The very first consideration when getting a rat is nothing you can buy, in fact it is priceless.
It is your TIME. Your rats will need at least 1 hour of your time per day for socialization, and probably a half hour to spot clean the cage, feed them, check water, etc.
Next let's talk about housing. You need to consider a cage that has solid floors, bars spaced 1/2" apart or less, and lots of useable square footage. I recommend the Critter Nation.
Then you need some fleece or other bedding. You can use dust-free Aspen shavings or a 30x24 piece of fleece to line the bottom tray and a 15x24 piece for the shelves.
If you are going to use shavings, you will want a deeper pan. I love these metal pans or these concrete mixing tubs.
I make and sell absorbent fleece liners in the store on this website that I use for the top shelf and use a deeper pan or bin for the bottom filled with shavings.
I require all of my best friends to have 2 water bottles per cage, because sometimes they get stuck and don't dispense water and I SWEAR by Choco Nose bottles because they can use any standard capped bottle (like Coke, Dasani, etc) and can be fully taken apart to be cleaned. I also leavc a small ceramic dish of water in each cage.
You can use any glass, ceramic, or metal bowl for food, but these attach to the cage and can snap into place to prevent the bowl being knocked over.
You need hammocks, space pods, and other hides for your rats. Here are a few I use.
OK, so now let's talk food and treats!
For commercially available options, Oxbow Adult Rat Food is a great option.
Cheerios
Fresh vegetables (not too stringy!)
Occasional fruits in moderate quantity, no citrus.
Giant Mealworms (get these at a reptile store)
Low fat, low protein, high carb ( but not high sugar) is what we are going for here.
We will cover fun activities, development of good habits, and tricks in later blogs!