Where can I buy/adopt pet rats in the Athens/Atlanta Georgia area

I am looking to get two young pet rats to be class pets for my 4th grade classroom. I know I can go to the pet store and buy feeder rats but I want to make sure that the rats are as friendly and socialized as possible since I don't want to risk them biting a student.

I would also appreciate advice on a habitat. I was thinking about an aquarium with a cage topper thing I saw...but I also have access to a multi-level ferret type cage.

Thanks for any advice regarding first time rat ownership.

Petco, Petsmart, and any pet store rats aren't usually well taken care of, and will most likely be infected with a disease called myco. It's a breathing problem that all rats (except possibly lab rats) have, dormant in them. When you get them at a pet store, chances are the disease is floating around somewhere near them because of all the other rodents around, and because of all the people coming in and out, meaning that the disease will probably be active. Because of this two things can happen - the rats will make wheezing noises which could scare the students, and they will die earlier, and that's bad seeing as their life span is short enough as it is.

Besides the extremely high risk of the Myco being active, the rats aren't usually social. Big businesses aren't fond of taking the time to play with the rats and getting them to be playful. They also don't care what you do with the rats, and it's been my experience that they usually expect the rats to be feeders. I highly suggest going to an animal shelter, well the rats are VERY well taken care of, not only health-wise, but personality too. I've been to quite a few shelters, even in other states, and I've noticed that they all take the time to play with all the animals, even if only for 10 minutes a day. Of all the rats I've ever seen, adopted, and seen other people adopt at animal shelters, not a single one has had an active disease, and none of them have ever bitten anyone (at least as far as I know). Thinking back to the students, it'd be a lot better to tell them that you RESCUED them from a shelter, than to say you BOUGHT them at a store.