Very good advice sorraia, and that's exactly what prompted my thinking about this (actually I think it was one of your other posts on line breeding). I figure if they're being used for research then they'll have to be genetically very consistent so there shouldn't be any surprises lurking, but it turns out there are dozens of lines and the vast majority are selectively bred with faults (as expected). It looks like Taconic will do it, but of the two lines that are suitable (sort of general purpose rats) I'd be looking at $20-35 per rat plus shipping costs.