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The fancy rat or pet rat is a domesticated breed of the Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) or, more rarely, of the Black Rat (R. rattus). The name "fancy rat" has nothing to do with the "fanciness" of their appearance but derives from the meaning of "to fancy. more...

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" Thus, one who keeps pet rats is said to be involved in "rat fancy."

Pet rats live on average 2-3 years though the oldest rat on record - a lab rat called Rodney - reached a purported age of 7 years and 4 months according to the 1995 Guinness Book of Records. Bucks (male rats) reach an average weight of between 400g and 800g, while does (female rats) can average between 250g and 450g. Female rats are generally more active and playful, whereas bucks are more likely to enjoy falling asleep on your lap.

Origins

The origin of the modern fancy rat is probably the rat-catchers of the late 19th century who trapped rats and were paid by town governments per rat, and who also kept certain rats for exhibition/gambling fights. They began breeding rats (possibly to collect more money from the towns, or because it was easier than catching new ones all the time), and became attached to some as they discovered how intelligent and trainable rats can be. One of the most famous of these rat catchers was Jack Black, ratcatcher to Queen Victoria, who became known for breeding and selling pet rats around 1840-1860. Rats became more and more domesticated and people enjoyed them since they are easily bred, social and intelligent pets. The first rat show was held in 1901 in England. Beatrix Potter, author of the "Peter Rabbit" series of children's books, had a white pet rat of which she was very fond. Ratkeeping grew in popularity in the 1970s, leading to the formation of the British National Fancy Rat Society in 1976.

Varieties

As in other pet species, a variety of colors, coat types, and other features that do not appear in the wild have arisen in pet rats and have been perpetuated through selective breeding. Some pet rats retain the "agouti" (two tones on the same hair) coloring of the wild brown rat, but other colors available now include blue, chocolate, silver, black, white, pearl, fawn/champagne/beige, and mink/cinnamon.

In addition to the many colors, there are many different markings, including Berkshire (colored top, white under) dalmatian-like spotting, blazes, hoods (colour on the head, shoulders and spine, generally a white body), caps (colour only on the head), and masks (only around the eyes), and "downunders", an Australian variety that has rapidly gained favour in Europe, which have markings on the belly that correspond to those on top. Rex coats are curly (the whiskers are also curled), and satin coats are extra soft and shiny; several different genetic traits can produce hairless (or partly hairless) rats. Dumbo rats, which emerged as a new variety in the US and have now attained their own NFRS Standard and class in the UK, have ears which are larger and lower on the sides of the head than normal "top"-eared rats, and genetically tailless rats are called "Manx" just like tailless cats from the Isle of Man (Manx rats come in the same stumpy, rumpy, and rumpy-riser varieties as Manx cats). Ironically, on the Isle of Man the word rat is considered a swearword and can be very offensive to some people. (See Longtail.)

Read more at Wikipedia.org