They really are neat. One of my little sisters had a hooded rat when we were teens. I was horrified when she bought it, thinking 'who on earth WANTS a rodent?'. We had been living on a farm, and we actively tried to get rid of any rodents, so I couldn't imagine what she wanted with this thing.
It didn't take long, maybe a few days, before I was getting him out to play, though, haha.