Cute, adorable, tiny, snuggly little baby rats. These are just some of the ways students are describing Rufus, Riley, Spotty and Albino, the newborn rats in AP Biology teacher Coreen Daniels’ classroom. It may not seem like these bundles of joy are relevant in the classroom, but they are a key part of Daniels’ class.

“We’re hoping the kids can design their own behavior lab,” Daniels said. “Like Pavlov’s training, where they ring a bell and get a treat.”

After the class has finished with the behavioral labs, the rats will go to a good home, either with students, or with Soldan’s.

“We’ve had some requests for adoptions, but so far no confirmed parent signatures,” Daniels said. “If no one adopts them, the rats, mother and father, will go back to Soldan’s and be sold as pets, not snake food, because they’ve been socialized and everything.”

After spring break, Daniels is considering opening up adoptions to students outside of her class, so with parent permission, DHS students can adopt a rat.

For more information on rat adoptions, email Daniels at danielscm@midlandps.org, or visit Soldan’s website at http://www.soldanspet.com/.

By Wade Winton