Uh! Hey kid!
Ever heard of boubonic plague??
These are pet rats, not wild ones. They are delightful pets, by far the nicest of all the rodent pet options. Smart, social, and friendly.
Pet rats don't carry the plague. They're not captured wild rats, they're from tame stock that's often been domesticated for fifty or more (rat) generations. They're actually very gentle and loving pets, with distinct personalities, much like dogs or cats. I've currently got 3, but had 7 at my peak.
The differences between male and female, and individual rats, are surprisingly big. One of my males is a bit shy, handsome, very lazy...you have to really work to roust him out, even for food. He's also fond of dangling the tip of his tail out from the cage bars, The other male is bigger, more active, dives eagerly for food and loves attention. He's got an adorable Mr. Magoo sort of expression and sucks up shamelessly to have his ears scritched or back and sides petted.
The lone female, OTOH, is perpetual motion personified. She's always trying to find new ways to have fun and be cute. She'll sit at the cage bars with her little nose stuck out waiting to sniff my hands, dance around on her hindpaws with her forepaws on the cage bars looking for all the world like a dog greeting its owner, flip her food bowl over and burrow under it for each bit of food...and this is all AFTER she's a year and a half old! In her younger days it wasn't rare at all to see her and her sister walking around hanging from the cage's ceiling, upside-down. Judging by how often and enthusiastically they did it, they thought it was a fabulous game. She also has the cat positively cowed these days...when he was younger he'd get a little too curious but a few well chosen nips from Feisty ensured they all can tail-dangle in peace, without any fear of kitty claws or paws.
Trust me, pet rats aren't anything like the vicious beasts shown on tv. It's more like having a miniature Lab that keeps itself clean. Very affectionate and as safe a pet as can be.
Our pet rats had the run of the house with the cages being left open during the day. Bean, the big white male, would sleep on my son's bed, play chase and come when called. He would come and tickle my feet when I was sitting at the computer so I would pick him up. Very dog like and bigger than some dogs. He was about the length of your forearm not counting the tail. Bean was a Himalayan fancy rat. There are rat breeds and shows just like dogs and cats. They make wonderful pets but unfortunately they don't live very long.