People who have had rats as pets would you recomend it?

You want to get two rats, as rats are social animals like us and need a friend.

And yes, I certainly would recommend it. Rats are very sweet animals, very affectionate and cuddly and almost dog-like in nature. They hardly ever bite and rarely are fussy, unlike other rodents you can find. Taking care of them (excluding the cost of vet bills, which is costly for any animal) is inexpensive as well.

However, you need to know exactly how to take care of them. You will need a good, balanced diet for them. http://ratsrule.com/diet.html has a good guide, but you will also need to give them fruits and vegetables and sometimes meat. Rats can eat just about anything, and chances are if it’s good for us it’s good for them (see http://www.petratscanada.com/forbidden_foods.htm for a list of foods they CAN’T eat). Contrary to popular belief, rats do not eat garbage or rotten foods, and it isn’t good for them at all. If you wouldn’t eat it or it isn’t good for you, don’t feed it to your rat. They also need a lab block, with Oxbow and Harlan Teklad being the big names that you’ll hear a lot. You can find those online pretty easily.

As for cages, http://martinscages.com/products/cages/rat/ has fantastic ones. The Rat Highrise is perfect for two rats, but you might find another that’s better for you personally. Watch out, though, some of their cages are painfully small and not suited for anything more than a travel cage. It’s better to get it powder-coated as well. Really, the cage is probably one of your biggest expenses, here. You’ll also need a good bedding. Yesterday’s News (a cat litter) is what I used, but a popular choice is CareFresh. You can use just about anything, though – paper towels, newspaper, etc… but whatever you do, do NOT use pine or cedar. If you’re fond of wood shavings (I never really liked them), you can use aspen. Pine and cedar cause severe respiratory problems in rats as they are severely allergic to it, and it’s not good for other small animals either.

As for the rats themselves, it’s best to get them from a reputable breeder or a rescue/humane society. Rats are getting to be more and more popular pets and breed a LOT, so it’s likely you’ll find one at a humane society. Whatever you do, do NOT get them from a pet store. Oftentimes they’re very ill-bred, unhealthy, and female rats usually end up pregnant when you get them home. Also, pet stores have no idea what they’re doing in terms of rat care, and it’s best just not to contribute to that at all.

Rats also need to be taken out of their cage often as they are very social animals and like to be played with. They aren’t very skittish like hamsters, nor are they incredibly fragile like guinea pigs. Oftentimes, they’ll just sit there in your lap, though some run around and explore things on you. Playing with them on the bed is a great idea if you have other pets and are afraid of them dropping.

Good luck! Check the sources if you have more questions.