Fancy That, Living With Rats

Ashtony Sanders, 17, says fancy rats are very affectionate. "They're not all that different from other pets." (By James A. Parcell -- The Washington Post)

Ashtony Sanders is sitting on her bed, talking on the phone and typing on her laptop when a large rat crawls onto her leg. She picks it up and gives it a kiss.

His name is Deuro (Latin for "nip"), and he's not the only pet rat in the family. There's also Yuki ("snow" in Japanese). In fact, 17-year-old Ashtony has had rats around since kindergarten.

"She volunteered to take care of the class pet, which happened to be a large white rat, for the entire summer," said her mother, Carla. "I'll admit that in the beginning I was a little nervous about it."

But in no time the whole family had fallen for the little critter. It's not that surprising: Domestic rats, known as "fancy rats," have been kept as pets since the mid-1800s. Upper-class English girls liked white ones, in particular, and kept them in gold-covered cages.

After Ashtony returned her summer guest, her family decided to get a rat of its own -- make that two rats. "We did a little research and decided to get two because they love company," said Carla Sanders. "When we got them, they were just a few weeks old and the size of a small hamster, but they quickly tripled in size."

Deuro and Yuki live in a large ferret cage that has ladders, toys and hammocks. Rats are intelligent and need to keep busy.

Before moving to Lanham, the Sanders family lived in Minnesota. "We had a big lawn there, and we'd set up obstacle courses and train them to go through them," said Ashtony. "And it's really easy to teach them their name and have them come when you call them."

Fancy rats cost $3 to $8. Unlike most pets, they don't need shots or other expensive care. They eat pellets and enjoy chew treats and fresh fruit; also, they need their water changed daily.

Ashtony, called "Mom" by her family because she spends so much time caring for her rats, plays with them at least an hour each day. "They're very affectionate," she said. "You know, they're not all that different from other pets."

Fittingly, the family bought two small harnesses to take the rats on walks. But, being torpedo-shaped, they always seem to squirm free.

"They're designed to wiggle in and out of tight spaces," said Carla Sanders. "Besides, they prefer to ride on your shoulder to see what's going on. They're very curious."

Even more curious are the people who learn that Ashtony and her sister, Cherie, have pet rats. "They always say 'ewww' at first," said Cherie, 14. "But it doesn't take much convincing. They're pretty lovable pets."

While some people do suffer from a fear of rats (called murophobia), Ashtony said most negative reactions are because people think of rats as wild rodents living in city sewers.

"Those are gross, I'll admit," she said. "But fancy rats are as different from wild ones as dogs are from wolves."

There is one member of the Sanders family who wouldn't mind a rat-free house: Oreo the cat. "The rats are large enough to fend for themselves," said Carla Sanders, so Oreo "pretends to ignore them."

-- Cory Ohlendorf