, crackers and pasta. Avoid giving your rat junk food because sometimes it’s not easily digestable.

The perfect environment for your rat is in a wire cage with a solid floor. Cedar and pine shavings can lead to respiratory problems; I often just fill the bottom with newspaper, and Tatsu shreds it up to build a nest. She also likes cardboard tubes (from an empty roll of paper towels or toilet paper) and napkins. The wire cage needs to be kept someplace where it’s not too drafty. Aquariums are also nice but they need to be kept somewhere where it doesn’t get too hot and out of the sunlight. Make sure that the cage gets cleaned once a week, at the very most, once every week and a half. (More often depending on the number of animals in the cage.)

Rats that are used to people can be very friendly and fun to play with. They are easily trainable like a cat or a dog. I’ve found that pet rats that don’t get any or enough attention from their owners are scared of people or can be nasty. These little creatures have a lot of personality! Just don’t pick them up by their tails! Gently, scoop them up with one hand. Rats like to sit on your shoulders. Tatsu always hides in my hair because she is people shy! Be sure to supervise if you turn your rat loose in the house/apartment because they like to chew on things like electrical wires and wood moldings. (Since their teeth grow continuously throughout their life, they need to constantly keep them worn down by chewing on things.)

Do rats bite out of anger? No. If rats are used to being fed through a wire cage, they will mistake a finger for a treat. Mother rats will bite if she feels her babies are in danger, but generally rats are less likely to bite than the average dog.

Also very untrue is the general misconception that the moms will eat their babies. The only time mothers will usually eat their babies is when they die from some other cause. Sometimes if a mother mouse is extremely disturbed she will eat her babies, but it is not normal. If a mother eats her babies, there is something very wrong. In most cases, handling the babies does not cause a mother to eat them.