Thats Rats UK is going to cover a wide scope of rat topics, from general rat care to rat genetics, with lots of links to great rat sites and lots of cute pictures of rats.

What makes rats good pets?

Contrary to popular belief, fancy rats are not dirty, disease-ridden scary beasts! Their wild cousins have had a bad press for centuries because of the bubonic plague and their habit of frequenting the less desirable areas of human habitation, eg the sewers. The truth is they are intelligent little oppurtunists, which are one of the most successful and widespread species on Earth. Fancy rats still carry alot of their wild traits, for instance they can be territorial, but since they have been bred to be more docile, they are usually easy to tame and some even seem to relish their humans’ attention! Rats make brilliant pets because of their basic nature, they are inquisitive, social, smart little individuals, and are more on a par with dogs, than say rabbits or gerbils.