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I had a deal with my daughter... If she could pick up her room to my standards, we'd get her a pet rat. I have had a pet rat in my youth and despite their reputation, they make incredible pets. They are very intelligent and loving.

So yesterday, she got up at 5am and went to work. She had that room spotless by 10am and I owed her the rat. However, after a slight disagreement on what a rat should be named - Templeton is the only name for a rat... We ended up with two rats, a pair of sisters. I actually feel better with the two because they'd been caged together since birth and I think the remaining would have been miserable alone.

So this morning, I think they've been toted around on my daughter's shoulders more than they have spent time in their cage. Their temperament is incredible. When I snapped a picture of them for her, instead of running in the other direction, they immediately came towards the camera and climbed up into my hands to see what the strange flashing thing was.

I once reviewed a book that lists a rat as a great starter pet for your child - especially if you are in the city and can't have a dog. I fully agree. Rats are very social. Buy from a reputable dealer (our local pet store breeds them in the shop and then hand raises them.) Make sure they've been handled a lot and you shouldn't wind up with a biter. As a teenager, I had a rat (science class project where the class raised two rats - one on junk food and one on healthy food to see the growth differences between the two. At the end, two students were raffled to take the rats home. My little brother took one of them and then grew tired of changing the litter. I took over and that rat lived to be about 8 years old. Good age for a rat, especially one that had a passion for french fries. :-)

These rats are clean. I fully believe in bathing them too. Most rats have no issues getting into a shallow bowl of water. Mine never complained. Rats pride themselves on grooming, so don't think they are dirty disease infested creatures. In the wild that is true, but pet rats are cleaner than my dog who has a passion for rolling on dead creatures that neighborhood cats seem to enjoy dumping in my yard!!