Amiable pet rats seem to be getting a bad rap

You know, it is very annoying as to how many people shrink back when I tell them that I have several rats as pets. I have four generations of rats, grandmother, daughter, son, and now a new female I bought to breed with the son of the mother.

She just had 12 beautiful multicolored "pinkies" that are 2 weeks old. I hand-raise my rats and that makes them very, very mellow. I start handling them as soon as they are a few days old so that they associate the human scent with kindness and love. I can even pet the mother rat while she is nursing her babies. They are fed water with vitamins, the best food I can buy for them, and they get fresh veggies every morning and clean cages every week. When they hear my voice, they climb on the cage and squeak (Pavlov Syndrome). They are very low-maintenance.

Rats are a grossly misunderstood pet.

...I agree with you.