I went down and bought a rat, but didn't see the reply that I should ask for mice bedding and throw it into the container to trick my ball into thinking it's a mouse.

I tried holding the rat by the tail and lowering it into tank, but no response other then retreating into one of his hides.

I thought maybe I should just drop the rat on the other side of the tank and I did, but he came out of the hide, followed it around for awhile until the rat started coming toward him. He then started panicking and trying to climb out of tank. I removed the rat as soon as he started to get spooked.
So, I'm thinking I better just stick with the mice or should I try again tomorrow. Should I go back to the pet store and get the mice bedding or did I completely mess up by not having it in the first place? I have another tank that I'm keeping the rat in right now.
Thanks,
Lisa