There’s a new kind of pet rat: here’s how it happened

Until recently, nearly all pet rats were Norway Rats (Rattus Norvegicus.) Also known as “Fancy Rats”, these were sold in pet stores, bred by breeders and even used in research. The domestication of these fosserial (burrowing) animals was a fascinating and somewhat shocking story: National Rat Fancy Society: The Domestication of the Rat.

The blood sport of rat-baiting was an antecedent for keeping Norway rats as pets.

Norway Rats are not the only kind of “true rat species”, but for many years they were the only one that you could get as a tame, domesticated pet. The other common rat species, arboreal Roof Rats (Rattus rattus or Black Rats), are often found near people, but were not being bred as pets. A rescued or captured Roof Rat might learn to be tame, but their offspring would not inherit