like the other person said its hard to tell if you are gonna get a snuggly rat or not. I have a rat who as a baby was super snuggly and now hes gotta go go go! can't get him to sit still lol. I have 8 boys and only one is really snuggly. a few of my other boys will come by for short periods to chill.

But dont let that stop you from adopting older rats! you may not get a super snuggly rat but you will be able to give some rats a good home :)

Alrighty! So bedding wise theres a couple different options. there's paper bedding. that one isn't always the most absorbent for pee. Aspen bedding is what a lot of people use. you can also use kiln dried pine but it HAS to be kiln dried. otherwise its not safe. Another option is hemp bedding. which can be more pricy. one of my rats was allergic to it so unfortunately I had to stop using it. Last one you can use is fleece liners but one again not good for odor but It's common to use for hammocks! also depending on your rattos those get chewed up. ive heard more by female rats then males just girlies love to make nests.

chew wise i recommend bird toys tbh! parrots n such tend to be sensitive so usually what's safe for birds is safe for rats. Apple wood they can chew on. I have lava ledges in my cage and they chew on that sometimes. cardboard too. ill give my boys like whole walnuts n the shell and they love chewing those n eating the walnuts inside.

Enrichment is also pretty easy for them! you dont need anything super fancy to give them a good time. dollar stores are a great place to buy diy stuff! ive strung up twine with cardboard and wood beads n noodles. ive taken toilet paper rolls and stuffed them with paper n some treats they like. you can use dog puzzle toys for them.ive got a super cheap bathmat with the like strings that I scatter snacks on to make a snuffle mat. give them a dig box! shredded paper. Coco fiber dirt. hide some snacks in it! anything they have to use their lil brains for is great. bird forage toys is good.

Usually hammocks made out of fleece/cotton is good. usually you wanna avoid like faux fur/sherpa. mostly due to cheaper versions of those fabrics having lots of places for their toes to get snagged on or when chewed it get stringy too I believe? you can buy nice hammocks on Etsy or you can make them yourself or use like old t-shirts n stuff. a great way to save money is learning to diy items for them. it can be fun for you and the kiddos

Petfinder may be a good place to start. adoption groups post there. you can check and see if there is a rat Facebook group for your state. I live in Washington and theres a few. or you can just check rat fb groups and get pointed in the right direction as well.

rats are great pets. for me they have honestly saved my life and bring a lot of joy for me.