[ana_os]

I recently got a rat (Ossie!) from a friend of mine. He is about 7 months old and isn't used to being handled. As well as this the little trouble bites! :roll:

I handle him every day now and don't force him to come out
but
what do I do when he bites me?

I've heard people say tap them on the nose with a stick (never a finger!) or just ignore it but I don't want this bad habit of Ossie's to get any worse.

What do you think?

thanks

ana xxx

 

[bananaman]

hey there, im having the same issue... i bought two rats, i read everything i could before i got them and i got them from the equivalent of petco here in mexico (which isnt much to say)... anyways, the hairless one had bitten me twice, but today it got me good, it drew blood from both incisions...

i swear i dont know what i did wrong, i was trying to do some bonding and stuff, it didnt seemed scared or anything, i was giving it treats, it was finally venturing out of the cage and i was trying to sort of pet it, or pet its head when bam! my right middle finger got tagged...

any info on what we can do and why it could have happened would be great... thanks everyone

 

[ratty_miss]

I've heard people say tap them on the nose with a stick

i wouldn't recommend this at all. rat's noses are fragile, and that could hurt them, and it will just scare them more.

you can buy thick leather gloves and wear those while handling the rat so you wont get bitten. at first, try just holding you hand inside their cage for a while. that way they are where they feel secure, and can get used to your hand more slowly. you can hold food (like veggies- broccoli is good) or treats on you hand to encourage them to come closer.

you can also cut up an old shirt and put it in their cage. that way they get used to your smell (make sure you have worn the shirt recently so it smells like you)

rats have poor eyesight. their main senses are smell and hearing. try not to move suddenly in their presence because that will startle them.

also, you can put on 2 shirts and tuck them in, then put the rat in between the shirts and let him/her run around for 20 minutes or so.

also just spending time near you rats cage talking to them in a soft voice helps.

 

[Zalensia]

Everything ratty miss has said I would agree with.
It just takes time.
Start off with your hand near them, dont try picking them up yet.

 

[bananaman]

excellent advise... thank you... im making some progress already i think, they are starting to wander out of their cage... hopefully next week i can try that shirt suggestion... cheers

 

[Dawn]

I am so sorry you guys have been bitten!
How long have you had your rats?
I can tell you what was suggested to me,
I would open my rats cage and just sit, yup sit.
Sit and watch!
Everytime I left after a sitting session I would leave
green pea's...I dont know what it is about pea's.
Most rats seem to go CRAZY for them.
Put them in a bowl of water and watch.
It is so much fun!

 

[ana_os]

thanks everyone!
ratty_miss - i love the suggestion about the shirt! It sounds great so I'll do that.
Dawn, I do just as you did. I love to sit and watch Ossie rat and he comes over to me now, jumps out of the cage and crawls on my lap. I "click and treat" (clicker training) and stroke him. He seems to like that but gets curious sometimes and turns his head around to sniff my hand. I just say to him "You won't hurt me if you bite! I'll mend!" : ) and he turns away.
Another problem is that I'm a student so it's hard to sit with Ossie for a long time. He likes to run around me on my bed when I do my coursework though!

Thanks again everyone!!!

ana xxx

 

[peejeeratties]

Luckily I've never been biten before, hubby has but that was a pain bite. One of my girls from a long time ago, shattered her ankle and when we were exaiming her before taking her to the vet, she bite my husband to the point of drawing blood, but then almost immediately after started to love on him to say "I'm sorry"

If they are biting because they are scared, one thing I always do with new ratties is trust training. I start with a very small amount of peanut butter on the end of a long spoon, after a couple of days, I move to a shorter spoon, and then to my finger. Since you start with the spoon, you will be able to tell if they are going to try and "take" your finger with them. The most I've ever had was one that clamped down to take me into the cage with them, but never bad enough for blood.

All of the suggested ideas above are great ones, and ones that work rather well. Also, try not to reach in from above, it seems to freak them out a little

Shirley

 

[Dawn]

I am just WAAAAAYYY to scared to put any peanut butter on my finger!
WAY WAY WAY to chicken for that!

 

[peejeeratties]

It really isn't that bad. Try it on a spoon first to see how they react. If they calmly just like it off, go ahead and try it, they won't take off with your finger. If they try and grab the spoon, chances are they will try and take your finger. Get them use to the spoon and gradually change over.

Here is my sweet little Kimberly, eating peanut butter off of Chuck's (my hubby) finger http://multiparts.no-ip.com/PeeJee/Rats/imagepages/image274.html

or how about some babies all getting peanut butter at the same time http://multiparts.no-ip.com/PeeJee/Rats/imagepages/image568.html
http://multiparts.no-ip.com/PeeJee/Rats/imagepages/image573.html

Shirley

 

[bananaman]

darn ratties! too cute! congrats...

on the other hand ...

I'm so happy cause today great progress was made... earlier during the day they had shun me and I felt horrible, as if going back... but just now I took the cage, put it in my bed and opened it. I put a pair of old baggy shorts over myself, and when the albino came out I said "its time" (lol) and I cupped her up with both hands, she squirmed, and I put her inside the shorts...

she kept crawling all around, popping her head out periodically for treats which I gladly gave her... then it was the hairless's turn... she came out, I lured her to my shorts (still not confident enough to try to pick her up) and sort of nudged her to go in... she went in and they both ran around over me inside the shorts (I wasnt wearing them lol, they were OVER me)... they were given treats for being good girls, no nervous poo-ing and finally they both snuggled in there and went to sleep... i pet them both over the shorts and they didnt run away like before... so iguess thats good...

I just woke them up a while later, opened the shorts and the hairless one came out and walked to her cage... I picked up the albino and put her in her cage (peed on me but who cares) and they both went straight to bed... i tell ya... progress feels good, especially when these girls were SO not friendly a week ago, i seriously thought it wouldnt happen... thanks for all the advice, ive been reading it all and taking it into account... later!

here are the little ones:

 

[Dawn]

bananaman
That is great news! Keep at it.
Try not to get hurt if you have good days and then the next day a bad day....that is what happened with me.
My rats still have nervous times and then others they come rigth out to see me??? So I just kind of accepted their personalities and let them play if they want or not.

 

[peejeeratties]

What cute little ones )

The one that peed on you, was she just marking you or is she still doing the "fear" pee? or did you just have her out too long???

Peejee, my first girl, actually would do a peepee dance )

Shirley

 

[bananaman]

it was fear pee... but hasnt happened again... theyre on my lap now as i write... so much love...

 

[ratty_miss]

it was fear pee

of course i wasn't there, but sometimes they can wee on you and even if they still are nervouse, it can be the first "acceptance"

also, hairless rats get cold easier, so it is good for them to have a furry friend (which it sounds like yours does) and you can also give them lots of tissue or toilet paper for warmth, or buy some cheap fleece blankets and cut them up so they can line their nest with them

 

[bananaman]

yes, my hairless has her furry buddy with her... and they have old cut up tshirts for warmth... i hope it was acceptance haha, it sure looks like it... very friendly now... thanks again

 

[ana_os]

Awwwww bananaman n Shirley those pics r sooooo cute!

Making good progress with little Ossie and I'm very keen to try the peanut butter thing (think I might share some with him! hehe)

ana xxx

 

[ratty_miss]

oh! *smacks self on head* how could i forget... giving peanut butter plain to rats is VERY risky. since it tastes so good, rats eat it fast...and it is a goopey kind of thing, so they can easily eat too much and choke to death. its happened before. it's much safer to spread it thinly on a cracker and give it to them. doughy bread is also dangerous for the same reason. please consider using the cracker method instead

 

[ana_os]

Is it not good enough to spread a thin layer on the spoon? He doesn't eat it too quickly and he's learning that not all food is a "take-away"!

Hopefully, when I get to the stage of putting it on my finger, he won't snatch that either!

Thanks guys!

xxx

 

[Dawn]

1 of my rats snatches food with intent to kill.
I tried last night to hold the treat and repeat the word "Nice"
kind of like how I taught my dog....but I still dont think he had a clue as to what the heck I was talking about and he tried even harder to get the treat out of my fingers...
Nope I wont be putting any peanut butter on any of my fingers anytime soon! LOL!!!