Rats as Pets
Before you become a rat owner, you should consider the following things:
Do you have the commitment it takes to care for rats? Rescues of unwanted pet rats show us the problems with people who have just grown bored of them. Before you take on rats you should consider what you would be doing in three years time, will you still have time to care for your pets? Baby rats are relatively easy to home, but not many people want adult rats!
Rats are unlike other small rodents, which have not been completely domesticated and still have many of their natural instincts. As rats are naturally sociable animals, they interact with people as well as other rats. Rats need as much commitment as a dog, you don't have to take them out for a walk twice a day, but they need to be kept active and allowed to keep their minds stimulated, as they are very intelligent. Lab experiments have shown rats to be of the same intelligence as some dogs. For this reason they cannot be left in the corner of the room and only given food and water.
If you do not have the time to handle and exercise them daily they are not the right pets for you.
As I have already said, rats are very sociable and are best kept in single sex pairs. Both sexes will live together, if introduced at a young age. Littermate pairs would be fine. Even though they are sociable towards each other, they do form pecking orders and become territorial in their cage from about 10 weeks of age. Two rats are no more trouble than one. Rats in pairs will spend time playing with and grooming each other. In pairs, the rats will be more active and more mentally stimulated than a single rat kept alone. Rats are very friendly towards humans and rarely bite. They can learn their names and can be taught all sorts of tricks if you have the time to teach the more mentally stimulated than a single rat kept alone.
a rattyhaven.com extract