When selecting your rats, common sense is key. Are their eyes clear and bright? Coat sleek, shiny, and free of wounds? No lumors or abscesses? Nose clear? Breathing not wheezy or sneezy? Body weight normal? Droppings firm and normal in shape? Respiratory infections are very contagious, so if one rat is sick, assume all of them are.
 Rats are very prone to respiratory infections and tumors, so be sure to examine any potential pets closely and when in doubt, walk away or consult a vet before purchasing. 

Notice I said "rats," plural. Rats are intensely social creatures and should never be kept without the company of their own kind in same-sex pairs or groups, absent extraordinary circumstances. Solitary rats will be lonely and bored, and may become territorial and/or aggressive. At best, a solitary rat will use its large teeth, raccoon-like hands, and flexible body, to get into trouble. At worst, you'll have a nasty trouble-maker. Rats who have both rat and human friends will be much better pets! 

Never keep an animal of any other species in the same cage as a rat. Wild rats prey on mice and other small rodents and birds, and although many wild instincts have been reduced or eliminated in captive rats, they're best kept with only their own kind. 

Opinions on whether males (bucks) or females (does) make better pets differ wildly. The usual rule of thumb is that both genders are equally friendly, but that males are more sedate than the exploratory females. However, rats possess highly individual temperments and personalities, and should be evaluated as individuals. Among the members of my own mischief (the collective term for a group of rats), my most sedate rat is female, and my most energetic is male.

Males do grow substantially larger than females, have somewhat coarser hair as adults, and are harder to introduce to each other once they're older than a few months. Although there is the occasional hyper-territorial female, for the most part they are more accepting of new cagemates than males are. 

When you select your rats, look for friendly, outgoing, well-socialized animals. Genetically friendly rats can be socialized at almost any age, but younger is usually much easier and faster, especially for beginning rat-keepers. A rat who boldly approaches your hand is often a good bet, but don't automatically discount a rat who holds back a little. Rats adhere to very strict social hierarchies with their own kind, and often times a perfectly friendly but more submissive rat won't challenge a more dominant cagemate for the right to investigate a human hand. A young rat who runs away from the hand is a riskier choice, but as long as it shows no indication of actually biting, a little patience and understanding will usually go a long way. One of my friendliest pets wanted nothing to do with the Hand of Doom when it first approached him!

Due to selective breeding, rats come in a staggering array of colors, patterns, and coat types. Always remember the adage that a good rat is never a bad color!  

Terrific pets have come from a variety of backgrounds, so I encourage you to focus on temperment, health, and finding a situation you are comfortable with rather than getting involved in the sometimes petty and often misinformed politics of where the best place to find your rat might be. All of my rats have come from local pet stores, swap meets, and feeder pens. I'm not opposed to the breeding and showing of pedigreed rats, but it's not my scene. If you're local, feel free to drop me an e-mail and I'll be happy to tell you specific locations where mine came from, and what my experiences were. 

Don't forget to try both the Pet Search and the Classified Ads sections of Petfinder.com, your local animal shelter, and the search engine of your choice for Illinois rat rescue organizations.

Proper quarantine and introduction techniques for rats from different sources are far bigger topics than I can cover in this web site. Because rats are so highly individual in temperment, there is no one size fits all solution. With females and young males, it's usually very easy, but there are always exceptions. 

Some owners have success with placing the cages side by side for days before so the rats can smell each other. Sometimes they alternate the rats between the two cages on a daily basis so they get even more accustomed to each others' scent.  Always introduce rats on neutral territory; bathtubs work well. If necessary, dab vanilla extra on the bridge of both rats' noses, on the back of the neck, and on the genitals.