The earliest documented evidence of domesticated rats originates from Japan and dates back to the Edo period (1603 to 1868). The tradition of keeping fancy rats may have originated in Japan, but pet ...

When it comes to domestic rat breeds, the first thing you must know is that, technically, they aren’t breeds. All domestic rats are closely related to the wild Brown rat and are variations rather than ...

These have short, smooth, and glossy coats, although the males may have a coarser coat than the females. In general, they are easy to look after and have no special dietary or medical needs. You can ...

Twitch those whiskers. Twirl that tail. It's not easy being a rat in the spotlight, when your prime lasts only nine months. Yesterday, more than 100 fancy rats were squeezed, inspected and flipped ...

This Hull woman breeds fancy rats as a hobby - and says they are so intelligent they can even learn tricks. Becky Mchugh, 36, of Boulevard, Hull, has set up a Facebook page dedicated to her love of ...

Holding my pet rat Molly one evening in my lap as she devoured a chip of dried banana, her little heart pumping against my thigh, I wondered how many beats she had left. She was by now just over two ...