A few questions about pet rats...

Question
Hello Sandra!

My name is Juan Carlos Ivars and I am currently eighteen years old. I am leaving for a one year university course in Salamanca, Spain, next week and am excited about finally living alone. After Salamanca I will most likely be studying the next four years in Scotland.
I am a huge animal lover. I have had many animals but mostly when I was younger, as I grew older my parents seemed less inclined to please me and decided that they were "not sure where we were staying so an animal was out of the question". Also, I was living under their roof so it was pretty much their decision.

I have been reading about rats since January and was going to buy two male dumbo rats in May, but due to my parents dissaproval and stereotypical view on rats I had to abandon that dream. I love dogs and cats too but they are too high maintenance to have for me as a student. Since I will be studying a lot at home and will be renting my own place I wanted to get two rats as pets to keep me company and also to try out something new.
I was wondering if it is easy to travel around countries in Europe if you are moving with the rats, because there is no point in buying any if I cannot take them with me later on, I don't want to leave them behind.
Also, would you recommend Male or Female rats for a beginner like me more? I just want a smart pet that I can play with and to love but also one that will keep me company if I'm hitting the books for weeks for a hard test.

Any advice would be very much appreciated
Thank you in advance,

Juan Carlos Ivars

Answer
Hi Juan

For starters, I am really excited your going to have pet rats. They are great pets. I will suggest you get a pair of male rats to start with.
There is only one main reason for that is this is due to health.  Female rats, unless spayed at a young age around 3 to 5 months of age, are very prone to mammary tumors after they reach menopause age, around 18 to 24 months. The chances are at least 70% that the intact female rat will develop mammary tumors and even though surgery to remove them is pretty basic, the chance that after one tumor manifests itself, more follow. The chance of tumors growing back shortly after removing them are at least 80%.  The reason for this is because after menopause, female rats estrogen levels sky rocket and this is what fuels the development of the mammary tumors. Although they are benign, they still cause problems that eventually lead to the death of the rat, such as organ failure or failure to thrive.  Unless you are financially set to spend at least $300 on your new female rats to be spayed, I would go with a pair of males.   I tend to favor male rats anyhow, mainly because once they get older, they tend to want to be more of a lap rat while the female never seems to outgrow her energetic demeanor.

As for allowing rats to be in all places of Europe, this is something I am not able to help you with. I live in the United State's and they are allowed to be kept as pets in every state in our country. Some airlines do not allow rats to be transported and others do. Again, this is something I cannot help you with.  As far as rats traveling and adjusting to traveling, they travel well. All you need is a nice sized cat carrier, a hidey house for them to snuggle in that fits inside the carrier and of course food and a hanging water bottle and a lock on the cage door and they are good. OF course, they must be kept in proper temps, not too hot and not too cold. You can buy a nice sized cage that folds and you can bring that along when you travel.

Hope I helped a little...