Hi r/pets, am I ever happy that this subreddit exists.

I have just acquired a young (~3 months) male rat, his owner is going through a nasty break-up and had to give him away and I couldn't refuse.

Although I have owned a rat in the past I have forgotten how to take care of the little buggers. I know what kind of cage to keep them in (he comes with one anyway, haven't seen him yet though) but feeding is a bit confusing.

Could anybody tell me what sort of stuff I should be feeding him? I seem to remember giving my last one dry food but giving her bits of apple/cooked ham etc. once a day. Is this right? I have some bell peppers and bananas and apples lying around as well as a packet of cooked turkey, are all these things safe to feed a rat?

Also, I have an acquaintance in the printing industry who can supply me with vast quantities of chipped/shredded paper/card, is this safe to use as lining for the cage or should I buy the stuff from the pet shop? I know sawdust isn't good for them, I think I used to use shredded cloth.

I have the time, money and energy to take care of a rat so if anybody could help me out with a bit of knowledge I would be extremely grateful.

EDIT1: I have some crappy camera phone pics here, I will get some real pics once I have him settled, I'm buying him a bigger cage today, he's a big bugger, too big for that crappy hamster cage.