Amazon Women have Amazon Pet Rats...

Rat & Mouse Gazette: Q & A: African Giant Pouched Rat Photo by Grove Pashley
"African Giant Pouched rats (Cricetomys gambianus) are not usual in the pet world. They are not domesticated animals and are illegal to keep in many places in North America, although they are becoming more popular due to increased exposure.

Wild caught rats imported here are not normally easy to handle, are high strung, and may bite, or threaten to bite, but captive bred rats are usually much more docile. It is said that these rats can be taken from the wild and completely domesticated in five generations, which is unheard of for any species. I do not know of anyone who has been successful in breeding five generations, yet. First generation offspring can be handled, but do not like to be held. They will tolerate it for about a minute at a time, if you're lucky. Second generation offspring are a bit more relaxed, but still do not like to be held. Beyond that I have no firsthand knowledge.

These rats prefer to run and play and are indeed friendly and even frisky, exhibiting some very endearing traits. One of those traits is licking. They will give you a bath with their tongue if you let them! They are also very vocal which can be very cute when they 'talk back' to you. Despite the cuteness of their chirping, in the middle of the night when they're screaming at each other it is not endearing!

It is difficult to compare them to our regular rats, because they aren't domesticated and most often must be approached with care, but they have many of the same mannerisms as our domesticated rattus norvegicus pets. They can frequently be found curled up in a ball sleeping like our rats and they grind their teeth and pop their eyes in contentment just like our rats do, too. They also love to run on a wheel, although they need a rather large one to be able to do so (15 to 17 inches in diameter!).

All in all, a captive bred African Giant Pouched rat can be just as loving and wonderful as our usual pet rats, and have a much longer lifespan of approximately seven years."

If they're lickers then do they have really,really bad Rat breathe?