[ilovemyrats111]

hello!
this is my first time on this website. i got it to ask you all a question about my rats (obviously. i recently got two female dumbo rats that are each about 6 weeks old. i have one (scar) that is blue grey and is calm, yet likes exploring. the other one (cookie) , however, is white with red/pink eyes. she often is skittish and tends to run away from me sometimes while scar often comes running to me. however, when cookie and i are together, cuddling for example, after a few minutes, she is relaxed and falls asleep. however, if i put my finger near her to pet her, she starts biting/nibbling it. she hasn’t drawn blood yet, but she’s been damaging my finger nail an abnormal amount (more than what i would consider just nibbling). i used to think this was because she was hungry of thirsty, so i fed her / gave water, but she just went back to nibbling my thumb. does she think my thumb is food ? is she just teething and is using my thumb as a toy? if so why hasn’t she been using our toy for teething rats? please help me

thanks

 

[Newtorats]

Not sure if you ever paint your nails or anything but if so they are trying to groom you. If you don’t put anything on your nails it means they think you might smell edible. Rats figure out thief environment but smelling and biting because they have poor eyesight

 

[SonicRat]

It sounds from what you describe that she is grooming you,a sign of bonding and affection.However some rats are rougher than others.If she is being too aggressive with it try doing what another rat would do,an offended sounding squeak and pull your finger away.

 

[fancy rat w/ a top hat]

Usually when my rat bites me he means it in an affectionate way, so as long as it's not drawing blood you should be good. But make sure to let the rat know when it's biting too hard.