I can't help you with finding a place to find a rat, but I can help with your other questions. They are wonderful pets, smart and affectionate. They don't need to be neutered or spayed, they won't "mark" you, but they have no problems with using you as a personal toilet whenever the need arises. They are super smart, I had one after I was first married that I was able to teach to do tricks. Males and females make equally good pets, and males can live together if you start with two young same sized males. Adult males will fight. Males can get quite a bit bigger than females, so keep that in mind. The best balanced diet to offer them is lab blocks, they have more nutrition than the seed and flake mixes you will see in pet stores. You can supplement this with healthy food, whole grain breads, vegetables, fruits. You should offer something hard to chew on, lava blocks, alfalfa cubes, or something like that to keep their teeth in shape. I used either the recycled newspaper bedding or aspen normally and I used to give mine hay or straw in the winter, they love to bed down in it. They are not a long lived pet, 2 years is about average. I hope you find some, they are fun pets.
I think you can get some at Taco Bell there...
Yeah, Lancaster is a bit of a hike for me. Too bad.