Rats make excellent pets - some consider them the ideal small pet because they are generally gentle and intelligent animals and are very social creatures. The books from this list will help the pet rat owner care for these wonderful pets properly.
1. Rats: Complete Care Guide
By Debbie Ducommun, also known as "The Rat Lady" and founder of the Rat Fan Club. This is an excellent introduction to the rat as a pet and the proper care of rats, by a well recognized rat expert. This is a recently published book and a substantial resource at 192 pages (soft cover).2. Training Your Pet Rat
By Barbara Somerville and Gerry Bucsis, the title of this book is a little misleading. In addition to training advice (and rats are intelligent enough to learn some simple tricks), this book also covers the basics of pet rat housing and care well, too. 112 pages, soft cover.
3. Rats!: For Today's Pet Owner
By Debbie Ducommun ("The Rat Lady"), this is an older (1998) book that also covers the personality and care of rats in good detail. Great advice, and still a good choice for any rat owner.4. Rat Health Care
Also by Debbie Ducommun. Some information in the booklet is meant for owners, while some is more appropriate for veterinarians. It covers basic care of rats including preventative care and nutrition, and medical care in quite a bit of detail. This book is very inexpensive and a good investment for any owner, and you might consider getting an extra copy for your vet! Odering information is on this description page.5. The Rat: An Owner's Guide to a Happy, Healthy Pet
By Ginger Cardinal, this is a slightly older book (1997), but it still provides a nice introduction to rats as pets. The general care information is sound, and the book includes fun sections on understanding and training rats, and the photos are lovely. The other books listed offer more thorough health care advice, though.6. Proper Care of Fancy Rats
By Nick Mays, this is also an older book (1993, with a 1997 edition too) but has enjoyed many favorable reviews for the depth of information about pet rats contained within. Goes a bit more into genetics and showing than some other books. Out of print so harder to find - but available from used book merchants.7. Fancy Rats: Complete Pet Ower's Manual
By Gisela Bulla, this is a decent introduction to pet rats, although there are better books listed above. Like ohters int he Barron's education series, it contains practical advice along with lots of photos and illustrations, and a secion on understanding your rats.