You get better protection if you use your credit card. The key difference is that when you claim on a credit card under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, the credit card company is legally liable.
A pet rat can live between 2-4 years maybe longer it just depends on how well you look after it.
Lifespan Records of Pet Rats: How Old Was the Oldest Pet Rat That Ever Lived? Currently, there is a jaw dropping record for the longest lived pet fancy rat in history, that dates to 1995. A laboratory rat who was named Rodney lived to the ripe old age of 7 years and 4 months; is that unbelieveable or what?? He almost tripled his expected lifespan!