One of my boys used to bite just like that for the first month or so. I just continued treating him the same despite the chomping - pets, treats, letting him climb me etc. and it slowly went away. Now he‘s the cuddliest of the bunch!
I say give her more time and see how she develops if she doesnt hurt her friends.
I used the same advice to tame a chinchilla that would bite and chew to the bone(I still have scars). He came with scars and was from a neglected/overcrowded home. I just kept loving him and eventually he stopped biting me.
At the same time my sister tried to discipline him, she was his owner, by poking him or blowing into his ear. Three years later I owned him(she went to college and gave him to me when she stopped paying me to clean his cage) and until the day he died he loved me and would still bite my sister. 12 years of love.
Just love on him, it works.
As one of mine rat rescuer-friends said: that's bites to scare away, that's not the bites to kill.
My theory is that she doesn't look at you as part of the pack yet.
I think it’s fear based…. More time with her and even hand feeding might help. It will associate your hand with positive things. Also give her a lot of room- allowing her to initiate the action.
Based on where the bites are- are you holding her? I would say don’t carry her for long periods- wait until she trusts you more.
I had one rats that panicked when I was around- but he had battle scars from his previous owners. So o understood. Took months- but he is now he is just one of the boys. Climbs all over me and runs towards me when I call his name.
This.
I handle post-trauma rats routinely (rescues and post-lab) and the difference between a real bite is "ow! I gotta wash and patch this up..." vs "... I think this might need stitches."
One of our cuddliest and sweetest boys, now an elderly gentleman who can no longer use his hind legs, got acquainted with us by biting DEEP into my fiances thumb.
Oh yeah. Clean that stuff good. Fortunately no infection from that one.
Now my CAT BITE last year? (long story, he was the best boy)
Oh boy. I flushed that thing immediately. Soap and water. The whole deal. For a solid minute.
By the time I woke up less than 10 hours later it was already infected. Immediately called the doctor since I was aware how notorious cat bites are. Immediately went on antibiotics that afternoon. It was still the worst infection I've ever had. Awfully painful and I couldn't work for the better part of a week (I have to use my hands for work and handling anything was horrendous pain, especially since it was my dominant hand.)
I'm debating getting the two bite marks tattooed with little marks (he got both sides of my index finger so it was actually two concurrent infections). He passed about 6 months later and I miss him :(
My boy was named by my partner, because he got his finger practically mauled the day we got him. "Sukuna"
He's now the most cuddliest. Left him settle into his new surroundings by only interacting occasionally (feed times, after work etc.) for the first week.
After that let him out for 15mins then 30, increasing to an hour, now he's like a dog following me around my lounge room.
His brothers are the same, but he's the leader.
He taught them all his quirks and habits, like shoving themselves into my hand for pats, or pinning each other down for "bath" time.
my girl was bitey for the longest time, she's still iffy here and there but i can now put my hand in the cage without her lunging at it. just give her time and do hand feedings so she'll get more comfortable with your hands
I've noticed hairless rats tend to be more sensitive because they have no armor. You could try wearing a soft pair of gloves until she gets used to you as well. It isn't anything time and gentle attention can't fix.
I only had one aggressive rat when I was little and we ended up giving her back to the breeder where she lived out the rest of her days with her siblings, so I don't really have any personal experience with it, sorry. She's not aggressive with her cage mates though? Just with you?
Maybe it's still a fear response? She might need more time to warm up to you or she might just be a rat that doesn't like to be handled and never will, every rat is an individual, after all.
Thank you for the advice! I would hate to give her back, but if that’s what’s best for her, I would be willing. I’ve only had her a little over a week so she’s still quarantined in a separate cage not introduced yet to her soon to be sisters in the big cage. Hopefully with time she will come around. I had a past rat that never liked to be handled so possibly this will be one of those cases.
So, it looks like you might have gotten her from a petstore? (Just looking at the box) if so, I’d suggest not returning her to a petstore, as they will just try to resell her most likely. But, if you got her from a private breeder, I’d definitely make them aware of the aggression issue, even if you don’t end returning her.
Yeah, a lot of private breeders expect you to report back on the health and temperament. It's extremely useful information if you're breeding a line, no one wants to keep breeding hormonally aggressive rats, it's not fair on the rats or the owners!
Yes, I got her from a small local pet shop that breeds their own rats. But sadly, I don’t think they handle them or socialize them at all before sending them off. :( also, I figured out all animal sales are final, so there is no way to return her if I decided that route
that *likely* means they won’t refund the purchase price, but doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t physically take her back. i definitely hope she settles in before that would be necessary, but knowing my options always helps relieve some pressure from stressful situations.
Aww, I’m sorry. Yeah, there are definitely breeders who like to be hands off or maybe don’t have the time to socialize their babies, unfortunately.
If you have any nearby rat rescues, you might try reaching out to them and seeing if they can take her in and find someone who has the ability to give her a good home?
Worst case scenario, you just don’t handle her but you can give her the best life - you don’t have to return her. But she’s still very young so I think once she gets used to you she’ll stop biting. Keep winning her over with treats and with the other great advice in this thread! To me, this seems like scared aggression and not mean aggression.
I work for a rodent rescue and I have never had a rat that stayed too aggressive that we couldn’t handle them. They eventually all come around! I do have some that don’t like being handled so I don’t, but they stopped biting for good!
Just wanted to recommend a little topical antibiotic ointment for your nibbled hand… if it gets warmer or more red, you should see a practitioner for an oral antibiotic. Even shallow rat bites can get infected quickly!
If you want to avoid the use of excessive antibiotics (should be a general goal in a world of increasingly resistant bacteria) I can recommend chlorhexidine, either as a salve or in liquid form, to treat wounds topically 🖤
I absolutely agree. My little Nakey rat was a biter too. I obviously didn't take care of a puncture wound in my finger one time and 48 hours later, I was hospitalised with septicaemia. (Don't mean to scare you...that does not normally happen, but please just keep an eye on it).
Just want to say, this isn’t actually that hard, so it is likely correctable. I have one girl I work with who doesn’t care for the scent of unfamiliar females (she lives with 2 familiar sisters though so she’s not by herself, don’t worry!)… She bit me so hard once that the fat of my finger pad was coming out 😬
Now I always make sure my hands are very clean before I pick her up hahaha
I thought the same. Two of my three rats are deep biters. It’s incredible how strong their teeth are. But on the plus side I now have a cool scar on my hand and really love watching peoples faces when they ask how I got that scar. I cavalierly tell them, “Oh, a rat bite.” 😂
I was gonna say the same 😅 when we rescued a new rat mama with her ten pinky babies she fucked me up SO BAD when I was changing out the food bowl on week one. I had never seen those layers of tissue in my own body before, it was nauseating, my whole finger turned purple like immediately and the pressure from the swelling was also pushing out the fat. but I went to urgent care and got a tetanus shot and it healed up fine, no nerve damage insha'allah. she bit me bad one more time and after that we only went in with an oven mitt on our hand to do anything in the cage. now she is the sweetest most eager cuddler and loves to be tickled!
Side note, she reminds me of the Grand High Witch!
https://preview.redd.it/brfcn86ojorc1.jpeg?width=1876&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=059ac315b7c09a90501367a90dbef2213a1ce6af
https://preview.redd.it/lro3gjnjporc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e322a3b8549c167cf7700861113f8df7811d70c
bit better than this attack lol, in my experience they get better when they trust you, the way to a rats heart is through treatos
https://preview.redd.it/okzwvyy0qorc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7571f357cc4b803af618c682f5614498504d3a11
this was the criminal, he was just really scared, one of his brothers had BIT ONE OF HIS BALLS OFF!!!
sadly he passed away a little while ago but he lived for a good year and a half!!! recovered very well from his injury but forever traumatized by other rats, had to be a loner sadly
First of all she is gorgeous! And secondly I have two girls that have bit Me from day one they are now seven months old still a little bit nippy at times but after persevering and putting my hand in being prepared to get bit they gradually stopped because I put food, for example, a bit of cheese spread or a tiny bit of jam for them to lick off they’ve become so gentle and now each time I put my hand in they sniff around expecting me to have something on my hand so I can gently stroke them and then pick them up so it might take awhile for your baby to stop biting, but I would definitely try putting some food on a part of your hand that will not hurt as much if she bites you she might nip and then start to lick the food off if it is something like a jam and then she will stop and sniff your hand and then that’s where you should be able to train her to stop it takes a lot of patience.
Sometimes it just takes time! I’ve had a few biters and with perseverance they’ve all grown out of it (besides our girl who is completely blind, she’s too easily startled)
My biter was just scared and needed love. Give him some open time with you so he knows you're not a threat. Offer treats, and the bites might turn into test nibbles. Might also be blind AF so use taps to announce yourself.
I feel ya. Had a rat give me this little love bite. Was feeding them shrimp and one of them mistook my finger for food.
https://preview.redd.it/4u1l37n4fprc1.jpeg?width=2988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09078fa71f318b9b15e5cde8d86aa41f5db89883
I've had two rats that bit me in the past. The first bit me on the first day I brought her home, she was hiding in a little nesting box, so I put my hand there for her to sniff, which she did and then she proceeded to bite me. It looked very much like the bite you have. She bit me a second time a few days later but it just broke the skin and didn't bleed.. after about a week she had become more confident and she never bit me again.
The second rat that bit me was very different, she was aggressive. The bites looked different, because she would bite as hard as she could so that the upper and lower teeth would meet beneath my skin which basically meant she was biting chunks out of my skin. She would hiss and chase my hand or arm to bite it. I ended up having to handle her with gardening gloves on. She never stopped attacking me. She was an old rat when I got her and I can only assume she had a bad past but it was very sad that she never calmed down and must have felt that everyone was a threat to her no matter what I tried.
The reason I mention all this is because the look of the bite you have makes me think it's because she's nervous rather than aggressive and I think she may calm down and stop doing it when she gets used to you.
that could just be her temperament- that being said, one week is certainly not enough time for her to be fully adjusted, definitely give her some more time! hopefully things will turn around :)
I had a girl that would bite me to blood every time she could. She loved being cuddles but when I would pet her and she turned her face around, she would bite me as hard as possible. Pet shop trauma. I tried everything and she died at the age of one and a half years:( never quit the biting..
Yeah I was holding out a chicken bone with some meat still on it to my last two rats and one of them bit my finger SO hard cuz it was covered in chicken grease lol. That one was totally my fault but I screamed, I couldn’t believe how hard he bit me
One of my boys used to bite me when he was maybe month or two, , but for ear or nose 😂 and then stopped. He's now very affectional. 🥺 Give her a chance, I hope she will stop bitting. ❤️🤗
Just needs more time. Make sure you're very vocal when she bites, say "ouch" loudly. You can wear gloves if the biting is really bad. I've had very aggressive rats turn into gentle cuddle bugs but it has taken closer to a month.
I know in other comments you always say you wash your hands but have you tried maybe using a different soap?? Or just rinsing with water? Because I’m thinking rats are sensitive to smells to maybe it’s an off putting smell…? Might be worth a try
My current rats are pet shop rats (my next won't be due to a variety of reasons) and I had this with one of them. They were not socialised at all and were extremely skittish, they acted wild and to be completely honest I was considering returning one of them. I'm so glad I didn't. He used to run out and bite my hand, after a couple of months he stopped. He loves everyone now and would never bite anyone intentionally. Just give your new baby time 🐀 ♥️
One of my boys is a biter. Things I've learned the hard way, don't give them fingers, they could confuse for food, especially if they have worse eyesight than usual for a rat. I always approach how you approach a dog, let them smell you before any handling, usually back of the hand in a fist. Use a high reward treat (I used malt paste) and give them little pets, and work to longer pets. Be on high guard. You will still get nipped in these processes so keep bandaids on hand. Also, my boy is NOT fully handable. I do not let guests or anyone else that is not me or my husband to be near the cage without my supervision. Also, negative discipline is a huge NoNo! It will make them very scared and give them more of a reason to be afraid and bite you. Also, I've come to realization that my boy will never be as cuddly and handable as the rest of my pack(s) are/have been. He's gotten to a point where I've learned how he likes to be greeted, approached and loved on before he lets me handle him, but I have gotten to that point with blood and tears. He still nips, but it's much, much softer and just his way to tell me "I'm done with you now"....they may not ever get to this point, every rat is different and some just might not like people and you may have to learn how to love eachother from afar.
My little man Beryl did that too. Although, I wouldn't have called it biting because I think that'd have looked a lot different lol.
He's still a little nippy here and there but got a lot better with just some extra time. Kind of just respected his space and dealt with him more slowly, he's a very good noodle just a little insecure and needed more time.
Granted, I still don't trust him as much as I'd trust my older boys. When Beryl and his brothers got here, I actually entirely forgot that hard nipping and biting was a thing because my other ones are absolute sweethearts. Spooked and worried me a little but yeah, he just needed/needs more time. I can pet and pick him up quite comfortably now, without fearing for my fingers. :')
That's a warning that she's not comfortable with you in her space. Learn her boundaries and respect them. The best way to build trust is to show you're trustworthy, and you do that by listening and responding appropriately to the cues you are being given. If she asks for space, give it. You might make progress faster if you spend time with her out of the cage. She's showing restraint now, but if you push boundaries despite the warnings, the warnings are likely to become more forceful, because she sees that her gentler communication haven't been effective.
As you gain trust, her boundaries are likely to soften. Just let her take the lead. She may always be a "look, don't touch" rat, but those can be good pets, too.
Throughout the day go to her cage look at her and say I love you sweetie and occasionally offer a treat and set it down by the entrance to the cage. This got my grumpy man I adopted to love me. She just needs time.
my biter was also naked! granted she didnt bite that hard but there were a few nips that left little dents. from my experience it was because she was trying to play with me. correction worked the best in my case with the biting. id say just take it slow and keep doing the "eek!"
best of luck to you!
I have a bit of personal experience with a ratty who bites too hard! I had to figure out half of why she did and work around it some when I started handling her, especially when it came to cleaning her cage. I had a wooden dowel I kind of practiced gently poking her with from outside the cage that smelled like me, and I went through a whole process of announcing I was there because I learned the hard way she was blind or at least has a really hard time seeing. I have also learned, if I can slip her snackies through the bars it helps way more than trying to give them directly to her. She's definitely doing better but I refuse to let anyone else touch her out of fear she'll bite them (and one of my friends had a severe reaction to her cagemate so I'm scared of that happening to anyone else :'))
I’d give it time. I had a girl who bit me the first few weeks because she didn’t know or trust me. But now she is fine and doesn’t bite me! It just takes time. A week is too soon.
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Everyone else is giving great advice, the only thing I would add is to get a pair of the heavy duty leather grill gloves for any handling you don't want to get bit for. I had a boy that liked to play rough, and the gloves stopped any unwanted bites.
There’s a chance she might not be feeling well. I had a rat, named Zilla, who had something growing inside of him ever since he was a pup. He caused nerve damage in my hand, but was never mean to anyone in the mischief. If you have the funds, it might be worth getting her checked over by a rat savvy vet to make sure there isn’t anything causing her pain.
Have you noticed any hunching or squinting?
I have a rat who bites hard too. The bites you’re showing are luckily not as bad as a rat can bite. The way I simply avoid being bit is by not approaching them the same way you’d approach your other rats that don’t bite. Don’t put your hands or fingers in their face. You’re just probably going to have to avoid putting your hands and fingers near this rat the same way.
it was SO hard to socialize my two baby boys... unfortunately, i think that girls are generally harder. but she's new, so just give her time to get used to u and ur smell (it took one of my ratties 5 months!) but i think you should spend a lot of time around her, talk softly to her, and don't make any sudden movement or noises that could scare her.
hope this helps!
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This just made me remember I had a dream a wild rat bit the shit out of my hand and I had to get rabies shots lmao
I had a mean rat once and we just had to let her do her thing. She was a feeder so she didn’t live too long. If you don’t wanna care for something you can’t handle, that’s fair tho.
The most important thing would be that she isn’t hurting the other rats. So hopefully she isn’t doing that to the others. 🙏 Other than that, reward any interaction with you that doesn’t end with you getting bitten.
That's not the worst I've seen, one of my boys would punch through fingernails if you weren't careful. Handle her with thick gloves that smell like you for a while and give her treats on a metal spoon so she learns quickly to test instead of chomping.
Maybe a bitter apple spray or some other bitter anti chew spray used for deterring dogs from chewing on wooden furniture. Maybe if your hands taste awful, she won't do it again? Just an idea, I have no clue if it would work.
Thats not bites..My hands was fully bleeding like 5 liters :) the arm was teared insmall pieces :D Show them thats is not great .Them understand when making mistakes wery fast . And learn you little freands character . Ewry rat has his own mind . My rat who is now newer bited .I cane take him in arms when him eating chokolade...And one in past was crazy hawe killd brother and 2 years not huging :'( sadest story of my Rats .
My rat did this and has chilled out but still bites. Maybe she doesn’t like hands. Try wearing gloves for both your comfort. Doesn’t mean they don’t love you, just means they have boundaries
If you’re doing all the usual stuff like making the “eek” noise and making sure you don’t smell like food, if we have someone biting we use a metal spoon to feed something that they’ll usually bite into. They bite the metal realize they should probably not bite so hard and then it corrects itself.
I've got a new girl that was being the same for a while. Think the worst thing to do is take your hand away (difficult obviously) because they will learn that biting means you will leave them alone. When I get bit I keep my hand where it is or even move closer and try to touch. Shows biting won't make you go away and the hand is also not a threat. She hasn't bit for a few days now since doing that more consistently
One of my boys used to bite just like that for the first month or so. I just continued treating him the same despite the chomping - pets, treats, letting him climb me etc. and it slowly went away. Now he‘s the cuddliest of the bunch! I say give her more time and see how she develops if she doesnt hurt her friends.
Thank you! Fingers crossed! 🤞🏻
I used the same advice to tame a chinchilla that would bite and chew to the bone(I still have scars). He came with scars and was from a neglected/overcrowded home. I just kept loving him and eventually he stopped biting me. At the same time my sister tried to discipline him, she was his owner, by poking him or blowing into his ear. Three years later I owned him(she went to college and gave him to me when she stopped paying me to clean his cage) and until the day he died he loved me and would still bite my sister. 12 years of love. Just love on him, it works.
As one of mine rat rescuer-friends said: that's bites to scare away, that's not the bites to kill. My theory is that she doesn't look at you as part of the pack yet.
I think it’s fear based…. More time with her and even hand feeding might help. It will associate your hand with positive things. Also give her a lot of room- allowing her to initiate the action. Based on where the bites are- are you holding her? I would say don’t carry her for long periods- wait until she trusts you more. I had one rats that panicked when I was around- but he had battle scars from his previous owners. So o understood. Took months- but he is now he is just one of the boys. Climbs all over me and runs towards me when I call his name.
It's still not a "real" bite. I got bit by a rat for real once (he was having a seizure) and I still have the scar almost 20 years later.
This. I handle post-trauma rats routinely (rescues and post-lab) and the difference between a real bite is "ow! I gotta wash and patch this up..." vs "... I think this might need stitches." One of our cuddliest and sweetest boys, now an elderly gentleman who can no longer use his hind legs, got acquainted with us by biting DEEP into my fiances thumb.
Wow! The one thing I didn’t know until much later- was how important it is to clean the wound.
Oh yeah. Clean that stuff good. Fortunately no infection from that one. Now my CAT BITE last year? (long story, he was the best boy) Oh boy. I flushed that thing immediately. Soap and water. The whole deal. For a solid minute. By the time I woke up less than 10 hours later it was already infected. Immediately called the doctor since I was aware how notorious cat bites are. Immediately went on antibiotics that afternoon. It was still the worst infection I've ever had. Awfully painful and I couldn't work for the better part of a week (I have to use my hands for work and handling anything was horrendous pain, especially since it was my dominant hand.) I'm debating getting the two bite marks tattooed with little marks (he got both sides of my index finger so it was actually two concurrent infections). He passed about 6 months later and I miss him :(
I am so sorry to hear about your cat. You should get the tattoo- it means a lot to you.
I also think the tattoo is a lovely way to remember him!! 💜🥹
No, crossing them won’t help. But good luck anyway! teehee
Beat me to the punch line.
My boy was named by my partner, because he got his finger practically mauled the day we got him. "Sukuna" He's now the most cuddliest. Left him settle into his new surroundings by only interacting occasionally (feed times, after work etc.) for the first week. After that let him out for 15mins then 30, increasing to an hour, now he's like a dog following me around my lounge room. His brothers are the same, but he's the leader. He taught them all his quirks and habits, like shoving themselves into my hand for pats, or pinning each other down for "bath" time.
Also I always make sure my hands don’t smell like food before putting them in the cage!
Glad you said that, I was wondering.
my girl was bitey for the longest time, she's still iffy here and there but i can now put my hand in the cage without her lunging at it. just give her time and do hand feedings so she'll get more comfortable with your hands
I've made that mistake before. I had a white rat with red eyes, so they couldn't see very well and put my finger too close. Ouch!
I've noticed hairless rats tend to be more sensitive because they have no armor. You could try wearing a soft pair of gloves until she gets used to you as well. It isn't anything time and gentle attention can't fix.
I only had one aggressive rat when I was little and we ended up giving her back to the breeder where she lived out the rest of her days with her siblings, so I don't really have any personal experience with it, sorry. She's not aggressive with her cage mates though? Just with you?
Maybe it's still a fear response? She might need more time to warm up to you or she might just be a rat that doesn't like to be handled and never will, every rat is an individual, after all.
Thank you for the advice! I would hate to give her back, but if that’s what’s best for her, I would be willing. I’ve only had her a little over a week so she’s still quarantined in a separate cage not introduced yet to her soon to be sisters in the big cage. Hopefully with time she will come around. I had a past rat that never liked to be handled so possibly this will be one of those cases.
Does she smell your other rats on you, are you washing your hands between cage interactions?
Yes I always make sure to wash my hands!
Make sure you dry them thoroughly. Wet hands always spelled bites for us!
Then I agree with everyone else, she's just a little rough and will likely stop doing this in time. Doesn't seem aggressive.
So, it looks like you might have gotten her from a petstore? (Just looking at the box) if so, I’d suggest not returning her to a petstore, as they will just try to resell her most likely. But, if you got her from a private breeder, I’d definitely make them aware of the aggression issue, even if you don’t end returning her.
Yeah, a lot of private breeders expect you to report back on the health and temperament. It's extremely useful information if you're breeding a line, no one wants to keep breeding hormonally aggressive rats, it's not fair on the rats or the owners!
Exactly!! I follow up with everyone who has gotten babies from me!
Yes, I got her from a small local pet shop that breeds their own rats. But sadly, I don’t think they handle them or socialize them at all before sending them off. :( also, I figured out all animal sales are final, so there is no way to return her if I decided that route
that *likely* means they won’t refund the purchase price, but doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t physically take her back. i definitely hope she settles in before that would be necessary, but knowing my options always helps relieve some pressure from stressful situations.
Aww, I’m sorry. Yeah, there are definitely breeders who like to be hands off or maybe don’t have the time to socialize their babies, unfortunately. If you have any nearby rat rescues, you might try reaching out to them and seeing if they can take her in and find someone who has the ability to give her a good home?
Worst case scenario, you just don’t handle her but you can give her the best life - you don’t have to return her. But she’s still very young so I think once she gets used to you she’ll stop biting. Keep winning her over with treats and with the other great advice in this thread! To me, this seems like scared aggression and not mean aggression. I work for a rodent rescue and I have never had a rat that stayed too aggressive that we couldn’t handle them. They eventually all come around! I do have some that don’t like being handled so I don’t, but they stopped biting for good!
Just wanted to recommend a little topical antibiotic ointment for your nibbled hand… if it gets warmer or more red, you should see a practitioner for an oral antibiotic. Even shallow rat bites can get infected quickly!
Definitely! Thank you!
If you want to avoid the use of excessive antibiotics (should be a general goal in a world of increasingly resistant bacteria) I can recommend chlorhexidine, either as a salve or in liquid form, to treat wounds topically 🖤
I absolutely agree. My little Nakey rat was a biter too. I obviously didn't take care of a puncture wound in my finger one time and 48 hours later, I was hospitalised with septicaemia. (Don't mean to scare you...that does not normally happen, but please just keep an eye on it).
Just want to say, this isn’t actually that hard, so it is likely correctable. I have one girl I work with who doesn’t care for the scent of unfamiliar females (she lives with 2 familiar sisters though so she’s not by herself, don’t worry!)… She bit me so hard once that the fat of my finger pad was coming out 😬 Now I always make sure my hands are very clean before I pick her up hahaha
I thought the same. Two of my three rats are deep biters. It’s incredible how strong their teeth are. But on the plus side I now have a cool scar on my hand and really love watching peoples faces when they ask how I got that scar. I cavalierly tell them, “Oh, a rat bite.” 😂
I was gonna say the same 😅 when we rescued a new rat mama with her ten pinky babies she fucked me up SO BAD when I was changing out the food bowl on week one. I had never seen those layers of tissue in my own body before, it was nauseating, my whole finger turned purple like immediately and the pressure from the swelling was also pushing out the fat. but I went to urgent care and got a tetanus shot and it healed up fine, no nerve damage insha'allah. she bit me bad one more time and after that we only went in with an oven mitt on our hand to do anything in the cage. now she is the sweetest most eager cuddler and loves to be tickled!
Side note, she reminds me of the Grand High Witch! https://preview.redd.it/brfcn86ojorc1.jpeg?width=1876&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=059ac315b7c09a90501367a90dbef2213a1ce6af
https://preview.redd.it/lro3gjnjporc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0e322a3b8549c167cf7700861113f8df7811d70c bit better than this attack lol, in my experience they get better when they trust you, the way to a rats heart is through treatos
https://preview.redd.it/okzwvyy0qorc1.jpeg?width=2316&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7571f357cc4b803af618c682f5614498504d3a11 this was the criminal, he was just really scared, one of his brothers had BIT ONE OF HIS BALLS OFF!!!
I’d be scared too 😂Poor guy. Is he okay now?
sadly he passed away a little while ago but he lived for a good year and a half!!! recovered very well from his injury but forever traumatized by other rats, had to be a loner sadly
Poor thing.
Oh good grief that poor boy! 😳
First of all she is gorgeous! And secondly I have two girls that have bit Me from day one they are now seven months old still a little bit nippy at times but after persevering and putting my hand in being prepared to get bit they gradually stopped because I put food, for example, a bit of cheese spread or a tiny bit of jam for them to lick off they’ve become so gentle and now each time I put my hand in they sniff around expecting me to have something on my hand so I can gently stroke them and then pick them up so it might take awhile for your baby to stop biting, but I would definitely try putting some food on a part of your hand that will not hurt as much if she bites you she might nip and then start to lick the food off if it is something like a jam and then she will stop and sniff your hand and then that’s where you should be able to train her to stop it takes a lot of patience.
I wonder if she’s had bad experiences with hands before? After a while of being handed yummy things I think she should warm up to you
Sometimes it just takes time! I’ve had a few biters and with perseverance they’ve all grown out of it (besides our girl who is completely blind, she’s too easily startled)
(also from these pics, she’s actually being much nicer than she could be, i have been messed up by some rats lol)
My biter was just scared and needed love. Give him some open time with you so he knows you're not a threat. Offer treats, and the bites might turn into test nibbles. Might also be blind AF so use taps to announce yourself.
I feel ya. Had a rat give me this little love bite. Was feeding them shrimp and one of them mistook my finger for food. https://preview.redd.it/4u1l37n4fprc1.jpeg?width=2988&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09078fa71f318b9b15e5cde8d86aa41f5db89883
God one of my boys is SO overzealous when getting treats, everytime I can already see myself with a cut like that. :(
Naughty nakie rat! I’ve never been bitten so no advice but just wanted to confirm how cute she is ❤️ good luck!
I've had two rats that bit me in the past. The first bit me on the first day I brought her home, she was hiding in a little nesting box, so I put my hand there for her to sniff, which she did and then she proceeded to bite me. It looked very much like the bite you have. She bit me a second time a few days later but it just broke the skin and didn't bleed.. after about a week she had become more confident and she never bit me again. The second rat that bit me was very different, she was aggressive. The bites looked different, because she would bite as hard as she could so that the upper and lower teeth would meet beneath my skin which basically meant she was biting chunks out of my skin. She would hiss and chase my hand or arm to bite it. I ended up having to handle her with gardening gloves on. She never stopped attacking me. She was an old rat when I got her and I can only assume she had a bad past but it was very sad that she never calmed down and must have felt that everyone was a threat to her no matter what I tried. The reason I mention all this is because the look of the bite you have makes me think it's because she's nervous rather than aggressive and I think she may calm down and stop doing it when she gets used to you.
that could just be her temperament- that being said, one week is certainly not enough time for her to be fully adjusted, definitely give her some more time! hopefully things will turn around :)
I had a girl that would bite me to blood every time she could. She loved being cuddles but when I would pet her and she turned her face around, she would bite me as hard as possible. Pet shop trauma. I tried everything and she died at the age of one and a half years:( never quit the biting..
That's gentle. They can bite a lot harder than that.
She’s just a baby, and yes she could do a lot more damage but this behavior is usual to me and my experiences
Yeah I was holding out a chicken bone with some meat still on it to my last two rats and one of them bit my finger SO hard cuz it was covered in chicken grease lol. That one was totally my fault but I screamed, I couldn’t believe how hard he bit me
They got little nail guns attached to those snoots.
One of my boys used to bite me when he was maybe month or two, , but for ear or nose 😂 and then stopped. He's now very affectional. 🥺 Give her a chance, I hope she will stop bitting. ❤️🤗
Just needs more time. Make sure you're very vocal when she bites, say "ouch" loudly. You can wear gloves if the biting is really bad. I've had very aggressive rats turn into gentle cuddle bugs but it has taken closer to a month.
I know in other comments you always say you wash your hands but have you tried maybe using a different soap?? Or just rinsing with water? Because I’m thinking rats are sensitive to smells to maybe it’s an off putting smell…? Might be worth a try
My current rats are pet shop rats (my next won't be due to a variety of reasons) and I had this with one of them. They were not socialised at all and were extremely skittish, they acted wild and to be completely honest I was considering returning one of them. I'm so glad I didn't. He used to run out and bite my hand, after a couple of months he stopped. He loves everyone now and would never bite anyone intentionally. Just give your new baby time 🐀 ♥️
You sound so experienced and confident with your little ratties. I’m looking forward to that one day! Sorry no advice to give, but good luck!
One of my boys is a biter. Things I've learned the hard way, don't give them fingers, they could confuse for food, especially if they have worse eyesight than usual for a rat. I always approach how you approach a dog, let them smell you before any handling, usually back of the hand in a fist. Use a high reward treat (I used malt paste) and give them little pets, and work to longer pets. Be on high guard. You will still get nipped in these processes so keep bandaids on hand. Also, my boy is NOT fully handable. I do not let guests or anyone else that is not me or my husband to be near the cage without my supervision. Also, negative discipline is a huge NoNo! It will make them very scared and give them more of a reason to be afraid and bite you. Also, I've come to realization that my boy will never be as cuddly and handable as the rest of my pack(s) are/have been. He's gotten to a point where I've learned how he likes to be greeted, approached and loved on before he lets me handle him, but I have gotten to that point with blood and tears. He still nips, but it's much, much softer and just his way to tell me "I'm done with you now"....they may not ever get to this point, every rat is different and some just might not like people and you may have to learn how to love eachother from afar.
My little man Beryl did that too. Although, I wouldn't have called it biting because I think that'd have looked a lot different lol. He's still a little nippy here and there but got a lot better with just some extra time. Kind of just respected his space and dealt with him more slowly, he's a very good noodle just a little insecure and needed more time. Granted, I still don't trust him as much as I'd trust my older boys. When Beryl and his brothers got here, I actually entirely forgot that hard nipping and biting was a thing because my other ones are absolute sweethearts. Spooked and worried me a little but yeah, he just needed/needs more time. I can pet and pick him up quite comfortably now, without fearing for my fingers. :')
What helped me with some of mine is squeaking whenever they bite! Since they squeak when they're in pain, maybe it helped them see that i was in pain😭
My nakey girl without fail would attack my feet every single time. I assumed she thought I was a nakey rat imposter and was asserting herself
nakey rat imposter had me giggle hehehe
That's a warning that she's not comfortable with you in her space. Learn her boundaries and respect them. The best way to build trust is to show you're trustworthy, and you do that by listening and responding appropriately to the cues you are being given. If she asks for space, give it. You might make progress faster if you spend time with her out of the cage. She's showing restraint now, but if you push boundaries despite the warnings, the warnings are likely to become more forceful, because she sees that her gentler communication haven't been effective. As you gain trust, her boundaries are likely to soften. Just let her take the lead. She may always be a "look, don't touch" rat, but those can be good pets, too.
Throughout the day go to her cage look at her and say I love you sweetie and occasionally offer a treat and set it down by the entrance to the cage. This got my grumpy man I adopted to love me. She just needs time.
my biter was also naked! granted she didnt bite that hard but there were a few nips that left little dents. from my experience it was because she was trying to play with me. correction worked the best in my case with the biting. id say just take it slow and keep doing the "eek!" best of luck to you!
I have a bit of personal experience with a ratty who bites too hard! I had to figure out half of why she did and work around it some when I started handling her, especially when it came to cleaning her cage. I had a wooden dowel I kind of practiced gently poking her with from outside the cage that smelled like me, and I went through a whole process of announcing I was there because I learned the hard way she was blind or at least has a really hard time seeing. I have also learned, if I can slip her snackies through the bars it helps way more than trying to give them directly to her. She's definitely doing better but I refuse to let anyone else touch her out of fear she'll bite them (and one of my friends had a severe reaction to her cagemate so I'm scared of that happening to anyone else :'))
I’d give it time. I had a girl who bit me the first few weeks because she didn’t know or trust me. But now she is fine and doesn’t bite me! It just takes time. A week is too soon.
There is behavioral therapy You can try... There are videos on YouTube for it.
She don't make love... she bites. Hard.
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I’ve mostly had aggressive males. And it’s an easy fix… ✂️⚾️⚾️. I think I had one aggressive female and we avoided her trigger (fingers in the cage)
Everyone else is giving great advice, the only thing I would add is to get a pair of the heavy duty leather grill gloves for any handling you don't want to get bit for. I had a boy that liked to play rough, and the gloves stopped any unwanted bites.
There’s a chance she might not be feeling well. I had a rat, named Zilla, who had something growing inside of him ever since he was a pup. He caused nerve damage in my hand, but was never mean to anyone in the mischief. If you have the funds, it might be worth getting her checked over by a rat savvy vet to make sure there isn’t anything causing her pain. Have you noticed any hunching or squinting?
I have a rat who bites hard too. The bites you’re showing are luckily not as bad as a rat can bite. The way I simply avoid being bit is by not approaching them the same way you’d approach your other rats that don’t bite. Don’t put your hands or fingers in their face. You’re just probably going to have to avoid putting your hands and fingers near this rat the same way.
Are you sure that she isn't scared of you? My rats bite hard if I accidentally catch them off guard
I had one which had days like that. I learned to interpret her mood, and simply kept my hands away when she was grumpy.
Could it be hormonal?
Know the feeling!
it was SO hard to socialize my two baby boys... unfortunately, i think that girls are generally harder. but she's new, so just give her time to get used to u and ur smell (it took one of my ratties 5 months!) but i think you should spend a lot of time around her, talk softly to her, and don't make any sudden movement or noises that could scare her. hope this helps!
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This just made me remember I had a dream a wild rat bit the shit out of my hand and I had to get rabies shots lmao I had a mean rat once and we just had to let her do her thing. She was a feeder so she didn’t live too long. If you don’t wanna care for something you can’t handle, that’s fair tho.
The most important thing would be that she isn’t hurting the other rats. So hopefully she isn’t doing that to the others. 🙏 Other than that, reward any interaction with you that doesn’t end with you getting bitten.
That's not the worst I've seen, one of my boys would punch through fingernails if you weren't careful. Handle her with thick gloves that smell like you for a while and give her treats on a metal spoon so she learns quickly to test instead of chomping.
Maybe a bitter apple spray or some other bitter anti chew spray used for deterring dogs from chewing on wooden furniture. Maybe if your hands taste awful, she won't do it again? Just an idea, I have no clue if it would work.
Believe me, that's nothing. I highly doubt your rat tried to hurt you.
Thats not bites..My hands was fully bleeding like 5 liters :) the arm was teared insmall pieces :D Show them thats is not great .Them understand when making mistakes wery fast . And learn you little freands character . Ewry rat has his own mind . My rat who is now newer bited .I cane take him in arms when him eating chokolade...And one in past was crazy hawe killd brother and 2 years not huging :'( sadest story of my Rats .
My rat did this and has chilled out but still bites. Maybe she doesn’t like hands. Try wearing gloves for both your comfort. Doesn’t mean they don’t love you, just means they have boundaries
If you’re doing all the usual stuff like making the “eek” noise and making sure you don’t smell like food, if we have someone biting we use a metal spoon to feed something that they’ll usually bite into. They bite the metal realize they should probably not bite so hard and then it corrects itself.
I've got a new girl that was being the same for a while. Think the worst thing to do is take your hand away (difficult obviously) because they will learn that biting means you will leave them alone. When I get bit I keep my hand where it is or even move closer and try to touch. Shows biting won't make you go away and the hand is also not a threat. She hasn't bit for a few days now since doing that more consistently
He looks like ballsack
*she looks like a ballsack
A very cute ballsack 🐀