[Minky]

I took a risk and rescued an aggressive rat with a habit of biting through cage bars. I didn't know much about her, but when I arrived to pick her up I was surprised to see she was just a baby, maybe 12 weeks old, with a sweet and fearless personality.

She was a viper-like food snatcher, I learned as I got accidentally bit giving her some banana. So I did something I read here, letting her lick applesauce off of a spoon. The first time she tried to grab the spoon and made a big mess, applesauce everywhere. The second time she realized she had to stand there and lick the spoon. By the time I presented my hand with applesauce on it, she already knew what to do - lick, don't bite.

Yesterday I did the final test of placing my hand against the cage bars. At first she bit, but I kept my hand there to show her it's a HAND, not food. The second time I put my hand up, no bite. Same thing today - no bites. I can hardly believe how fast she learned! I wasn't sure if I'd be stuck with a mean, biting monster or what. . . instead I got a cute baby dumbo who happens to be very smart.

Oh, and she's cute, too.

 

[meldiggity]

Oh my she looks like a cutie! <3 she looks like my Little Grey a little bit <3

 

[RattieFosters]

I love stories like these. A friend of mine did something kind of similar when she saw a male rat living alone in a tank at a pet store. One of the employees said it was because he was vicious and attacked any rat or person who came near him. Well, she bought him. And in the year and a half she had him he only ever bit twice. xP And he was introduced to another male whom he lived with very peacefully for the remainder of his life. So much for being vicious I guess. xP

Your new girl is so cute! Congrats on the new baby.

 

[JAnimal]

She is adorable. And congrats on training her.

 

[Cookie_Rat12]

It's great that u didn't give up on her, like most poeple would, and instead took the ctime to learn about her and teach her right from wrong. 🐀😄

 

[Minky]

Let's just say this was never an "aggressive" rat. She just had some bad habits, but she's not aggressive in the least. Very, very sweet little girl who is now a former biter

 

[Chelema]

What a complete darling!

I was really interested in what you said about her biting when she takes food. I have two girls, Tiana and Mulan. Tiana is very careful when she takes stuff from me but Mulan 'panic grabs'. as I call it. She's a lovely girl, doesn't bite me in any other sense but she sees food and just gets overexcited. I am going to try out the tip you mentioned, about putting apple sauce on a spoon.

 

[Minky]

Chelema, you can use any soft food like yogurt or baby food. The idea is for them to realize that there's something *under* the food, be it a spoon or your fingers. Once they get the hang of licking the food off the spoon, you can let them lick the food off your fingers. Or if you're nervous, start by letting them lick the food off the back of your hand because it's harder to bite that area. Eventually they should be able to lick the food from your fingers without grabbing or biting, at least that's the goal.

Remember not to pull your hand away. Even if they do bite, you want them to realize their mistake so they can learn. If you do get bit, squeek in a high pitched voice so they know they hurt you. But be confident when you're training -- you probably won't get bit

Let me know if you have success (or not) with this method.