It's a lazy day for my girls, they've done their housework (really) and are lounging the rest of the day. If you put them in a cage the size of a room they would still pile on top of each other.

These are girls and are adults. We have about 50 of them. Domestic female rats will weigh 10-12 ounces, the males can get to over a pound.

No, they never bite on purpose, sometimes if you stick something yummy in the cage they'll grab before they realize it's a finger. If they know you they'll groom you, like part of the family. They'll sometimes pull out one of my mustache hairs or nibble a fingernail they think is too long. They're very gentle. People confuse them with wild rats or watched that stupid movie, 'Ben' which slanders them. Domestic rats are very clean, giving themselves a bath several times a day and can't stand dirty cages. They're very social and MUST have either people or other rats to interact with or else they'll go insane and or die.
One of mine goes with me almost wherever I go, she'll sit on my shoulder for hours. They have an insatiable sweet tooth. I offered Sian, my main babe some of my candy bar yesterday and she grabbed the whole thing.
No, they don't need shots, they can't carry rabies. Their worst problem are tumors and Mycoplasma Chronic Pneumonia, which can kill a dozen in a day.
There are several big organizations that specialize in rats like The American Fancy Rat Association. Some people charge $200 or more for a pedigree rat. They have hundreds of markings, My Sian is a Silver Fawn. They're hands down my favorite pet. The only problem is their age ratio is 30/1, meaning a 3 year old rat is like a 90 year old person. Some of mine live 4 1/2 years but most don't. They're very communicative once a person knows them both with their body language and eye contact. I know. I sound silly but most rat people would tell you the same thing.

gms9810: they look like a tight-knit group ... i like the glimpses we get of your pets and their lives, i've never known very much about rats before and it's really fun to learn. have you managed to find families for the "babies" yet? (i put it in quotations because i realize they must have grown up by now, with that short life span)

We found homes for 4 of them, they went to a veterinarian's kids who already have experience with rats and they'll get free professional medical care.
I'm not easily offended and once I get started talking about them I won't stop. We've had around 200 of them over the past 10 years. Anmal was talking about a pretty little white Himalayan that I bought to save her from being snake food, which infuriates me. I thought she was a week or so pregnant. She was and had 15 babies.

By the way, AnMal, I can probably ship one to Sweden just for you.

They really are cute and clever.I do not understand why they get such a bad rep.
Those girls look comfy.

I think those two stupid movies did most of the damage. I always get some stupid ben or willard remarks from somebody I seriously want to slap.

that would give my old mum the shock of her life! actually one of my sisters had rats for a short while and mum didn't set foot in her house while they lived there.

Think of the fun it will be then.

Just for your mum then: a special pet.

We used to save mice from being a snake's dinner.
I don't understand people who are scared of little animals, they're so cute!!
You're little rats are so cute, they look like fun!

Rats are quite clean and intelligent, they make nice pets. Of course, I would not be thrilled to meet a wild rat outside, and part of that is because I know they are smart and can probably outsmart me.

Actually I have a reward out for a live wild rat of $15. I'm hoping some farmer or feed store employee catches one. With my reputation as 'the rat whisperer' I want to tame it and become pals. I've never tried but I've read and heard that wild ones make really good pets as long as you keep them away from domestic ones.