Human Souls.
In Riastrad
-_-
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.
I dunno, I'll ask around the Emilie Autumn forums (a lot of her fans have pet rats) and get back to you on that, Dia.
Karkadinn
Rats are pretty social creatures. Unless you have the time to dedicate to them, I'd suggest getting two instead of one.
Just like cats have cat food and dogs have dog food, rats also have their own specially formulated food products. Hit up your local pet store and see what's available.
Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.
In Riastrad
@K Arka: I'm a homeschooled student. i've got plenty of time. Still, another companion could never hurt.
I'll check with the pet store about the food. Thanks, mate!
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.
Unchanging Avatar.
I've looked after a friend's rat before. There are a lot of special foods made for them, or at least for rodents. It's mostly seeds, IIRC.
Except for 4/1/2011. That day lingers in my memory like...metaphor here...I should go.
We got our pet rats specialty pellets, although they're seriously fond of corn. The pellets provide a complete diet, and the corn was a treat.
"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
One Winged Egret
If you keep it near starvation it'll go into low metabolism mode and live longer. Well, it probably won't be able to do much else, but it'll live longer!
Our fancy rats eat the mouse and rat food pellets we get at the pet store and they do just fine. Only thing I'd recommend against is mixed seed feed. They'll just pick out what they want and leave the nutrients behind. Also they LOVE peanut butter (preferably smeared on a rolled up ball of newspaper stuffed into a paper towel tube. It's a challenge to get to it, you see).
And ditto on getting more than one rat.
Adveho in mihi Lucifer
In any case, they are omnivores, so with the exception of things on the level of chocolate (which is bizarrely toxic to many animals), anything will do.
A single phrase renders Christianity a delusional cult.
Jamais vu
I read somewhere that rodents don't actually like cheese particularity, so no need to worry about buying it by the truckload from Costco. Oh, and I agree with buying two.
UN JOUR JE SERAI DE RETOUR PRÈS DE TOI
Adveho in mihi Lucifer
Cheese actually kills mice. Not sure about rats, but probably the same.
A single phrase renders Christianity a delusional cult.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
Only if there's a trap attached to the cheese. 
Seriously though, not sure where you're getting that from.
"I don't know how I do it. I'm like the Mr. Bean of sex." -Drunkscriblerian
There are lots of foods you can give to rats for treats that you probably already have in your day to day diet: fruits, vegetables, plain yoghurt (fruit yoghurt probably wouldn't hurt either), pastas and breads... It also probably wouldn't hurt to have their food bowls hook on to the side of the cage so they're kind of elevated so your rat(s) don't start knocking the bowl around for shits and giggles.
i. hear. a. sound.
Adveho in mihi Lucifer
"Seriously though, not sure where you're getting that from."
From an article that I forgot if it came on the Wikipedia page or not. In either case, the animal's body temperature rises to perilous levels and the metabolism gets screwed, so if not fatal it is nearly so.
A single phrase renders Christianity a delusional cult.
Nihilist Hippie
Mice Hate Cheese, New Study Reveals
edited 17th Apr '11 1:13:25 PM by LoveHappiness
"Had Mother Nature been a real parent, she would have been in jail for child abuse and murder." -Nick Bostrom
They only go for cheese in houses because it smells so strongly, IIRC.
When I was growing up, I knew someone who had a revamped wardrobe for her rats. The panels were replaced with wire and there were little tunnels for them so they had the run of the whole thing.
Pellets are better than seeds... a lot of rats will pick their favorite bits out of the mix and leave the rest untouched. Not only is it bad for the rat, you also end up wasting a looooooooot of rat food that way :P
Recently, I've been considering getting a fancy rat. However, I'm not quite certain what would be the healthiest diet for a rat; any tips on that, or on generally anything to do with rat care?
My name is Cu Chulainn. Beside the raging sea I am left to moan. Sorrow I am, for I brought down my only son.