got bitten several times today.

Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:21 pm

here is the story, i let my rat out of his cage while the other one is sleeping, he comes out and we were playing, he went on exploration under my bed again. This time he wouldn't come out, so i take his favourite ball and bounce it, he comes running back to the ball, jumps on my knees, after a few seconds jumps back down, i had to go and take a shower, wanted to put him in his cage while i take the shower, when i tried to catch him he bit me 4-5 times and seriously scratched my hand, i was outraged, he then ran under my bed again, i couldn't do anything, so i went and quickly washed my hand with the blood, it was really bleeding, i went and put on some gloves and tried to catch him, when i finally did he jumped out of my glove, on my arm and bit me several times, even deeper! my entire arm was bleeding for about 10 mins non stop. finally after 2 hours he went back to his cage himself, i couldn't catch him, i can't trust him at all any more, what should i do? i was no threat to him at all, i never intimidated him at all, it could be because of his age becoming more violent but i never expected him to ever bite me, specially not so many times in a row, after i noticed the glove was completely ripped from his biting, so if i had no gloved i might have as well stabbed myself many times....

I was actually very lucky, he very nearly got my vain!

Ideas please, when should i trust him enough to be able to handle him? should i punish him? (not physically ofcourse but in any other form like put him in a separate cage for a few days?)

Fri Feb 03, 2006 4:02 pm

Oh no.

I'm so sorry.

You can't really punish a rat for biting - there is an underlying reason why they do it that they really can't control and don't see it as a right or a wrong. How old is he? If he's fairly young and maybe hitting his "teenage" phase then it very well be hormones that are making him bite all of a sudden. Other causes could be that he is in pain from an injury you can't see - hence biting when being picked up. Or a strange scent can sometimes spook them.

Honestly, I'd take him to the vet to be checked over. If you have a trusting vet with rat experience a neuter may be your best option if it turns out he has no injuries. I've had a couple of aggressive males that cleared right up a couple weeks after a neuter. In the meantime watch for him to be aggressive towards cagemates and watch for signs of things that make him become aggressive. If it is only when you try to pick him up, if it's when he is in a certain area of the room, etc.

Good luck - I hope you can find the cause and get him fixed up. Just remember, he's probably very confused too, especially since (naturally) you'll be more leary of him until you can trust him again. Being angry with him and/or punishing him will only confuse him more, IMO.

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Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:36 pm

It sounds like he was afraid. A cornered rat will sometimes attack, and if he's still unsocial enough to hide when you need to put him away, it may be that he needs some more time before you let him have full free range again.

I know you're probably afraid of him biting you again, but if you bend to that fear you'll end up with a rat that isn't used to being handled who will be more likely to bite. I know it makes you sad that your friend bit you, but he was probably pretty sad that his owner was (in his mind) chasing him in a threatening way.

Of course... sometimes boys just get b*tchy. Genghis hasn't bitten us since the first day, but he does squawk like a madman when we pick him up to put him away. I think he'd be more than happy to bite us if we hadn't spent so many hours in the last two weeks working with him. We've spent a lot of time holding and touching him, turning him over (for belly kisses!), and letting him explore in the bathroom, where it is very easy to catch him and he must interact with us during the entire playtime. These have been hours well spent because we no longer worry about Genghis biting us (though he is still going to be neutered as he's tempermental with the other boys).

I think my point was, not all hope is lost. You can go for the neuter and hope that's a fix-all or you can try some intense socialization first. It may be that he already was socialized and that his hormones have made him forget a lot of it. In that case, I'd approach him like he's brand new.

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Fri Feb 03, 2006 11:15 pm

i agree with jill, it does sound like he was afraid and remember that when you put the gloves on he would not have recognised your hands. maybe your free ranging could be limited for a while until he is more at ease. i had a similar situation with my boys going behind a book case because they felt less exposed there and it took me hours of waiting to get them out!now that they are more used to their surroundings they never go there. i know how much a bite (never mind an armful of bites) can shake you up, but it doesn't sound like he was attacking you, it sounds like he was defending himself. good luck, kate x

Sat Feb 04, 2006 10:02 pm

Well i got bitten again today, he was being violent towards his cage mate, i was going to pick him up and he bit me, but he quickly let go as soon as he found it was me, it did draw blood, i don't know if it's his age (he is about 4-5 month old) or something else. Should i have his castrated? He is seriously becoming violent towards his cage mate too, always pulling his hair out! You wouldn't notice it when they sleep together at nights though, you would think they are best of friends till he has an outburst.

Now every time i put my hand near him i have a genuine fear of being bitten, is there any way to pick a rat up comfortably without being bitten or scratched?

Sat Feb 04, 2006 10:40 pm

I have a biter too...he has never drawn blood though but he still bites down hard. I got my rat at a petstore so I know he's very afraid of people..his brother is already used to people..but for some reason he isn't. He almost always bites when you pick him up from top or go near to his face...the only way I can pick him up is if I scoop him up with both hands near the back of his body..then I quickly put him down. Maybe you can try picking your rat up this way..

But also in your case I would suggest getting him fixed..it seems to settle down teen male rats. I haven't got mine fixed yet but I might have to do it with my biter aswell.

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Sun Feb 05, 2006 7:44 am

csite - did the bite happen when you broke up the fight, or shortly afterwards? If so, then it may well be that the aggression wasn't aimed at you, but simply because he was still all wound up after fighting with his cagemate.

Is he drawing blood from his cagemate? Is the fighting excessive (how often do they fight?)?

It may be that neutering him will calm him down - he's the right age for actling like a stroppy teenager. It can calm down, sometimes, without the surgery, but if he's regularly drawing blood from his cagemates he needs to be separated until that is resolved (and the neuter may well do that).

As to how to handle them - well honestly, if he has an aggression issue, I'm not sure I can guarantee a way to pick him up that won't upset him or cause him to bite. Scratching tends to be an occupational hazard, but it does depend on how much scratching is occurring and what he's doing when he scratches you - is he struggling or just doing normal things?

Is he showing any other hormonal signs - huffing, puffing up, hissing, stamping/hopping up and down, sidling sideways, rubbing his chin and stomach or sides on things?

If you really think that he will bite you, then really you need to find a way to keep on handling him while protecting yourself - gloves perhap (though sometimes that can freak them out). But in this case, it may well be that he didn't intend to bite you - it's very important that you never NEVER separate fighting rats with your bare hands for precisely that reason - a stressed, frightened or wound up rat in mid fight will not be in the frame of mind to stop and think, and may very well bite you in the heat of the moment, even if they're not usually aggressive to humans. If you need to separate fighting rats, use a sudden noise to startle them, or keep a spray bottle of clean water near the cage and if you must grab one or the other rat to separate them, be sure to protect your hands with gloves, a thick towel or something similar to protect yourself.

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Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:54 pm

csite

i had a girl rattie who would bite and draw blood....and your situation sounds very similar....she would really sink her teeth in and have a good go at me

it seemed she had a sight problem and once we figured it out and were told how to prevent it....she very rarely bit me again....and eventually stopped biting altogether

she either became afraid of fast moving objects or thought i was giving out food

so basically we had to do everything slowely where she was concerned....no fast hand movements at all.....show her our hands to show there was no food....to start with we would approach real slow and she would latch on but not bite down....eventualy she got used to the slow movements and stopped latching on as well

but any sudden movements and she would pretty much attack it.

by the time she was 12 months old she had stopped biting altogether.

so try slow movements and see how you go

smile

deb

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