Pet rat (fancy rat)

Domestic form kept in cages and homes; the wild brown rat inhabits urban areas, farms, sewers, fields, and riverbanks worldwide.

Omnivorous, eating grains, seeds, vegetables, fruits, insects, eggs, and animal proteins. Pet rats require a balanced commercial diet supplemented with fresh foods.

Highly social, intelligent, and mostly nocturnal or crepuscular; they climb, burrow, groom, forage, and communicate through scent and high-frequency sounds. Females can produce several litters annually.

Healthy pets pose little risk, but bites, allergens, and contamination from urine or feces are possible; wild rats can transmit pathogens and damage food or structures. They benefit research and can provide companionship as domesticated animals.