playmate for my new rat

Question
QUESTION: I just got a rex rat yesterday, and everything I've read so far recommends that they have a playmate, should I go back & get another one?

ANSWER: Hi

Yes, you should always keep rats in same sex pairs. I would go back and get another from the same litter!

I love rex rats!!  Is it a boy or girl :)

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QUESTION: It's a boy, his name is Hershey, he's brown. Only thing is, his fur isn't curly, aren't rex's supposed to be curly?

ANSWER: Yes, wavy, not real real curly though....but if he is real young, it wont be wavy/curly yet.  As he ages it changes. How old is he?
Sometimes a rex just gets really fluffy with some wave to it and other times they are real wavy with curls on the end. I guess it depends on how they are bred.  Is he a dumbo or standard eared?  

I have a photo on my rex boy and his non rex brother on my website on the bottom and top of the quarantine page....you cant tell that Griffin is rex either as a baby but as he gets older, his brother turns more silver and he gets more fluffy.

http://www.freewebs.com/crittercity/thequarantinepage.htm

Their baby pic is on the top of the page and a pic of them a bit older is on the bottom of the page.  Griffin, the rex, has whiskers that curl in while Dodgers whiskers are straight out. You can tell in both photos he is fluffier than Dodger and he looks like a baby lamb/rat mixed.   LOL   See what you think!  Griffin, the rex, is on the left in the top photo while Dodger hides. That was the day I bought them several years ago, and they went right to the vet for a check up and a stool specimen was taken.  
The bottom pic they were in their junior cage, still too small for the big boy cage...this time Griffin is on the right and Dodger the left, and Dodgers silver is really showing as he ages.
So basically what I am saying is, as they age, their coats make changes as far as texture and color go.  

Where did you buy Hershey from?

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QUESTION: I got him from PetSmart. I had originally gone to get a hamster, but they were way too quick. The girl that worked there asked if I had ever considered a rat. I feel like a do-do though, I didn't even think to ask how old he was. Maybe he's fairly young though, his fur is straight as a board, and his whiskers are straight, too. I need to take some good pictures of him. I tried last night but i couldn't get a good angle.

Answer
So your a new rat owner?  

You will LOVE your rats....now hamsters are cute but they are not nearly half as intelligent as rats are and they dont get hooked on their humans like rats do.

Rats are fast too as young pups, so you will need a safe play area for them during their time out of the cage. You can construct a play area out of cardboard boxes that are flattened out and taped together so they stand up like a big wall. They cant scale the smooth cardboard and you can put their cage in it, some other cardboard boxes to play inside, a box full of old socks or rags with cheerios hidden throughout so they have something fun to hunt for....and of course you have to sit in there to supervise and also get to know them etc...

check out my website for all the info you need on rat care. The url is listed in the second message to you.  Did you go to see my rex rat, Griffin?  
If he has straight whiskers, he probably isnt a rex....but that doesnt shock me about petstores being inaccurate.  Hopefully they sell you two boys...I have heard horror stories of petstore employees selling opposite sex rats to novice rat owners and 21 days later they new rat owner is staring at 12 new naked pink  rats!