A full grown adult female can take a small rat at its largest but most people keep them on mice. I dont plan to ever feed Pat a rat.
I dont really handle him. Last time i did, he was fine. I dont pick him off his perch. I just remove the perch with him on it and he is fine and curious. Sometimes he will climb down the perch and onto my hand to see whats up. I do put my hands next to him every couple days to change water and he either will perk up and look at my hand and flick his tongue and then go back to sleep or just sit there looking at my hand. He has never struck at me. Mostly just hisses when he is pissy and wants to be left alone. If the hissing doesnt work, he will wander off to the other end of the perch or a different perch.