@@Jamiey-I actually believe one of my girls does this for humor as well - I’m convinced she thinks it’s funny or a game. She’ll sneak over whenever I let my guard down - get a quick nibble in and then she popcorns as she retreats lol
I used to have a dwarf hamster who would bite enough to draw blood as a greeting before walking calmly onto my hand! He made an excellent finger pricker for diabetes blood tests. Anyone who claims to spend a lot of time around animals and hasn’t been bitten is lying. There is also the fixed reply at any zoo when people ask if an animal bites. “Does it have a mouth? It has the potential to bite!”
I’ve got a dwarf dumbo rat named Raisin. Raisin bites and draws blood when he’s happy, sad, scared, bored, etc. he’s been examined and there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s just a dick. I’ve kind of just accepted that Raisin is this way so I guess he’s going to spend the rest of his asshole life with me getting spoiled and loved anyway lol.
Well glad your Hamster helped you test your blood sugar levels, My mate had a Hamster as a kid and it was mental, It used to attack his German shepard dog!, and the dog was scared of it!, It earned his name Himler the Hamster, It bitten everybody. The little bastard got me at least seven times and it wouldnt let go, You had to gently prize his teeth off you.
I have a scar where the first rat I rescued bit me. I was shocked at how deep it was and how much it bled. The rats I have now haven’t but me, but I have one who is nippy and I’m pretty leery of him. It’s hard to push passed the fear after they do bite you and continue interacting with them. I understand, and honestly it’s a relief to hear someone talk about it so I know that it’s not because I did something wrong.
Yeah I had one particularly aggressive rat (probably needed to be spayed) and I couldnt even train it away. She bit me once so deep I never dared to touch her again. I gave her away to a rescue organisation for rats in my country cause I couldnt handle it. I dont regret it because the fear made me feel like I was gonna faint and taking care of rats you cant touch is hard, the foster home updated me that she was doing good (the one that took her was experienced with bitey rats) so I think it was for the best. She did bite me plenty of times before and I powered through but this time I couldnt shake it away. I could train away her sisters biting habit and she became an angel, my current rats never bite unless one of them gets a bit too excited during playtime lol
@@samh7206 I gave the one I rescued that bit me to my best friend who has had rats before and I never had at that point. So I understand completely. I didn’t see how I was supposed to properly care for him if I couldn’t handle him and she’s gotten him where she can get him out and play with him. He is also aggressive towards other rats so there’s definitely something going on with him. I get to see him and hear about him so I know he’s okay!
I have a rescued rat that cane from an abusive home and I always have to be careful when I put my hand in I love him and I always give him space. And I agree once they bite you you are kinda scared and loose trust with your rat
My first rat had just had babies and i was to scared to hold her and get her out so i would make her chase strings and feathers around . Until the day, she jumped up and latched onto what she thought was the string but it was my finger. She dangled and shook as she usually did I calmly grabbed her and put her down and shut the cage. Then passed out . It scar'ed and the amount of blood that was everywhere was awful. I love rats and this was 100% my fault but this still makes me cringe..
I have a rat who bit me a week ago so deep it was bleeding alot and it wouldn't stop bleeding, my boii is a really sweet boii so I don't know why he did bite me that night cuz we spend alot of time together and all, my finger still hurts to this day but I still love his goofy ass! and I will continue to work with him!
I’ve had about 30 rats and only two, both sisters have ever bitten me. They were “cage aggressive” so I couldn’t blindly stick my hand in the cage. They were fine (normal) if they came to me first as well as when they were outside the cage. I dealt with it and loved them anyway. I adjusted to the situation so that I stopped getting bit, but it really sucked because my experience with rats had been one of absolute trust. I adopted them as babies and they came from a trusted breeder; they were never mistreated. It was clearly a genetic temperament issue and obviously, my breeder ended breeding from their line. They were beautiful and smart though so it’s sad but necessary.
Completely understand where you're coming from. In the 12 years I've had pet rats, I've only been bitten less than a handful of times, by complete accident more often than not. This year I decided to get a few girls from the local shop that, let's just say, doesn't breed rats for the purpose of being pets. Although I've had rats from ALL walks of life these 3, after months and months, wouldn't let me handle them at all without being bitten. We tried giving them the best home possible but they would bite not only me but guests, family, friends etc. Whole household was scared to go near them i hate to even say. First time in my rat experience to say the least that I was genuinely unable to get thru to them. It was so saddening. Decided rehoming was the only option (and no, not just dropping them off at the store I got them from). Luckily a fellow rat fanatic friend of mine decided to do a "trade", which sounds weird at first, but really she gave me a few of her very well tamed 3 baby sisters from the same litter, took my other 3 in and gave them a wonderful home where they could be social and happy amongst a group of like 11 others. I'm so happy to hear about their progress in a larger rat population setting where they can kinda blend in (they bit her too but she knows how to handle these things somehow lol) Moral of the story is, I'd love to hope there is hope in rats that bite, it's not their fault or yours if it doesn't work out, don't feel bad for doing what's best for your household, as long as it's in the rats' best interest too because even biters can live long happy lives in the right setting. Now on the other hand with these 3 I can stick my finger thru the cage and get nothing but love n kisses back lol they're all my ❤️s.
@@darkestgray0 Wow! I’m happy they’re in the best setting for them and also that you’re back to having sweet ratties again. Thank God it’s a rare situation. My current rats are total sweeties. If I stick my hand inside a hammock, they treat it like another rat and start grooming me.
I had a boy who was cage aggressive. He never bit me because I make sure to introduce myself to any pet slowly from the getgo, but my boyfriend at the time shoved his hand in at like punch speed at got a hard bite even after me warning him not to do so. Bf was afraid of the rat for weeks, even outside of the cage, and then one day I put rat on his shoulder and bf assuming it was one of the baby rats pet him without thinking. They got along like gangbusters after that.
@hathorthecow7146 never ever Just Put a pet on someone else without there knowledge! He could get scares and swoosh the pet of, the pet could get scared and jump off! It is not a sign of Trust. Neither to your bf neither to your pet
I had a hormonally aggressive rat attack me while I was cleaning his cage. I got him neutered, and within time, he became THE SWEETEST boy I think I've ever had. He loved to come give me cuddles and kisses. I don't remember what the timeframe was, but we did have to learn how to trust each other, as neither of us really knew each other very well prior to the attack.
Animal bites are just the risk you take when bringing ANY animal into your home. Whenever people ask me about my pet rats, and ask if they bite, I try to avoid saying that they don't or won't. I've never been bitten (well, had one nip when I had a treat in my hand, bit that in the bud real quick with some training), but that doesn't mean they couldn't or won't ever bite. It is my responsibility as a pet owner to be aware of what could cause a bite, and to work with the animals to prevent bites through behavioural training. Rats are amazing pets, but their bites can be extremely damaging, often requiring surgery depending on where the bite was (I've seen some bites where it actually went through and severed a tendon). Animals have to be treated with respect! Most bites are preventable as long as you listen to your animal's body language.
My first answer to that question is "anything will bite you if it feels like it," followed by an explanation of the specific animal's established habits.
@@TheLithp yeah.. my rat was just chilling in his hammock like always and i was rubbing his head which i did before and he randomly lunged at me and bit my finger pretty badly
From what I heard. The UK is the only place that consider pet rats bites normal. Its not. Its genetic and has to be bred out of them. A rat that was bred to be ok as pets will never bite
@@magusperde365 @Magus Perdé First of all, I'm from the U.S here. Second, aggressiveness is genetic, but any animal, no matter how docile, and how well bred, will bite if pushed to their limit, or when they are in fear or pain. You have to respect them The only way you could 100% remove the risk of bites would be by literally removing their teeth, which is obviously cruel. I don't know where you got this information that pet rats will never bite. We hear al the time about dog bites (and even lethal attacks), and those have been bred for 1000's of years longer than domestic rats.
@@magusperde365 Never ever? Even if, hypothetically speaking for the sake of scientific discourse, it was put in a position where it felt threatened? Genetic tameness is a useful trait to have when domesticating animals, including rats, but it is not some fool proof guarantee that the animal will never bite. It is less likely to bite, yes, but not a guarantee that it never bites.
We currently have two biters. Butter hates me because I smooshed his face in medicated apple sauce when he was younger, so he gives me warning nips when I get too close to him. Hubby is the only one allowed to touch him, as he's a general grump even without me being around. Our other biter, Pain, just gets super excited when he smells food and bites at the scent immediately. He once bit my finger because I had yogurt on it (when we first got him and didn't know any better) and he jumped back like he knew he'd made a mistake. So he's not a bad boy, he just REALLY needs his snacks. LOL
I think most pain receptors are in the surface layers of the skin. That's why paper cuts hurt so much more than one would think they should. That's probably also why you thought it'd hurt more than it did.
I actually really commend you for how you are handling this. Especially for saying any animal can bite -- That was how I was trained to respond when I used to lead animal meet-and-greets at a kid's museum I worked at and when someone would inevitably ask "does this animal bite?" And as someone with a reactive and incredibly strong dog (a pitbull mix, no less), it can be so emotionally taxing and isolating to go through the process of seeing your pet be aggressive. I hope that you are doing okay and that Bagel will be able to heal physically and emotionally from his neuter. You are doing SO good by him despite how he's hurt you, and I hope he is able to feel more at ease soon. You have gone through so much with your health and your pets this year -- you are a freakin' wonder and a champion! -- and you deserve the world ❤️
Thank you for the lovely comment :) Animals do not choose to be brought into our homes, but we can choose the way we treat them, even when it isn't reciprocated in return. I made the decision to bring him in my home and will continue adapting the choices I make for him to make sure his needs are being met ❤️
Sorry you've been deaing with this! It's so hard sometimes :( I have a very nervous (likely traumatized) neutered rescue that flinches and shuts his eyes when touched. Unsurprisingly he also struggles with nipping, but typically only whenever hand feeding treats or with smelly hands. You're right that it's definitely not that we fear them, but know we can't do certain things with them :( Poor guys, I hope Bagel heals well and feels more like himself soon!
same situation here! he's gotten a lot better and more comfortable with me, i hope your little son does as well. rats have stronger mouths than i ever thought lmao
you have inspired me to get some rats i have watched a lot of your vids and done a lot of research the hardest part now is finding cute cage accessories lol! its hard to have a pastel theme whilst having an active and fun layout for the rats tysm for making your videos
I was bit once, totally my own fault. Pro tip: Don't give them treats through the bars and then stick your finger through the bars to pet them xD One of my boys really bit deep through the flesh and nerves. The bleeding was insane, it left me with a huge scar too. Don't think of the scar as ugly though, it's something to remember him by ^^ That's what I do, I love my scar.
That’s how I feel about the scar I have on my other hand from my childhood rabbit, it’s like a free tattoo almost that always reminds me of them. Even if in the moment it wasn’t a good time 😅
Lmaooo I made the same mistake and I never taught my new rats that they will get treats through the bars. IF I do I immediately put my finger in afterwards to make them understand it was a one time thing and theyre not allowed to bite. I dont give them treats by the bed anymore cause after I did I always got bit by the bed if I put my finger near
Oh man I'd never even considered that, I really have been lucky because I pass treats through the bars all the time and then stick my fingers through the bars all the time too. I think I ended up teaching them that not everything coming through the bars is food, but I was definitely not as careful about it as I could/should have been
that thumb bite is absolutely gnarly!! maybe you have nerve damage, i hope you're ok and it stops hurting soon. poor lil man he is full of anger haha, i'm so glad he has you to look after him! :) x
Probably one of the most unexpected "bites" I've ever received was from one of my shyer boys. He was so excited that he was popcorning all over the cage, collided hard into my hand, and his teeth caught on the skin and drew quite a bit of blood. I couldn't even be upset cause he looked so happy, and clueless that he tore a hole into my hand. 😂 Thankfully my hand healed fine, but it just goes to show that as prepared as you can be to avoid intentional injuries... accidental ones can still happen. 😅
Not a rat but I used to walk a rather large and very young dog. He once got so excited to see me open the door that he launched at me to lick me and bear hug...he instead head butted me and split my lip 🙃 I couldn't be cross 😂
I have a somewhat similar story. I was with my rats and one got super excited and started popcorning. She sprinted towards my back, jumped, and tried to climb. I was wearing a thinner shirt than usual and she ended up drawing a bit of blood lol
I hope the neuter makes Bagel more friendly again and solves the biting issue. I‘m really sorry you had so much trouble with your rats and aggression. I think it‘s great that you always try to fix them with neutering (tbh I would have never even considered neutering an animal because of aggression). Also, Updating your tetanus jabs is really important when you have other pets too. I got an update after I got bitten by my horse (dumbass me didn’t pay attention with the treats). So it‘s great that you mentioned that!
I'm so glad you spoke about this. When I first got my boys, one of them bit the CRAP out of me while spot cleaning. I blamed myself because I've heard online that rats are loveable and sweet and never bite unless you really provoke them. My boy is a lot like bagel. So sweet and sociable but once you put your hand in the cage to clean he bites for blood lol. I found my boy had really bad cage aggression and blamed myself. Sometimes rats bite and its not your fault. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THIS SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO
Aw hon they are such loveable, crazy creatures! I got bit once whilst trying to administer meds and had to go to the hospital and have an x ray on my hand!! Finger and hand was very swollen and sore but the bones weren’t broken. Remember the fun times you have with them is amazing, for me that outweighs the chaos but I can understand if you are frustrated. Sending massive hugs and hope it gets easier for you xx
I'm so glad you have made this video. Watching your videos inspired me to get rats and then my one little guy started to bite us and I felt like such a failure. Its so comforting to know that someone so experienced has the same sort of problems. Thank you.
My rabbit tore open my finger yesterday… and I passed out in the bathroom cleaning it. And couldn’t sleep cause the pain was so distracting. My worst animal bite to date. But my rabbit Piper is not super friendly and hates being restrained at all. And all I was doing was giving her a monthly health check. And when I went to check her teeth … yeah. I am normally good at reading her body language and avoiding her bites. I never restrain her unless it is necessary, cause she is sweet when she is on the ground and not being interacted with. She’s a rabbit like that. I only restrain her for grooming , health checks , and moving her to a carrier for a vet visit. I still love her and don’t blame her at all. It’s the territory of pets your gonna get bit. Rabbits are adorable and amazing pets. But they can be aggressive and their bites are no joke. They are not all cuddly sweet animals.
Surprisingly my (rat) girls haven't bit me yet ,we've only had them for atleast 3-4 months, but I'll expect it and read their body language so I don't get hurt.
I’ve had the same experience and I would have to start wearing heavy duty thick gloves when cutting my rabbits nails lol. They could latch onto the glove but never reach my finger so it helped a lot
That's very true, & it's almost always female rabbits that are aggressive. I raised rabbits for 18yrs, & only had one aggressive male, & 1 friendly female lol
@@greenpegasus88sz she is sweet ! But when all 4 feet are on the ground. She never chases or charges people. And will even flop down next to me. And can sometimes tolerate pets. But when I have to pick her up for any kind of maintenance she gets feisty lol. She is spayed , couldn’t imagine her is she was hormonal as well lol. I have had 2 males. Piper my girl has been bonded to both. First one passed away, then we got the second. They are both sweethearts and never showed or show aggression. My current male still hates being restrained and stuff and tries to just get away. But never attempts to bite. I have heard girls tend to be feistier… but I still love her ! But yeah in my experience males tend to be less fiesty ! (All of mine have been spayed/neutered so that definitely helps also!) She’s adorable tho. She’s a lionlop so she has these floppy ears. And this incredible mane. And 2 little butt tufts. And she’s solid dark grey , and her long fur is more silver. She’s beautiful and just has the cutest face ever.
my rat bit me once,, it was a really stressful situation for me and him but it didn't change anything about how I feel about him. I still love him and he is still my baby and I do still trust him,, for anyone out there who is dealing with the stressful and anxiety inducing parts of rat owning it gets better and it is worth it for all the joy they bring.
@@markcostigan9578 I have two rats and wondered the same thing when considering them my research that I did showed the main thing that you have to look out for when being bitten or scratched by a rat is infection and rat bite fever. But besides that I don't feel there is much to be worried about as long as you disinfect it properly and see a doctor.
Thank you for talking about this. I do want to own rats one day, but I'm scared that if I get bitten, I might hurt them accidentally (e.g. when holding them, I'd drop them because of the sudden pain when they bite me). It's good to hear other people's experiences with situations liek that :) I hope Bagel will feel better and be able to settle down soon.
Im a 27 year old guy from Wisconsin and so first thing, I love your shirt lol very vintage! (: You have been my most trusted go to after getting my first two rats. They are two girls and honestly they are the best things to have happened to me. I just want to acknowledge your frustration and what you have been through and just so you know I appreciate your videos so much! They live in a way better cage because of you and you have guided me to be the best Rat Dad I can be! Please keep up the grace of helping so many people. Your videos are truly inspirational from the standpoint that you articulate so many questions we may not know how to ask as beginners! Love you and your videos!
My heart rat was so aggressive that I wasn’t sure I could keep him for the first few months we spent together. My perseverance definitely paid off. He ended up being my best friend and the love of my life. I miss him and his chomps so much.
Emi! I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I can’t believe you didn’t get stitches! As a nurse, they were definitely indicated. I just went through this with a rescue and have a few awful scars from him (because I’m stupid I have more than one). I had named him sniffers but ended up calling him fangs. I had him neutered and he is so much better now 6 weeks later. He still nips when startled but I think that is fear based aggression. He doesn’t puff up and surprise attack me anymore. All he used to do was puff up, and push himself against anything in his path scent marking with his little sorcerer looking paws. He really did look demented so I know exactly what you mean. I felt so confident neutering him thanks to your videos so I’m very grateful to you. Currently nursing his brother after his neuter yesterday when he decided to be the raging alpha king after his brother lost his Crown Jewels. Anyway. So sorry you are going through this. It’s so upsetting.
I really appreciate your honesty and bravery with sharing your bite stories. I just got my first bad rat bite from an adopted un-neutered male who I am starting to suspect was abused. It was painful in all of the ways but no infection thank goodness. It was my fault. I thought I could get a pet in and he flinches a lot. Learning a little more each time we interact. So, we're going very slow with earning trust and getting him comfortable. Thanks for describing your experiences and the ratties' behaviour. I'm watching your channel and a few others to try and get a good scope of how to raise my ratties. Thank you!
I got bit during an introduction and pulled my hand up and had the rat dangling off. I had to get the two rats back in their cages whilst dripping blood everywhere. Then spent 4 hours in a and e. The rat that bit me was a rescue and after he managed to bite off one of my boys digits, I made the hard decision to take him back. Apparently he was attacked during an intro hence his aggression. He went back to his original owners and has settled back in nicely. I have a lovely scar and it took months before I could touch the area.
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am a first time rat owner and it was really hard for me to deal with that feeling of not being able to trust one of my girls. Seeing that other people also have difficult pets is really very helpful.
Thank you for sharing this, it really helped me feel better about my own situation. I had almost the exact same thing happen with the last batch of young rats I got--the most outgoing of them in the beginning ended up being a biter and got me really good one night. That bite was totally my fault, but he continued to make a grab for me whenever my hand got too close. We've made our peace now which involves very little interaction. I totally understand your wanting to be able to interact with him the way you do with your other ratties, I feel the same way. Luckily, my little biter is not aggressive towards the other rats. Thanks again for sharing, I'm very interested to see how Bagel behaves after his neuter.
Awww! I’m so sorry this happened to you. I can tell it hurt you emotionally and mentally as well. Stay encouraged love, things will get better! And poor lil Crumble 🥺
Fingertips bleed like crazy. One of my girls was extremely cage aggressive when I first got her, I couldn't even put my hand into the cage without her rushing up qnd biting me. During free roam there were never any issues and now she very clearly shows with her body language when she wants to be left alone, so I haven't been bitten this year ( except Thursday, but that was probably because she was in pain from her surgery). Sorry that you have to deal with so many hormone agressive rats, hope things go well for you and the little ones.
I’m so glad you shared. We have one rat that bites every now again, she seems to do it when she is sleepy. We also have another rat that makes really cute noises to get our attention, it would be great to have a video about normal noise. I’ll have to look you may already have one :-)
Thank you so much for this video. As a fellow rat owner, I really appreciate how you take the time to inform your viewers about the good, the bad, and the ugly of owning rats. I've had a rat that had a similar problem with biting unprovoked. It never seemed to be out of territorial aggression, or fear. The first time he bit, I was with him and his brothers in the play pen. He crawled up on my shoulder, and out of nowhere bit me near my eye. It hurt a little bit, but it didn't draw blood, so I didn't think anything of it. I thought maybe he was just trying to groom me, and it's a sensitive spot. The second and third times he was on top the cage (him and his brothers would climb on top of the cage while my boyfriend and I would give them scratches). With the hight of the cage, the rats were at face level for us. Then, he randomly walks up to my boyfriend, no signs of aggression, and bit my boyfriend on the chin, both times drawing blood. My boyfriend has some facial hair, so we at the time thought again, maybe he was trying to groom and got skin by mistake. The fourth time he bit, him and his brothers were free roaming the room (we rat proofed the room), and I had just eaten a cookie. He crawled up on the couch where I was sitting, then crawled up me and bit my lip. It bled. I thought "maybe its cause I just ate a cookie, and my lip tasted yummy". Looking back, I should've realized something was up by this point, but I think I was making excuses since he didn't show any signs of fear, aggression, or being territorial. The final time he bit unprovoked was also when he was free roaming. My boyfriend was taking a nap, and Mocha (the rat) climbed up onto the bed next to him. He walked right up to his face, and bit him on the ear drawing blood. At that point, my boyfriend and I came to the conclusion that he just likes biting faces, and that we shouldn't let him near out faces. We decided that if he starts doing that to any other body parts, then we would get him neutered to see if that helps. Luckily, keeping him away from our faces was enough to solve the problem. I've only had him bite me once since then, but that was my fault. His older brother had just passed away, and him and his other brother were doing little dominance "fights" to see who would be the new alpha. Once when they were free roaming, they both decided to sit on the couch next to me. They started doing a little bit of normal wrestling, and I thought nothing of it at first. Then they started showing signs of actual aggression, and before I even had the chance to intervene the actual fight broke out. Rat ball, hair flying everywhere. I immediately tried to separate them with my hands (my mistake), and I got bit pretty bad. I also had that the reaction to pull my arm away and I remember seeing him hanging from my thumb through the sleeve of my hoodie (he bit through that too). As soon as I screamed, he let go realizing he bit me and not his brother. There was a lot of blood, but I ultimately am grateful that I got bit instead of his brother since it was so bad. I made sure to give him (and his brother too) extra cuddles, pets, and reassurance since I could tell the experience was just as traumatizing to him as it was for me. He never fought with his brother like that since then. Since the bite was right on the pad of my thumb, I was unable to play any video games that used a joystick for like a month. Funny story, as it started healing, I noticed a black line under my skin where the bite was, and a few weeks after the bite, a took some sharp tweezers and ended up pulling out a hair where the bite was. After that most of the pain went away almost immediately. That was all about a year ago, and Mocha is now over 2 years old and is the sweetest rat ever. I notice that he still tries to get near my face when I'm giving his brothers kisses, but I've learned to be extra aware of him, and thankfully there has been no actual bites since then.
So sorry you had to deal with this! It is quite sad, because rats do bite and that needs to be recognized, but that does not mean that they are bad pets, and if the average person heard a hamster bit someone, they would still think hamsters are good pets but if a rat bit someone, they would call them horrible nasty creatures that need to be put down.
I love my boys but they’re not a stress free or a cheap pet. There always seems to be some problem that I’m trying to solve: whether it’s behaviorally, health wise, or whatever it maybe be. Currently I’m dealing with an open wound after my male rat got some swelling and it burst last night, leaving a significant wound on him. :( Taking him to the vet tomorrow. I love them. But I’m so glad that you try to be honest with people about what having rats can really be like. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Currently dealing with the same thing too! Crumble had a huge abscess appear on his face overnight and i've spent the past two days cleaning it despite his protests and it breaks my heart to see him uncomfortable. It just never ends. I can definitely see how people get so burnt out with owning them so quickly and decide to take a break
I've been bitten twice by my youngest, binky, because the breeder who bred him did not socialize him properly. He loves his cagemates, but i dont think he'll ever fully be comfortable with humans. Both times it was my fault- I noticed his scared/hostile body language, but attempted to engage with him anyway. I violated his boundaries. And while the bite itself does hurt- I have permanent nerve damage/numbness where the second bite was- more than that it always hurts my feelings. I get so upset knowing I scared him and made him lash out. Im worried hes having an unhappy life because he doesnt like me. But then I see him absolutely loving his brothers and sisters, loving treats and toys, running around and popcorning, and I have to take solace in that its okay if he doesnt like humans. Hes happy with his rat family, and hes in a much better situation than he was before with his breeder, and that helps comfort me.
Some rats don’t like humans and that’s okay. Our relationship with them is secondary, even third to other things like their bond with their cage mates and with enrichment in their environment, having a bond is a bonus but with some rats it’s not always possible and that’s okay, you can work around it as long as those other needs are being met ❤️
The thing that people need to understand is that any animal will bite..while it is harder to tell with small animals they are great pets…and while people think of rats as animals that bite the truth is hamsters bite to and they are not seen like rats are..🐁🐁🐀love how your teaching people the right way to care for rats and mice! There aren’t many channels like yours♥️🖤♥️
I appreciate you speaking about this with us all, and being so honest. It's very informative to hear about when things go in this direction to prevent people/rats suffering more without knowing what to do.
I can absolutely relate to the emotional drain of frequent problems with pets. I have had six female mice, and three of them are excessively aggressive and territorial, leading to me having to separate them into different cages, in spite of multiple, multi-day introductions. Then one of the ladies developed a respiratory issue and due to inexperience, I didn't recognise it fast enough, and by the time I noticed, she was so far gone she died on the examination table at the vets. Her sister developed mammary tumors only weeks later. The other cage started showing signs of ektoparasites a week ago, so I'm now going through stronghold treatment and full cage sanitation there, while keeping my eyes on the one with cancer. She's still healthy, happy, eats and drinks well, but the tumor is getting very large and I fear it's not too long before she will begin deteriorating and I'll have to bring her to the vet for euthanasia. It's been a terrible year for pets, and I've had that same thought. "Why am I doing this?" I still love them and I will keep having mice, but it has really been emotionally draining.
I feel this. I’ve had to have 4 more f my boys, and 1 more next month fixed. It is so time consuming and draining. All the cleaning, sanitizing, rearranging, time, emotional labor, it’s so tough watching your little bubs go through all that.
Ouch! Poor you, and poor Bagel! If it helps, I have a boy who absolutely SAVAGED my husband (he also has a lovely scar to show for it), but a neuter sorted him right out. He's an absolute pudding now, and we've both been able to rebuild our trust with him. Keeping my fingers crossed for you both. I always feel sorry for bucks dealing with hormonal aggression. It must be so confusing for them. I've been lucky and never been seriously bitten, but I'm sure my turn is coming. It seems to be a right of passage of rat ownership!
I feel awful for him! You can see in his eyes that he’s not bad, and he’s almost confused by what he wants to do when he approaches you, 90% of the time he’s being calm and curious but until he calms down you can’t risk it and he’s confused why I won’t let him near my hands 😞 I’m confident the neuter will help a lot given how all the other signs are from too many hormones
@@Emiology I know exactly what you mean. With my Logan, we could see his 'real' personality underneath, but his hormones were making him so stressed out.
I've been lucky enough to only have ever owned rats who "play-bite". I love making a claw shape with my hand and jumping it around the cage like a spider and tickling my rats. They jump in response and play-nip at my fingers. Never draw blood, and I know it's all in good fun. Though, I was bitten once 20 years ago when my younger self stuck his hand in a pregnant rat's shelter. That was a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and I'm glad I did.
Is gentle biting normal for rats? I’ve just got my first girls and one gently bites every finger. I assumed this was normal, but is it something I should try to nip in the bud?
@@Fruity-avalanche In my experience, it's an act of endearment. Rats playfully nip at each other when they're comfortable and happy. I could be wrong about that, but it's been my experience. I would personally allow it, as it seems to help rats bond with us better, as counterintuitive as that sounds.
My rescue rat had a month long phase where he came up to our hands and nipped, because he wasn't tame yet. But then it stopped when he got calmer. He is still pretty nervous but much less, and doesn't bite on purpose anymore
I recently adopted three boys from a foster system. They aren’t agressive or anything like that, which I’m very thankful for, but they still absolutely freak out if I try and pick them up (even if I just lift my hand up when one of them’s already on it). Supposedly they were hand trained by their previous foster owner, but I’m sort of doubting that. I’ve only ever gotten nipped by them a couple times when they’re taking food from my hand, never out of fear, but the way they react to me trying to pick them up makes me scared that I’m going to get bit that way. I’ve made progress, at this point they are all good with hand feeding and even being pet, and they willingly get in a carrier, but it’s been a little slow.
i am proud to say that i have not been bitten by either of my boys yet, and i credit that to the breeder. they were extremely cautious with breeding ( i had to fill out a whole form just so she knows the rats will be safe/happy) and she also had me specify any personalities!
Bagel reminds me of my boy Clover ❤️ He’s a sweet and loving little rat bless him, but he struggled with hormonal aggression when he was little. I still have a scar from him to always remember him by lol. I was really young when I got him and when he first bit me I wanted to rehome him. I ended up keeping him though and he turned out to be the sweetest little rat ever to live. He is my heart rat ❤️
Honest video! Rat ownership is always glamorous. 9 years ago I had 3 male rats and 1 bit my sister in a similar place, unfortunately I didn’t know about neutering as was new to rats so sadly rehomed him to an experienced owner.
Thanks Emi! This side of the story needs to be told as well, I had a very similar situation. Female about 6 months, started biting fairly randomly, I'd offer a finger and get bitten, once moving somehthing in the cage, and she dashed across and bit me. I started to treat her with apprehension, which is reasonable, and I even considered putting her down. However, in the end, my friends convinced me that maybe my relationship with her would just be different than with the other rats. She as also the most outgoing, and gave the sweetest kisses (even compared to the others. None of mine love being held, or give lots of kisses). After about a year I got a pet-sitter, and had warned her about Georgie, in the end, she couldn't remember which was which...and when I saw her with my rats a couple months later....I saw her giving her hand to Georgie and getting a bath...it made me realise I could have more confidence with her, without fear of being bit, and it's been so much better the last 8 months. You can build trust, and they can improve/outgrow the behaviour. Glad to hear you've healed quickly, and are alright. May Bagel come around, be the sweet loving (well adjusted) boy you hope for!
Great video, sheds a good spotlight on the realities of owning a rat. Very well articulated also. :) Unfortunately, this video also deterred me from buying a rat as a pet. I suffer from some pretty nasty anxiety, and constantly being anxious about being bitten, or dealing with rat bite fever, would drive me through the roof. :(
The only time I've ever been badly bitten by one of my rats, it was my fault* and I startled my boy awake. Lesson, painfully, learned lol (*It isn't ever really their fault, there's always a reason and despite their intelligence, they don't do it "just to be mean." )
I had a male mouse that loved to chase my hand and give my finger a gentle nip when he caught it. It hurt and sometimes he drew blood. Each time I'd give an "eep" and continue playing with him. He eventually discovered that we could play the game with him under a blanket and my finger on the outside. He could nip the blanket as hard as he'd like without hurting me. Your rat may be a "chaser" rat. He may enjoy playing chasing games similar to a cat. It's weird, I know, but my mouse loved chasing my fingers and hands but had he had no aggression, sweet and gentle but loved the chase.
I've had rats that like to hand wrestle before, especially as babies. Unfortunately with a rat like this that is struggling with their hormones it's not a good idea because they get too riled up by it and it puts him in a state where his aggression is heightened.
i had rehomed these old rats id named tom and jerry, and they was both previoulsy abused. yet one was aggresive and one was terrified. and i received 3 bites over 6 months with jerry and it was so mentally draining, because i was trying my best to show them humans arent horrible. and i managed to eventually show to him that humans arent bad and he stopped biting me. it made me cry the day it happened
Oh yeah, my spayed female gave me my first bite soon after coming home and it was a learning experience with how MUCH blood there was for how minor the wound looked. Two of my rats came from a poor background and I've had to house them separately (but together) and they bite no matter what out of fear, full on cracked a fingernail down the center (from the top down) once and I bled like nothing else. Months later and still a bit numbed where it happened, probably hit something. Fingers are huuuuge for nerve endings. The bit in the tip of the finger was the deepest wound I've ever had and they're both getting neutered soon. I ended up finding blood up the wall, hidden by the cage, after the fact.
Oddly I have never been bit by my pet rats. I kept rats for years. However, I adopted rats from my local shelter and the groups were already established and somewhat socialized . Also I never had more than 2 or 3 at once
I have been bitten by rats a handful of times. I had adopted lab rats who were very skittish and I’ve experienced bites exactly like you pictured… blood everywhere! They have very long incisors so if they get a good chomp it’ll bleed like crazy. No regrets though, they ended up with happy lives and even eventually learned to enjoy being pet and cheek scritches
I have had Angus bite me on the thumb yesterday. He drew blood too. I was putting my hand in the enclosure to lift him up and put him on my chest. He's never bitten me before . I have been bitten by hamsters before, worst I got was an almighty chomp and lock from Gershwin when she managed to get stuck in a wooden toy. That required a hospital visit and a series of injections, which wasn't a lot of fun. Yes, I feel very similar pain to you. Absolutely have my sympathy on this one. Hope it gets better for you soon. Please don't give up.
I was allowed to have a pair of gerbils when I was 7. At one point, I got bitten when trying to handfeed one of them and I couldn't touch them after that because I was so scared. The fear lingered for YEARS. I love rats and I hope so badly I can handle them without fear now at 27 because if not I will be absolutely heart broken since I really want my own sometime soon. Moral of the story: 7 is WAY too early to be a pet parent dang it!
I was pretty young when I got my first rats. I remember giving my rat a bath and playing with him after without realizing that he was stressed the heck out and didn’t want to play. That really nasty hand pic is about what my hand looked like. My mom just shoved glue in it and it healed really nicely! I learned since to read a rats body language and to do minimal bathes if I have to at all.
I flinched when you brought up the alcohol lol, I know that hurt! I recommend keeping chlorohex on hand. It is a great antiseptic and works better than alcohol. We have switched to chlorohex for most things at the hospital and it doesn’t burn in my experience :)
Okay, please help me on this. I really dont want to see the blood and injuries and stuff, but my rats bite my mother every so often but they have NEVER bit me or done anything like that. Its only her. Im not sure if shes just not feeding them or interacting with them appropriately or what... What do I do?
i would just tell her to stop interacting with them. if she likes them a lot, she can speak with them outside the cage. it probably isn’t even her fault, but she might be causing them stress, and therefore aggression. it’s most likely that it’s just because they are more closely bonded to you. it also might be a feeding issue like you said. maybe she just needs to stop feeding them and they problem will be fixed. also, depending on if you have an albino (which are at least partially blind, with my rat he can’t see at all) they might just smell her and find something they don’t like since they won’t be able to really see her. i hope you guys can fix the problem without her having to completely stop interacting with them, since she seems to like them so much, but if that’s the case, depending on your situation, she may just be able to get rats of her own.
@@crouchingidiot Thanks! I want her to interact with them though, I want her to like my pets. I sometimes wonder if its a smell or something. Im very slightly a germaphobe, so I wash my hands a lot, including before I interact with my rats just in case anything poisonous or germy to them is on my hands... I dont think everyone else is quite the same, and that makes me think there might be smells on her hands they arent used too because I try to keep mine clean... What I want her to do is interact with them when Im around so I can see what shes doing, how theyre acting, and why she is getting bitten. She doesnt want her own pets, it was me that was trying to get her to warm up to pets again. Its been a very long time for us. My rats have black eyes, except one might have slightly ruby eyes, but its hard to tell. Im sure they can see, Ill make sure she's got the room bright enough for them to see when shes playing with them. Anyways, thank you so much, Ill work with them and see if I can get her to make progress with me!
@@the1onesquirrel9 if you both want to be able to interact with them make sure she spends a good amount of time around them…she basically needs to build a bond like you have with them, which may take some time…maybe have her give them treats (so they learn that she isn’t a threat and instead gives them things they love) if they bite her on sight and don’t hesitate then don’t do that…if there doing that then there most likely doing it out of stress and there just protecting themselves…put any kind of fabric (blanket, clothes) with your moms scent on it in there cage, it sounds kinda weird but they have to learn her smell without her being in there cage and risking being bit…
Haven't been bit by our 2 male rats yet, but they're 3 months so it makes me a little nervous that it could happen. I usually wait for them to come to me at the door for playtime or cuddling. When I do put my hand in it's for water and food dish filling, cleaning, etc...and there hasn't been a problem yet. Been bit by cats when I was younger and our family had 3 females, not bad bites at all but there's sometimes a fine line when your cat is enjoying your pets to becoming over-stimulated and they nip!
I rescued some previously neglected boys, and our trust training is going amazing, but they're still very iffy about other people.. The other day, one of my boys bit a friend's finger and it was just pouring blood! It's crazy how much blood they can draw, haha.
This makes me feel better about my mice. My friend didn’t want to stick his hand into their cage bc he was scared of being bitten but the thought never crossed my mind and my two baby boys are sweet. I got them from petsmart but I’m so grateful they are open to being handled and don’t bite 🥹
Sorry this happened to you; it sounds like you've handled it really well. I've gotten bit a couple of times by one of my boys but not hard and it's only ever happened when giving treats so I think his eyesight is just shit and he thought my finger was food. But I did get bit by a squirrel once a really long time ago, on the finger tip as well and yeah it bled like crazy! Hope the neutering helps and also your hair is just so gorgeous and healthy looking :)
I was only ever bitten twice. The first time was because my rat was afraid of a sound, and bit the palm of my hand thinking I was the cause. The second time, I was crying, and one of my rats thought my tears were food, and bit my eyelid 😂 (neither bites were bad, and barely bled at all)
I got bit by my boy Ein. It was my fault, I had trying to cut his toenails and he was already hufflepuffed up. It was on my thumb. Thing is, I am on a high dose of blood thinners for heart reasons. I can not tell you how much blood there was and how long it took to clot. But it did take most of a roll of paper towels to clean up. I had to start on antibiotics, again for heart reasons. Anyway he got a few new nick names, and we had a good laugh over how disproportionate the carnage was compared to the size of the perpetrator. I am so sorry you are experiencing aggression with your babies. It hurts physically and even more so emotionally. It is difficult to love something so much that has injured you so grievously
I had a rat who was Extremely territorial about her cage and would always bite me if i stuck a finger in or was cleaning something when she was in there 😩 she never bit me outside the cage but oh boy my fingers saw some stuff in there!! In her last months with me before she passed recently she got very gentle and let me even pet and hold her while in the cage, i was so moved I felt like she really had began to trust me 🥺❤️ Her sister was not like that at all and never bit me except for once, when they we're out free roaming and she bit one of my toes like a corn on the cob lmfao that was the last time i was barefoot at playtime!!
This helps so much. I’m sitting in the emergency room, 4 bites on my hands by my rat boy Porthos. He did not like me cleaning the cage, or the stuff I cleaned it with set him off. Either way I tried to fit in all the parts again to calm him instead of heeding his warnings (fluffed up) all bites need to be cut open an cleaned. I feel really bad about the whole situation.
Oh I JUST dealt with this myself. My heart rat Finn suddenly flipped a switch a couple weeks ago and was getting aggressive with our other boys and with me. He couldn't be pet on his back or bum, or picked up without biting you. Sometimes it was soft and other times quite hard. We have 4 rat cages on the first floor of our house. My mom has 5 boys in her cage, I have 5 boys in my main cage, 3 babies in another cage, and 1 lone male we hope to introduce to the babies soon. The baby cage originally had 2 boys we adopted from a friend, who is a breeder. Unfortunately 1 got a stress induced RI right away and was also a runt so he didn't make it. He declined and died so fast we didn't have time to get him into his vet app we scheduled. We ended up getting 2 more younger babies to go with the remaining baby. They were supposed to be boys but 1 baby ended up being female and right when she was brought home is when Finn's issues started. Every intact male we had started acting all nuts. We have 2 neutered boys with 1 in the main cage and then the lone boy who didn't change behavior at all. Finn ended up turning on the most subordinate male, Zeke, and messed him up pretty bad(He's recovered perfectly since!). We isolated Finn and he calmed down later that night. Within a day he was sweet again, and once we gave back that female and got an actual boy Finn was totally normal. Super sweet, cuddly, and kissy all over again. Had no issues taking him out for playtime in our room, and after a week he was reintroduced to the main group without any issues. Some sparing at first as Finn re-established dominance, as he was the alpha after our boy Sprig was neutered, but nothing bad. And they've been great since. Its wild how something so small, the smell of a 7 week old female rat, can trigger boys into behaving like they're feral.
Their teeth are no joke. My oldest rat recently grabbed some organic oatmeal lotion for a moment, and the bottle was completely ruined. I saw him grab it, I took it away immediately, and there was a huge hole right through the plastic bottle.
About 1,5y ago I got my first pair of rats after moving out of my parents house. I was very eager to interact with them and although they came from a breeder, she had multiple nests at once and a lot of other animals to care for, so I doubt the rittens got a lot of human attention/handling. They were both skittish and one of these girls has bitten me a few times, mainly when she was afraid (and I too eager for interaction). I learned how to read her body language, not poking my fingers through the cage bars near her and not to approach her when she's in her sleeping spot. When I spot-clean the cage I keep an eye out for her but generally if I stop and let her sniff my hand, she's alright with it. I free roam them in a way that they can choose to go out or stay in the cage and she often comes up to me and I can pick her up if I don't do it too sudden and reward her with food. She sometimes test-bites my sock or my arm when she's in my sweater and because I'm ticklish I don't like it, but although she's a bit rough I know it's not ill met. When I added 2 more rats to the group I was actually surprised how nice she was to the babies (she's the alpha). I'm very happy to hear you're not putting your rat to sleep because he's aggressive to you while he could still live a happy life with your other boys. Ofcourse we humans keep pets to have nice interactions with them, but an animal should not suffer if it doesn't like you too much but still lives happily with its own species, especially because you have other rats to interact with. And who knows, maybe one day the other rats will teach him you are a nice human to interact with, like how my girl Zari warmed up to me.
I've only been *intentionally* bitten by one rat; the rest it was all "oops, thought you were a treat!" or "whoops, you smelled like a rat I don't like!" Owen was hormonally aggressive & cage aggressive. I've got scars from him & had nerve damage in my thumb for months. A neuter helped, but he still would make lunges at me. He had to live on his own level of my cage bc I couldn't trust him in a level w other rats where he could get me while I was interacting with the others. We got to point where I could pick him up in a towel & he would take treats nicely, but we mostly just let him do his thing & live his life unbothered by humans. Murphy, my other biter, was rescued from a classroom where he'd started biting the kids. He never bit me, bc I respected his boundaries. I could pet him & give him treats, without worry. He wasn't a lunger/attacker like Owen so he lived with a buddy. He'd walk into a carrier when it was cage cleaning time, so no need to pick him up. It's always scary & a shock when one gets you!
I adopted a castrated rat a month ago. It was my first rat in 15 years. He was a plain dark rattie. He was neutered because of dominance issues. I put in two females (both rescues). It goes very well. Remy is even the submisive rat in the household :D
My rats (one in particular, and she's teaching the babies bad habits) frequently draw blood, but it's more from aggressive grooming than biting. They just like to peel the skin off my fingers and I have no idea how to make them stop. The one time I actually got bit by a rat was on my finger and the blood was literally squirting out, even though it wasn't that deep. I think fingers just bleed really easily.
our rats came from an amateur breeder, and they bite often. The one that never really bit us when we first got her started biting me a *lot*. Like, I have scars on my fingers from it. She all of a sudden stopped liking me essentially, I can't even go near her without her trying to bite me and it's really disheartening cuz she was the rat I chose and named.
For more context; it does seem like she all of a sudden stopped liking me. I don't do anything that might hurt them, I feed them, clean their cage, play with them. She loved me before, I have no clue what happened or why she started attacking my fingers like that.
I made the critical error of wearing an extra sparkly septum ring while playing with one of my girls today… let’s just say we played an impromptu game of “got your nose” and she won. Thanks for this video!
We were given a beautiful girl rat almost 4 weeks ago, having kept rats for years and needing a friend for our other girl who lost her cage mate a little while ago, we were so excited. initially she was a bit skittish but from day 3 she stopped eating and starting darting at us and biting. On day 5 we found out why when my son called me to tell me that he found babies in their hammock. Complete shock, she did not look pregnant at all and was I feel so young. Since then she has bitten us several times and really badly, we have taken to wearing gloves when putting hands in the cage as she darts from out of no where. She has not shown any aggression towards her cage mate and does seem to be calming down a bit now that her babies are moving around on their own. Is this just a matter of being patient, we have had 2 previous litters over many years but moms were raised by us and had no aggression at all. Up until this point the only other time we have ever had a bite was an older male who had started to lose his eye sight which was understandable. I just don't want my kids to develop a fear when ratties have brought us so much love and joy over so many years and we definitely want to continue to give her a loving home. Anything you can suggest to help?
i got two rats from a petshop, and one of them bit me twice, once as a checking limits thing, and it wasn't too bad, the other out of fear because he got stuck behind the radiator after escaping the cage, and that hurt like hell. We ended up putting them up for adoption a couple days later, because it was way too stressful as a first time rat owner, but now I have two baby boys who are the absolute sweetest, and while i do miss my old ones, i know they're going to a better home with people better equipped to deal with them
I have had several rescue rats that had biting tendencies. For some I would only pick them up with a towel or with really thick/padded garden glove as they were afraid of being picked up - they were often okay to sit with me/on my lap and tolerated being petted (on the body, not the head), just not being grabbed. But some would bite if my hand just went near them, so I slowly introduced them to my fist (hiding my thumb and fingers) so they couldn’t do a deep bite. That helped some eventually warm up to me. I would first keep at a respectable distance and over time they’d let my fist be closer, until eventually they’d be okay to sit with it like it were another rat. Some rescue rats took a year or more (the longest was 2 years) to finally trust me, some still never truly let me pick them up without a towel but they at least were bonded with me/truly liked hanging out with me and which was important for the ones that couldn’t live with a companion due to their aggression/anxiety. These rats had usually been hurt/traumatised and neglected in early life and would either try and kill other rats in fear for their life or collapse/pass out from the stress. If I ever end up in the right financial circumstances I’d love to set up a formal rat rescue and be a place where aggressive, traumatised or no longer desired pet rats can be dropped off at. So far my rescue rats have all been discovered by chance but I’m sure there’s plenty out there people would surrender if they had somewhere to take them. It’s a lot of work to get an aggressive rat, even after desexing, to be safe to handle, especially if they’re neurotic in some manor as a result of trauma and understandably not everyone has the time or money (or spare rat cages) to do all that.
Rat bites hurt way more than I expected. One of my adopted boys was partially blind and because of that I kept him near my other rats but for safety reasons they didnt share a cage. I was pretty good about keeping my hands clean before handling him but the one day I didn't he bit me. He latched onto me and just wouldn't let go. If it was in a different part of my hand I'm pretty certain there could have been nerve damage.
one of my rats did this exact same thing, she is a rescue so she’s abit scared. I was fixing there bedding and she came running over to my hand just to bite me.
I’m a new rat owner and I just got the crap bit out of me a few hours ago. Never thought I’d stop bleeding lmao, I can’t even type blood without my thumb throbbing at the memory haha. I’m not sure why he’s gotten kind of mean on the second day, but I chalk it up to maybe I might be going too fast for him, and/or hormones. I’ll give it a little it a little longer before getting him snipped. Honestly one of my first thoughts was “oh god I’m a terrible owner. (You) never would’ve gotten bit like this” so this puts my mind a little more at ease. Thank you for making this!
First of all, I love your hair. So pretty! I’m glad you made this video. Hopefully neutering helps your rat. We are going through a sad time with one of our rats too. He used to be a very friendly rat who never bit. He is one of our youngest, he’s about 6 months now. He’s had bad health, he got a tumor that ended up going away. But then he got a respiratory infection. We had to give him meds and quarantine him for at least 3-4 weeks. Once we tried to slowly introduce him to his brothers he became very aggressive. He kept attacking them. He was puffed up and couldn’t relax. Now he’s started biting us. My husband’s hand was bit on a nerve or something and became so swollen. He had to get a tetanus shot, antibiotics and steroids. It was bad. I want to let him free roam a small area I sectioned off for him. But I have to be careful because he tries to bite almost every time now. It’s hard to see him like this. We used to have a decent bond.
Glad your thumb is doing better. How can you tell when it's hormone aggression compared to food aggression? I have one boy that's approx 3.5 weeks older than the other 4. Introductions went great, they were young, 4 were 8 weeks old & he was 11.5 weeks old. The oldest is 6 months now & he's been fighting a lot with the others. Seems to be worse when there's treats, veggies, fruits etc.
It's really weird how exhausting getting bitten by a rat is. The post-bite stress and just feeling down and sad is worse than the actual bite itself.
I slept for so long afterwards because I was a crying mess 😂
We had females. They only bit me when I was taking a nap - one bit my toes for humor purpose.
Maybe males are more aggressive.
@@EmiologyI just did that. Slept all day was so hurt in my feels
@@Allan-et5ig the rat bit you for humour ? Did they confess during the interview ?
@@Jamiey-I actually believe one of my girls does this for humor as well - I’m convinced she thinks it’s funny or a game. She’ll sneak over whenever I let my guard down - get a quick nibble in and then she popcorns as she retreats lol
I used to have a dwarf hamster who would bite enough to draw blood as a greeting before walking calmly onto my hand! He made an excellent finger pricker for diabetes blood tests. Anyone who claims to spend a lot of time around animals and hasn’t been bitten is lying. There is also the fixed reply at any zoo when people ask if an animal bites. “Does it have a mouth? It has the potential to bite!”
I’ve got a dwarf dumbo rat named Raisin. Raisin bites and draws blood when he’s happy, sad, scared, bored, etc. he’s been examined and there’s nothing wrong with him, he’s just a dick. I’ve kind of just accepted that Raisin is this way so I guess he’s going to spend the rest of his asshole life with me getting spoiled and loved anyway lol.
Hamsters just be like that
Well glad your Hamster helped you test your blood sugar levels, My mate had a Hamster as a kid and it was mental, It used to attack his German shepard dog!, and the dog was scared of it!,
It earned his name Himler the Hamster, It bitten everybody. The little bastard got me at least seven times and it wouldnt let go, You had to gently prize his teeth off you.
@@daniellegaribell599 Has Raisin been castrated?
@@TheIndulged1 damn hitler the hampster
I have a scar where the first rat I rescued bit me. I was shocked at how deep it was and how much it bled. The rats I have now haven’t but me, but I have one who is nippy and I’m pretty leery of him. It’s hard to push passed the fear after they do bite you and continue interacting with them. I understand, and honestly it’s a relief to hear someone talk about it so I know that it’s not because I did something wrong.
Yeah I had one particularly aggressive rat (probably needed to be spayed) and I couldnt even train it away. She bit me once so deep I never dared to touch her again. I gave her away to a rescue organisation for rats in my country cause I couldnt handle it. I dont regret it because the fear made me feel like I was gonna faint and taking care of rats you cant touch is hard, the foster home updated me that she was doing good (the one that took her was experienced with bitey rats) so I think it was for the best. She did bite me plenty of times before and I powered through but this time I couldnt shake it away. I could train away her sisters biting habit and she became an angel, my current rats never bite unless one of them gets a bit too excited during playtime lol
@@samh7206 I gave the one I rescued that bit me to my best friend who has had rats before and I never had at that point. So I understand completely. I didn’t see how I was supposed to properly care for him if I couldn’t handle him and she’s gotten him where she can get him out and play with him. He is also aggressive towards other rats so there’s definitely something going on with him. I get to see him and hear about him so I know he’s okay!
I have a rescued rat that cane from an abusive home and I always have to be careful when I put my hand in I love him and I always give him space. And I agree once they bite you you are kinda scared and loose trust with your rat
My first rat had just had babies and i was to scared to hold her and get her out so i would make her chase strings and feathers around . Until the day, she jumped up and latched onto what she thought was the string but it was my finger. She dangled and shook as she usually did I calmly grabbed her and put her down and shut the cage. Then passed out . It scar'ed and the amount of blood that was everywhere was awful.
I love rats and this was 100% my fault but this still makes me cringe..
I have a rat who bit me a week ago so deep it was bleeding alot and it wouldn't stop bleeding, my boii is a really sweet boii so I don't know why he did bite me that night cuz we spend alot of time together and all, my finger still hurts to this day but I still love his goofy ass! and I will continue to work with him!
I’ve had about 30 rats and only two, both sisters have ever bitten me. They were “cage aggressive” so I couldn’t blindly stick my hand in the cage. They were fine (normal) if they came to me first as well as when they were outside the cage. I dealt with it and loved them anyway. I adjusted to the situation so that I stopped getting bit, but it really sucked because my experience with rats had been one of absolute trust. I adopted them as babies and they came from a trusted breeder; they were never mistreated. It was clearly a genetic temperament issue and obviously, my breeder ended breeding from their line. They were beautiful and smart though so it’s sad but necessary.
I had that with one young female of the 4 females that I had
Completely understand where you're coming from. In the 12 years I've had pet rats, I've only been bitten less than a handful of times, by complete accident more often than not. This year I decided to get a few girls from the local shop that, let's just say, doesn't breed rats for the purpose of being pets. Although I've had rats from ALL walks of life these 3, after months and months, wouldn't let me handle them at all without being bitten. We tried giving them the best home possible but they would bite not only me but guests, family, friends etc. Whole household was scared to go near them i hate to even say. First time in my rat experience to say the least that I was genuinely unable to get thru to them. It was so saddening. Decided rehoming was the only option (and no, not just dropping them off at the store I got them from). Luckily a fellow rat fanatic friend of mine decided to do a "trade", which sounds weird at first, but really she gave me a few of her very well tamed 3 baby sisters from the same litter, took my other 3 in and gave them a wonderful home where they could be social and happy amongst a group of like 11 others. I'm so happy to hear about their progress in a larger rat population setting where they can kinda blend in (they bit her too but she knows how to handle these things somehow lol) Moral of the story is, I'd love to hope there is hope in rats that bite, it's not their fault or yours if it doesn't work out, don't feel bad for doing what's best for your household, as long as it's in the rats' best interest too because even biters can live long happy lives in the right setting. Now on the other hand with these 3 I can stick my finger thru the cage and get nothing but love n kisses back lol they're all my ❤️s.
@@darkestgray0 Wow! I’m happy they’re in the best setting for them and also that you’re back to having sweet ratties again. Thank God it’s a rare situation. My current rats are total sweeties. If I stick my hand inside a hammock, they treat it like another rat and start grooming me.
I had a boy who was cage aggressive. He never bit me because I make sure to introduce myself to any pet slowly from the getgo, but my boyfriend at the time shoved his hand in at like punch speed at got a hard bite even after me warning him not to do so.
Bf was afraid of the rat for weeks, even outside of the cage, and then one day I put rat on his shoulder and bf assuming it was one of the baby rats pet him without thinking. They got along like gangbusters after that.
@hathorthecow7146 never ever Just Put a pet on someone else without there knowledge! He could get scares and swoosh the pet of, the pet could get scared and jump off!
It is not a sign of Trust. Neither to your bf neither to your pet
I had a hormonally aggressive rat attack me while I was cleaning his cage. I got him neutered, and within time, he became THE SWEETEST boy I think I've ever had. He loved to come give me cuddles and kisses. I don't remember what the timeframe was, but we did have to learn how to trust each other, as neither of us really knew each other very well prior to the attack.
Animal bites are just the risk you take when bringing ANY animal into your home.
Whenever people ask me about my pet rats, and ask if they bite, I try to avoid saying that they don't or won't. I've never been bitten (well, had one nip when I had a treat in my hand, bit that in the bud real quick with some training), but that doesn't mean they couldn't or won't ever bite. It is my responsibility as a pet owner to be aware of what could cause a bite, and to work with the animals to prevent bites through behavioural training.
Rats are amazing pets, but their bites can be extremely damaging, often requiring surgery depending on where the bite was (I've seen some bites where it actually went through and severed a tendon). Animals have to be treated with respect! Most bites are preventable as long as you listen to your animal's body language.
My first answer to that question is "anything will bite you if it feels like it," followed by an explanation of the specific animal's established habits.
@@TheLithp yeah.. my rat was just chilling in his hammock like always and i was rubbing his head which i did before and he randomly lunged at me and bit my finger pretty badly
From what I heard. The UK is the only place that consider pet rats bites normal. Its not. Its genetic and has to be bred out of them. A rat that was bred to be ok as pets will never bite
@@magusperde365 @Magus Perdé First of all, I'm from the U.S here.
Second, aggressiveness is genetic, but any animal, no matter how docile, and how well bred, will bite if pushed to their limit, or when they are in fear or pain. You have to respect them
The only way you could 100% remove the risk of bites would be by literally removing their teeth, which is obviously cruel.
I don't know where you got this information that pet rats will never bite. We hear al the time about dog bites (and even lethal attacks), and those have been bred for 1000's of years longer than domestic rats.
@@magusperde365 Never ever? Even if, hypothetically speaking for the sake of scientific discourse, it was put in a position where it felt threatened? Genetic tameness is a useful trait to have when domesticating animals, including rats, but it is not some fool proof guarantee that the animal will never bite. It is less likely to bite, yes, but not a guarantee that it never bites.
We currently have two biters. Butter hates me because I smooshed his face in medicated apple sauce when he was younger, so he gives me warning nips when I get too close to him. Hubby is the only one allowed to touch him, as he's a general grump even without me being around. Our other biter, Pain, just gets super excited when he smells food and bites at the scent immediately. He once bit my finger because I had yogurt on it (when we first got him and didn't know any better) and he jumped back like he knew he'd made a mistake. So he's not a bad boy, he just REALLY needs his snacks. LOL
I think most pain receptors are in the surface layers of the skin.
That's why paper cuts hurt so much more than one would think they should.
That's probably also why you thought it'd hurt more than it did.
I once had a paper cut in the thumb, tho it didn't hurt there was no blood, just a slit through layers of skin. Off topic sorry.
I actually really commend you for how you are handling this. Especially for saying any animal can bite -- That was how I was trained to respond when I used to lead animal meet-and-greets at a kid's museum I worked at and when someone would inevitably ask "does this animal bite?" And as someone with a reactive and incredibly strong dog (a pitbull mix, no less), it can be so emotionally taxing and isolating to go through the process of seeing your pet be aggressive.
I hope that you are doing okay and that Bagel will be able to heal physically and emotionally from his neuter. You are doing SO good by him despite how he's hurt you, and I hope he is able to feel more at ease soon. You have gone through so much with your health and your pets this year -- you are a freakin' wonder and a champion! -- and you deserve the world ❤️
Thank you for the lovely comment :) Animals do not choose to be brought into our homes, but we can choose the way we treat them, even when it isn't reciprocated in return. I made the decision to bring him in my home and will continue adapting the choices I make for him to make sure his needs are being met ❤️
if it has a mouth, it can bite!
This is making me grateful for my three rats
This channel is so real, raw, and authentic. I love it.
Thank you :) That's always been my goal, even if not everyone will agree. I never want to hide anything
@@Emiology And we appreciate it, really!
Sorry you've been deaing with this! It's so hard sometimes :( I have a very nervous (likely traumatized) neutered rescue that flinches and shuts his eyes when touched. Unsurprisingly he also struggles with nipping, but typically only whenever hand feeding treats or with smelly hands. You're right that it's definitely not that we fear them, but know we can't do certain things with them :( Poor guys, I hope Bagel heals well and feels more like himself soon!
same situation here! he's gotten a lot better and more comfortable with me, i hope your little son does as well. rats have stronger mouths than i ever thought lmao
you have inspired me to get some rats i have watched a lot of your vids and done a lot of research the hardest part now is finding cute cage accessories lol! its hard to have a pastel theme whilst having an active and fun layout for the rats tysm for making your videos
Please remember if u do get rats u need a minimum of 2-3 or else they can be very lonely. I also have rats and its such a great experience !! :)
How's it going?
I was bit once, totally my own fault. Pro tip: Don't give them treats through the bars and then stick your finger through the bars to pet them xD One of my boys really bit deep through the flesh and nerves. The bleeding was insane, it left me with a huge scar too. Don't think of the scar as ugly though, it's something to remember him by ^^ That's what I do, I love my scar.
That’s how I feel about the scar I have on my other hand from my childhood rabbit, it’s like a free tattoo almost that always reminds me of them. Even if in the moment it wasn’t a good time 😅
Lmaooo I made the same mistake and I never taught my new rats that they will get treats through the bars. IF I do I immediately put my finger in afterwards to make them understand it was a one time thing and theyre not allowed to bite. I dont give them treats by the bed anymore cause after I did I always got bit by the bed if I put my finger near
Oh man I'd never even considered that, I really have been lucky because I pass treats through the bars all the time and then stick my fingers through the bars all the time too. I think I ended up teaching them that not everything coming through the bars is food, but I was definitely not as careful about it as I could/should have been
that thumb bite is absolutely gnarly!! maybe you have nerve damage, i hope you're ok and it stops hurting soon. poor lil man he is full of anger haha, i'm so glad he has you to look after him! :) x
Probably one of the most unexpected "bites" I've ever received was from one of my shyer boys.
He was so excited that he was popcorning all over the cage, collided hard into my hand, and his teeth caught on the skin and drew quite a bit of blood.
I couldn't even be upset cause he looked so happy, and clueless that he tore a hole into my hand. 😂
Thankfully my hand healed fine, but it just goes to show that as prepared as you can be to avoid intentional injuries... accidental ones can still happen. 😅
Not a rat but I used to walk a rather large and very young dog. He once got so excited to see me open the door that he launched at me to lick me and bear hug...he instead head butted me and split my lip 🙃 I couldn't be cross 😂
I have a somewhat similar story. I was with my rats and one got super excited and started popcorning. She sprinted towards my back, jumped, and tried to climb. I was wearing a thinner shirt than usual and she ended up drawing a bit of blood lol
I hope the neuter makes Bagel more friendly again and solves the biting issue. I‘m really sorry you had so much trouble with your rats and aggression. I think it‘s great that you always try to fix them with neutering (tbh I would have never even considered neutering an animal because of aggression).
Also, Updating your tetanus jabs is really important when you have other pets too. I got an update after I got bitten by my horse (dumbass me didn’t pay attention with the treats). So it‘s great that you mentioned that!
I'm so glad you spoke about this. When I first got my boys, one of them bit the CRAP out of me while spot cleaning. I blamed myself because I've heard online that rats are loveable and sweet and never bite unless you really provoke them. My boy is a lot like bagel. So sweet and sociable but once you put your hand in the cage to clean he bites for blood lol. I found my boy had really bad cage aggression and blamed myself. Sometimes rats bite and its not your fault. PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW THIS SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO
One of my female rats will specifically only bite my toes LOL! She has never made me bleed, but it is always more than a nip! Is this play behavior?
My boy does this too 🙈🙈 I think it's playing as he's never ever bitten me or shown any aggression. But always goes for the toes 😂😂😂
Probably. My rat Peaches accidentally nips my boyfriend's toes while stealing his socks off his feet. She seems to enjoy getting a reaction out of him
@@boneclawwalker3778 Rats love to bite feet wearing socks. And they can't resist plasters (Band Aids)
As a vet tech and a rat mom myself, this breaks my heart... I hope everything works out okay!
This is why I love watching you, just pure honesty and not only showing the lovely side! We all appreciate this!
Aw hon they are such loveable, crazy creatures! I got bit once whilst trying to administer meds and had to go to the hospital and have an x ray on my hand!! Finger and hand was very swollen and sore but the bones weren’t broken. Remember the fun times you have with them is amazing, for me that outweighs the chaos but I can understand if you are frustrated. Sending massive hugs and hope it gets easier for you xx
I'm so glad you have made this video. Watching your videos inspired me to get rats and then my one little guy started to bite us and I felt like such a failure. Its so comforting to know that someone so experienced has the same sort of problems. Thank you.
My rabbit tore open my finger yesterday… and I passed out in the bathroom cleaning it. And couldn’t sleep cause the pain was so distracting. My worst animal bite to date. But my rabbit Piper is not super friendly and hates being restrained at all. And all I was doing was giving her a monthly health check. And when I went to check her teeth … yeah. I am normally good at reading her body language and avoiding her bites. I never restrain her unless it is necessary, cause she is sweet when she is on the ground and not being interacted with. She’s a rabbit like that. I only restrain her for grooming , health checks , and moving her to a carrier for a vet visit.
I still love her and don’t blame her at all. It’s the territory of pets your gonna get bit. Rabbits are adorable and amazing pets. But they can be aggressive and their bites are no joke. They are not all cuddly sweet animals.
I hope you’re doing better today ❤️ I had a rabbit bite as a child they’re no joke!
Surprisingly my (rat) girls haven't bit me yet ,we've only had them for atleast 3-4 months, but I'll expect it and read their body language so I don't get hurt.
I’ve had the same experience and I would have to start wearing heavy duty thick gloves when cutting my rabbits nails lol. They could latch onto the glove but never reach my finger so it helped a lot
That's very true, & it's almost always female rabbits that are aggressive. I raised rabbits for 18yrs, & only had one aggressive male, & 1 friendly female lol
@@greenpegasus88sz she is sweet ! But when all 4 feet are on the ground. She never chases or charges people. And will even flop down next to me. And can sometimes tolerate pets.
But when I have to pick her up for any kind of maintenance she gets feisty lol. She is spayed , couldn’t imagine her is she was hormonal as well lol.
I have had 2 males. Piper my girl has been bonded to both. First one passed away, then we got the second. They are both sweethearts and never showed or show aggression. My current male still hates being restrained and stuff and tries to just get away. But never attempts to bite.
I have heard girls tend to be feistier… but I still love her ! But yeah in my experience males tend to be less fiesty ! (All of mine have been spayed/neutered so that definitely helps also!) She’s adorable tho. She’s a lionlop so she has these floppy ears. And this incredible mane. And 2 little butt tufts. And she’s solid dark grey , and her long fur is more silver. She’s beautiful and just has the cutest face ever.
Thanks for your honesty and bravery, Emi! We love and appreciate you!
Aw, sorry you have been struggling with this but what an important video, thanks. I hope he calms down and you can regain the happy home x
my rat bit me once,, it was a really stressful situation for me and him but it didn't change anything about how I feel about him. I still love him and he is still my baby and I do still trust him,, for anyone out there who is dealing with the stressful and anxiety inducing parts of rat owning it gets better and it is worth it for all the joy they bring.
One of my boys accidentally bite me once when I was feeding him a treat…it bleed EVERYWHERE 😅
Hey I’m thinking about getting rats and I was wondering if they bite u can u get diseases?
@@markcostigan9578 I have two rats and wondered the same thing when considering them my research that I did showed the main thing that you have to look out for when being bitten or scratched by a rat is infection and rat bite fever. But besides that I don't feel there is much to be worried about as long as you disinfect it properly and see a doctor.
My blind boy did this. I obviously gave him the benefit of the doubt because he couldn’t see me but OUCH it bloody hurt 😂
Thank you for talking about this. I do want to own rats one day, but I'm scared that if I get bitten, I might hurt them accidentally (e.g. when holding them, I'd drop them because of the sudden pain when they bite me). It's good to hear other people's experiences with situations liek that :)
I hope Bagel will feel better and be able to settle down soon.
Im a 27 year old guy from Wisconsin and so first thing, I love your shirt lol very vintage! (: You have been my most trusted go to after getting my first two rats. They are two girls and honestly they are the best things to have happened to me. I just want to acknowledge your frustration and what you have been through and just so you know I appreciate your videos so much! They live in a way better cage because of you and you have guided me to be the best Rat Dad I can be! Please keep up the grace of helping so many people. Your videos are truly inspirational from the standpoint that you articulate so many questions we may not know how to ask as beginners! Love you and your videos!
My heart rat was so aggressive that I wasn’t sure I could keep him for the first few months we spent together. My perseverance definitely paid off. He ended up being my best friend and the love of my life. I miss him and his chomps so much.
Emi! I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I can’t believe you didn’t get stitches! As a nurse, they were definitely indicated. I just went through this with a rescue and have a few awful scars from him (because I’m stupid I have more than one). I had named him sniffers but ended up calling him fangs. I had him neutered and he is so much better now 6 weeks later. He still nips when startled but I think that is fear based aggression. He doesn’t puff up and surprise attack me anymore. All he used to do was puff up, and push himself against anything in his path scent marking with his little sorcerer looking paws. He really did look demented so I know exactly what you mean. I felt so confident neutering him thanks to your videos so I’m very grateful to you. Currently nursing his brother after his neuter yesterday when he decided to be the raging alpha king after his brother lost his Crown Jewels. Anyway. So sorry you are going through this. It’s so upsetting.
I really appreciate your honesty and bravery with sharing your bite stories. I just got my first bad rat bite from an adopted un-neutered male who I am starting to suspect was abused. It was painful in all of the ways but no infection thank goodness. It was my fault. I thought I could get a pet in and he flinches a lot. Learning a little more each time we interact. So, we're going very slow with earning trust and getting him comfortable. Thanks for describing your experiences and the ratties' behaviour. I'm watching your channel and a few others to try and get a good scope of how to raise my ratties. Thank you!
I got bit during an introduction and pulled my hand up and had the rat dangling off. I had to get the two rats back in their cages whilst dripping blood everywhere. Then spent 4 hours in a and e. The rat that bit me was a rescue and after he managed to bite off one of my boys digits, I made the hard decision to take him back. Apparently he was attacked during an intro hence his aggression. He went back to his original owners and has settled back in nicely. I have a lovely scar and it took months before I could touch the area.
He's so beautiful thank you for not giving up on him you will get there xxx
Thank you so much for sharing this. I am a first time rat owner and it was really hard for me to deal with that feeling of not being able to trust one of my girls. Seeing that other people also have difficult pets is really very helpful.
Thank you for sharing this, it really helped me feel better about my own situation. I had almost the exact same thing happen with the last batch of young rats I got--the most outgoing of them in the beginning ended up being a biter and got me really good one night. That bite was totally my fault, but he continued to make a grab for me whenever my hand got too close. We've made our peace now which involves very little interaction. I totally understand your wanting to be able to interact with him the way you do with your other ratties, I feel the same way. Luckily, my little biter is not aggressive towards the other rats. Thanks again for sharing, I'm very interested to see how Bagel behaves after his neuter.
Awww! I’m so sorry this happened to you. I can tell it hurt you emotionally and mentally as well. Stay encouraged love, things will get better! And poor lil Crumble 🥺
I went from “meh” to love rats from your videos. Thank you for your work and honesty! Really appreciate it and hope you feel better soon :)
Fingertips bleed like crazy. One of my girls was extremely cage aggressive when I first got her, I couldn't even put my hand into the cage without her rushing up qnd biting me. During free roam there were never any issues and now she very clearly shows with her body language when she wants to be left alone, so I haven't been bitten this year ( except Thursday, but that was probably because she was in pain from her surgery). Sorry that you have to deal with so many hormone agressive rats, hope things go well for you and the little ones.
Lotta tiny blood vessels in there.
I’m so glad you shared. We have one rat that bites every now again, she seems to do it when she is sleepy. We also have another rat that makes really cute noises to get our attention, it would be great to have a video about normal noise. I’ll have to look you may already have one :-)
Thank you so much for this video. As a fellow rat owner, I really appreciate how you take the time to inform your viewers about the good, the bad, and the ugly of owning rats.
I've had a rat that had a similar problem with biting unprovoked. It never seemed to be out of territorial aggression, or fear. The first time he bit, I was with him and his brothers in the play pen. He crawled up on my shoulder, and out of nowhere bit me near my eye. It hurt a little bit, but it didn't draw blood, so I didn't think anything of it. I thought maybe he was just trying to groom me, and it's a sensitive spot. The second and third times he was on top the cage (him and his brothers would climb on top of the cage while my boyfriend and I would give them scratches). With the hight of the cage, the rats were at face level for us. Then, he randomly walks up to my boyfriend, no signs of aggression, and bit my boyfriend on the chin, both times drawing blood. My boyfriend has some facial hair, so we at the time thought again, maybe he was trying to groom and got skin by mistake. The fourth time he bit, him and his brothers were free roaming the room (we rat proofed the room), and I had just eaten a cookie. He crawled up on the couch where I was sitting, then crawled up me and bit my lip. It bled. I thought "maybe its cause I just ate a cookie, and my lip tasted yummy". Looking back, I should've realized something was up by this point, but I think I was making excuses since he didn't show any signs of fear, aggression, or being territorial. The final time he bit unprovoked was also when he was free roaming. My boyfriend was taking a nap, and Mocha (the rat) climbed up onto the bed next to him. He walked right up to his face, and bit him on the ear drawing blood. At that point, my boyfriend and I came to the conclusion that he just likes biting faces, and that we shouldn't let him near out faces. We decided that if he starts doing that to any other body parts, then we would get him neutered to see if that helps. Luckily, keeping him away from our faces was enough to solve the problem.
I've only had him bite me once since then, but that was my fault. His older brother had just passed away, and him and his other brother were doing little dominance "fights" to see who would be the new alpha. Once when they were free roaming, they both decided to sit on the couch next to me. They started doing a little bit of normal wrestling, and I thought nothing of it at first. Then they started showing signs of actual aggression, and before I even had the chance to intervene the actual fight broke out. Rat ball, hair flying everywhere. I immediately tried to separate them with my hands (my mistake), and I got bit pretty bad. I also had that the reaction to pull my arm away and I remember seeing him hanging from my thumb through the sleeve of my hoodie (he bit through that too). As soon as I screamed, he let go realizing he bit me and not his brother. There was a lot of blood, but I ultimately am grateful that I got bit instead of his brother since it was so bad. I made sure to give him (and his brother too) extra cuddles, pets, and reassurance since I could tell the experience was just as traumatizing to him as it was for me. He never fought with his brother like that since then. Since the bite was right on the pad of my thumb, I was unable to play any video games that used a joystick for like a month. Funny story, as it started healing, I noticed a black line under my skin where the bite was, and a few weeks after the bite, a took some sharp tweezers and ended up pulling out a hair where the bite was. After that most of the pain went away almost immediately.
That was all about a year ago, and Mocha is now over 2 years old and is the sweetest rat ever. I notice that he still tries to get near my face when I'm giving his brothers kisses, but I've learned to be extra aware of him, and thankfully there has been no actual bites since then.
So sorry you had to deal with this! It is quite sad, because rats do bite and that needs to be recognized, but that does not mean that they are bad pets, and if the average person heard a hamster bit someone, they would still think hamsters are good pets but if a rat bit someone, they would call them horrible nasty creatures that need to be put down.
I love my boys but they’re not a stress free or a cheap pet. There always seems to be some problem that I’m trying to solve: whether it’s behaviorally, health wise, or whatever it maybe be. Currently I’m dealing with an open wound after my male rat got some swelling and it burst last night, leaving a significant wound on him. :( Taking him to the vet tomorrow. I love them. But I’m so glad that you try to be honest with people about what having rats can really be like. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows.
Currently dealing with the same thing too! Crumble had a huge abscess appear on his face overnight and i've spent the past two days cleaning it despite his protests and it breaks my heart to see him uncomfortable. It just never ends. I can definitely see how people get so burnt out with owning them so quickly and decide to take a break
@@Emiology what have you been using to clean it? I’ve been wiping it off with warm water every few hours but I’m not sure what else I can use on him.
Hibiscrub!
I've been bitten twice by my youngest, binky, because the breeder who bred him did not socialize him properly. He loves his cagemates, but i dont think he'll ever fully be comfortable with humans. Both times it was my fault- I noticed his scared/hostile body language, but attempted to engage with him anyway. I violated his boundaries. And while the bite itself does hurt- I have permanent nerve damage/numbness where the second bite was- more than that it always hurts my feelings. I get so upset knowing I scared him and made him lash out. Im worried hes having an unhappy life because he doesnt like me. But then I see him absolutely loving his brothers and sisters, loving treats and toys, running around and popcorning, and I have to take solace in that its okay if he doesnt like humans. Hes happy with his rat family, and hes in a much better situation than he was before with his breeder, and that helps comfort me.
Some rats don’t like humans and that’s okay. Our relationship with them is secondary, even third to other things like their bond with their cage mates and with enrichment in their environment, having a bond is a bonus but with some rats it’s not always possible and that’s okay, you can work around it as long as those other needs are being met ❤️
The thing that people need to understand is that any animal will bite..while it is harder to tell with small animals they are great pets…and while people think of rats as animals that bite the truth is hamsters bite to and they are not seen like rats are..🐁🐁🐀love how your teaching people the right way to care for rats and mice! There aren’t many channels like yours♥️🖤♥️
I appreciate you speaking about this with us all, and being so honest. It's very informative to hear about when things go in this direction to prevent people/rats suffering more without knowing what to do.
I can absolutely relate to the emotional drain of frequent problems with pets. I have had six female mice, and three of them are excessively aggressive and territorial, leading to me having to separate them into different cages, in spite of multiple, multi-day introductions.
Then one of the ladies developed a respiratory issue and due to inexperience, I didn't recognise it fast enough, and by the time I noticed, she was so far gone she died on the examination table at the vets.
Her sister developed mammary tumors only weeks later.
The other cage started showing signs of ektoparasites a week ago, so I'm now going through stronghold treatment and full cage sanitation there, while keeping my eyes on the one with cancer. She's still healthy, happy, eats and drinks well, but the tumor is getting very large and I fear it's not too long before she will begin deteriorating and I'll have to bring her to the vet for euthanasia.
It's been a terrible year for pets, and I've had that same thought. "Why am I doing this?"
I still love them and I will keep having mice, but it has really been emotionally draining.
I feel this. I’ve had to have 4 more f my boys, and 1 more next month fixed. It is so time consuming and draining. All the cleaning, sanitizing, rearranging, time, emotional labor, it’s so tough watching your little bubs go through all that.
Ouch! Poor you, and poor Bagel! If it helps, I have a boy who absolutely SAVAGED my husband (he also has a lovely scar to show for it), but a neuter sorted him right out. He's an absolute pudding now, and we've both been able to rebuild our trust with him. Keeping my fingers crossed for you both. I always feel sorry for bucks dealing with hormonal aggression. It must be so confusing for them. I've been lucky and never been seriously bitten, but I'm sure my turn is coming. It seems to be a right of passage of rat ownership!
I feel awful for him! You can see in his eyes that he’s not bad, and he’s almost confused by what he wants to do when he approaches you, 90% of the time he’s being calm and curious but until he calms down you can’t risk it and he’s confused why I won’t let him near my hands 😞 I’m confident the neuter will help a lot given how all the other signs are from too many hormones
@@Emiology I know exactly what you mean. With my Logan, we could see his 'real' personality underneath, but his hormones were making him so stressed out.
What an honest and informative video! I also loved reading other people's experience in the comment section.
I've been lucky enough to only have ever owned rats who "play-bite". I love making a claw shape with my hand and jumping it around the cage like a spider and tickling my rats. They jump in response and play-nip at my fingers. Never draw blood, and I know it's all in good fun. Though, I was bitten once 20 years ago when my younger self stuck his hand in a pregnant rat's shelter. That was a lesson I had to learn the hard way, and I'm glad I did.
Is gentle biting normal for rats? I’ve just got my first girls and one gently bites every finger. I assumed this was normal, but is it something I should try to nip in the bud?
@@Fruity-avalanche In my experience, it's an act of endearment. Rats playfully nip at each other when they're comfortable and happy. I could be wrong about that, but it's been my experience. I would personally allow it, as it seems to help rats bond with us better, as counterintuitive as that sounds.
My rescue rat had a month long phase where he came up to our hands and nipped, because he wasn't tame yet. But then it stopped when he got calmer. He is still pretty nervous but much less, and doesn't bite on purpose anymore
I recently adopted three boys from a foster system. They aren’t agressive or anything like that, which I’m very thankful for, but they still absolutely freak out if I try and pick them up (even if I just lift my hand up when one of them’s already on it). Supposedly they were hand trained by their previous foster owner, but I’m sort of doubting that. I’ve only ever gotten nipped by them a couple times when they’re taking food from my hand, never out of fear, but the way they react to me trying to pick them up makes me scared that I’m going to get bit that way.
I’ve made progress, at this point they are all good with hand feeding and even being pet, and they willingly get in a carrier, but it’s been a little slow.
Same with me I dont know what to do.
i am proud to say that i have not been bitten by either of my boys yet, and i credit that to the breeder. they were extremely cautious with breeding ( i had to fill out a whole form just so she knows the rats will be safe/happy) and she also had me specify any personalities!
Bagel reminds me of my boy Clover ❤️ He’s a sweet and loving little rat bless him, but he struggled with hormonal aggression when he was little. I still have a scar from him to always remember him by lol. I was really young when I got him and when he first bit me I wanted to rehome him. I ended up keeping him though and he turned out to be the sweetest little rat ever to live. He is my heart rat ❤️
Honest video! Rat ownership is always glamorous. 9 years ago I had 3 male rats and 1 bit my sister in a similar place, unfortunately I didn’t know about neutering as was new to rats so sadly rehomed him to an experienced owner.
Thanks Emi!
This side of the story needs to be told as well, I had a very similar situation.
Female about 6 months, started biting fairly randomly, I'd offer a finger and get bitten, once moving somehthing in the cage, and she dashed across and bit me.
I started to treat her with apprehension, which is reasonable, and I even considered putting her down. However, in the end, my friends convinced me that maybe my relationship with her would just be different than with the other rats.
She as also the most outgoing, and gave the sweetest kisses (even compared to the others. None of mine love being held, or give lots of kisses).
After about a year I got a pet-sitter, and had warned her about Georgie, in the end, she couldn't remember which was which...and when I saw her with my rats a couple months later....I saw her giving her hand to Georgie and getting a bath...it made me realise I could have more confidence with her, without fear of being bit, and it's been so much better the last 8 months.
You can build trust, and they can improve/outgrow the behaviour.
Glad to hear you've healed quickly, and are alright. May Bagel come around, be the sweet loving (well adjusted) boy you hope for!
Great video, sheds a good spotlight on the realities of owning a rat. Very well articulated also. :)
Unfortunately, this video also deterred me from buying a rat as a pet. I suffer from some pretty nasty anxiety, and constantly being anxious about being bitten, or dealing with rat bite fever, would drive me through the roof. :(
The only time I've ever been badly bitten by one of my rats, it was my fault* and I startled my boy awake. Lesson, painfully, learned lol
(*It isn't ever really their fault, there's always a reason and despite their intelligence, they don't do it "just to be mean." )
I had a male mouse that loved to chase my hand and give my finger a gentle nip when he caught it. It hurt and sometimes he drew blood. Each time I'd give an "eep" and continue playing with him.
He eventually discovered that we could play the game with him under a blanket and my finger on the outside. He could nip the blanket as hard as he'd like without hurting me.
Your rat may be a "chaser" rat. He may enjoy playing chasing games similar to a cat.
It's weird, I know, but my mouse loved chasing my fingers and hands but had he had no aggression, sweet and gentle but loved the chase.
I've had rats that like to hand wrestle before, especially as babies. Unfortunately with a rat like this that is struggling with their hormones it's not a good idea because they get too riled up by it and it puts him in a state where his aggression is heightened.
i had rehomed these old rats id named tom and jerry, and they was both previoulsy abused. yet one was aggresive and one was terrified. and i received 3 bites over 6 months with jerry and it was so mentally draining, because i was trying my best to show them humans arent horrible. and i managed to eventually show to him that humans arent bad and he stopped biting me. it made me cry the day it happened
Oh yeah, my spayed female gave me my first bite soon after coming home and it was a learning experience with how MUCH blood there was for how minor the wound looked.
Two of my rats came from a poor background and I've had to house them separately (but together) and they bite no matter what out of fear, full on cracked a fingernail down the center (from the top down) once and I bled like nothing else. Months later and still a bit numbed where it happened, probably hit something. Fingers are huuuuge for nerve endings. The bit in the tip of the finger was the deepest wound I've ever had and they're both getting neutered soon. I ended up finding blood up the wall, hidden by the cage, after the fact.
Oddly I have never been bit by my pet rats. I kept rats for years. However, I adopted rats from my local shelter and the groups were already established and somewhat socialized . Also I never had more than 2 or 3 at once
I have been bitten by rats a handful of times. I had adopted lab rats who were very skittish and I’ve experienced bites exactly like you pictured… blood everywhere! They have very long incisors so if they get a good chomp it’ll bleed like crazy. No regrets though, they ended up with happy lives and even eventually learned to enjoy being pet and cheek scritches
I have had Angus bite me on the thumb yesterday. He drew blood too. I was putting my hand in the enclosure to lift him up and put him on my chest. He's never bitten me before . I have been bitten by hamsters before, worst I got was an almighty chomp and lock from Gershwin when she managed to get stuck in a wooden toy. That required a hospital visit and a series of injections, which wasn't a lot of fun. Yes, I feel very similar pain to you. Absolutely have my sympathy on this one. Hope it gets better for you soon. Please don't give up.
I was allowed to have a pair of gerbils when I was 7. At one point, I got bitten when trying to handfeed one of them and I couldn't touch them after that because I was so scared. The fear lingered for YEARS. I love rats and I hope so badly I can handle them without fear now at 27 because if not I will be absolutely heart broken since I really want my own sometime soon. Moral of the story: 7 is WAY too early to be a pet parent dang it!
I was pretty young when I got my first rats. I remember giving my rat a bath and playing with him after without realizing that he was stressed the heck out and didn’t want to play. That really nasty hand pic is about what my hand looked like. My mom just shoved glue in it and it healed really nicely! I learned since to read a rats body language and to do minimal bathes if I have to at all.
Awwww Crumble is such a sweetheart
I flinched when you brought up the alcohol lol, I know that hurt! I recommend keeping chlorohex on hand. It is a great antiseptic and works better than alcohol. We have switched to chlorohex for most things at the hospital and it doesn’t burn in my experience :)
You’re amazing. Thank you for your content. ♥️
Okay, please help me on this. I really dont want to see the blood and injuries and stuff, but my rats bite my mother every so often but they have NEVER bit me or done anything like that. Its only her. Im not sure if shes just not feeding them or interacting with them appropriately or what... What do I do?
i would just tell her to stop interacting with them. if she likes them a lot, she can speak with them outside the cage. it probably isn’t even her fault, but she might be causing them stress, and therefore aggression. it’s most likely that it’s just because they are more closely bonded to you. it also might be a feeding issue like you said. maybe she just needs to stop feeding them and they problem will be fixed. also, depending on if you have an albino (which are at least partially blind, with my rat he can’t see at all) they might just smell her and find something they don’t like since they won’t be able to really see her. i hope you guys can fix the problem without her having to completely stop interacting with them, since she seems to like them so much, but if that’s the case, depending on your situation, she may just be able to get rats of her own.
@@crouchingidiot Thanks! I want her to interact with them though, I want her to like my pets. I sometimes wonder if its a smell or something. Im very slightly a germaphobe, so I wash my hands a lot, including before I interact with my rats just in case anything poisonous or germy to them is on my hands... I dont think everyone else is quite the same, and that makes me think there might be smells on her hands they arent used too because I try to keep mine clean... What I want her to do is interact with them when Im around so I can see what shes doing, how theyre acting, and why she is getting bitten. She doesnt want her own pets, it was me that was trying to get her to warm up to pets again. Its been a very long time for us. My rats have black eyes, except one might have slightly ruby eyes, but its hard to tell. Im sure they can see, Ill make sure she's got the room bright enough for them to see when shes playing with them. Anyways, thank you so much, Ill work with them and see if I can get her to make progress with me!
@@the1onesquirrel9 i hope that it works out for you guys!
@@the1onesquirrel9 if you both want to be able to interact with them make sure she spends a good amount of time around them…she basically needs to build a bond like you have with them, which may take some time…maybe have her give them treats (so they learn that she isn’t a threat and instead gives them things they love) if they bite her on sight and don’t hesitate then don’t do that…if there doing that then there most likely doing it out of stress and there just protecting themselves…put any kind of fabric (blanket, clothes) with your moms scent on it in there cage, it sounds kinda weird but they have to learn her smell without her being in there cage and risking being bit…
Haven't been bit by our 2 male rats yet, but they're 3 months so it makes me a little nervous that it could happen. I usually wait for them to come to me at the door for playtime or cuddling. When I do put my hand in it's for water and food dish filling, cleaning, etc...and there hasn't been a problem yet.
Been bit by cats when I was younger and our family had 3 females, not bad bites at all but there's sometimes a fine line when your cat is enjoying your pets to becoming over-stimulated and they nip!
Thank you for honestly sharing this. I'm sorry for your expierences like this. Hope things will get better in the future with Bagel.
I rescued some previously neglected boys, and our trust training is going amazing, but they're still very iffy about other people.. The other day, one of my boys bit a friend's finger and it was just pouring blood! It's crazy how much blood they can draw, haha.
This makes me feel better about my mice. My friend didn’t want to stick his hand into their cage bc he was scared of being bitten but the thought never crossed my mind and my two baby boys are sweet. I got them from petsmart but I’m so grateful they are open to being handled and don’t bite 🥹
Sorry this happened to you; it sounds like you've handled it really well. I've gotten bit a couple of times by one of my boys but not hard and it's only ever happened when giving treats so I think his eyesight is just shit and he thought my finger was food. But I did get bit by a squirrel once a really long time ago, on the finger tip as well and yeah it bled like crazy! Hope the neutering helps and also your hair is just so gorgeous and healthy looking :)
Thank you! My hair has been so dry recently I’ve been trying to bring it back from the dead 🙈🙈
I was only ever bitten twice. The first time was because my rat was afraid of a sound, and bit the palm of my hand thinking I was the cause. The second time, I was crying, and one of my rats thought my tears were food, and bit my eyelid 😂 (neither bites were bad, and barely bled at all)
I got bit by my boy Ein. It was my fault, I had trying to cut his toenails and he was already hufflepuffed up. It was on my thumb. Thing is, I am on a high dose of blood thinners for heart reasons. I can not tell you how much blood there was and how long it took to clot. But it did take most of a roll of paper towels to clean up. I had to start on antibiotics, again for heart reasons. Anyway he got a few new nick names, and we had a good laugh over how disproportionate the carnage was compared to the size of the perpetrator. I am so sorry you are experiencing aggression with your babies. It hurts physically and even more so emotionally. It is difficult to love something so much that has injured you so grievously
Hufflepuffed 😂
I had a rat who was Extremely territorial about her cage and would always bite me if i stuck a finger in or was cleaning something when she was in there 😩 she never bit me outside the cage but oh boy my fingers saw some stuff in there!! In her last months with me before she passed recently she got very gentle and let me even pet and hold her while in the cage, i was so moved I felt like she really had began to trust me 🥺❤️
Her sister was not like that at all and never bit me except for once, when they we're out free roaming and she bit one of my toes like a corn on the cob lmfao that was the last time i was barefoot at playtime!!
This helps so much. I’m sitting in the emergency room, 4 bites on my hands by my rat boy Porthos. He did not like me cleaning the cage, or the stuff I cleaned it with set him off. Either way I tried to fit in all the parts again to calm him instead of heeding his warnings (fluffed up) all bites need to be cut open an cleaned. I feel really bad about the whole situation.
Oh I JUST dealt with this myself. My heart rat Finn suddenly flipped a switch a couple weeks ago and was getting aggressive with our other boys and with me. He couldn't be pet on his back or bum, or picked up without biting you. Sometimes it was soft and other times quite hard. We have 4 rat cages on the first floor of our house. My mom has 5 boys in her cage, I have 5 boys in my main cage, 3 babies in another cage, and 1 lone male we hope to introduce to the babies soon. The baby cage originally had 2 boys we adopted from a friend, who is a breeder. Unfortunately 1 got a stress induced RI right away and was also a runt so he didn't make it. He declined and died so fast we didn't have time to get him into his vet app we scheduled. We ended up getting 2 more younger babies to go with the remaining baby. They were supposed to be boys but 1 baby ended up being female and right when she was brought home is when Finn's issues started. Every intact male we had started acting all nuts. We have 2 neutered boys with 1 in the main cage and then the lone boy who didn't change behavior at all. Finn ended up turning on the most subordinate male, Zeke, and messed him up pretty bad(He's recovered perfectly since!). We isolated Finn and he calmed down later that night. Within a day he was sweet again, and once we gave back that female and got an actual boy Finn was totally normal. Super sweet, cuddly, and kissy all over again. Had no issues taking him out for playtime in our room, and after a week he was reintroduced to the main group without any issues. Some sparing at first as Finn re-established dominance, as he was the alpha after our boy Sprig was neutered, but nothing bad. And they've been great since. Its wild how something so small, the smell of a 7 week old female rat, can trigger boys into behaving like they're feral.
Their teeth are no joke. My oldest rat recently grabbed some organic oatmeal lotion for a moment, and the bottle was completely ruined. I saw him grab it, I took it away immediately, and there was a huge hole right through the plastic bottle.
About 1,5y ago I got my first pair of rats after moving out of my parents house. I was very eager to interact with them and although they came from a breeder, she had multiple nests at once and a lot of other animals to care for, so I doubt the rittens got a lot of human attention/handling.
They were both skittish and one of these girls has bitten me a few times, mainly when she was afraid (and I too eager for interaction). I learned how to read her body language, not poking my fingers through the cage bars near her and not to approach her when she's in her sleeping spot.
When I spot-clean the cage I keep an eye out for her but generally if I stop and let her sniff my hand, she's alright with it.
I free roam them in a way that they can choose to go out or stay in the cage and she often comes up to me and I can pick her up if I don't do it too sudden and reward her with food. She sometimes test-bites my sock or my arm when she's in my sweater and because I'm ticklish I don't like it, but although she's a bit rough I know it's not ill met.
When I added 2 more rats to the group I was actually surprised how nice she was to the babies (she's the alpha). I'm very happy to hear you're not putting your rat to sleep because he's aggressive to you while he could still live a happy life with your other boys.
Ofcourse we humans keep pets to have nice interactions with them, but an animal should not suffer if it doesn't like you too much but still lives happily with its own species, especially because you have other rats to interact with.
And who knows, maybe one day the other rats will teach him you are a nice human to interact with, like how my girl Zari warmed up to me.
I've only been *intentionally* bitten by one rat; the rest it was all "oops, thought you were a treat!" or "whoops, you smelled like a rat I don't like!" Owen was hormonally aggressive & cage aggressive. I've got scars from him & had nerve damage in my thumb for months. A neuter helped, but he still would make lunges at me. He had to live on his own level of my cage bc I couldn't trust him in a level w other rats where he could get me while I was interacting with the others. We got to point where I could pick him up in a towel & he would take treats nicely, but we mostly just let him do his thing & live his life unbothered by humans.
Murphy, my other biter, was rescued from a classroom where he'd started biting the kids. He never bit me, bc I respected his boundaries. I could pet him & give him treats, without worry. He wasn't a lunger/attacker like Owen so he lived with a buddy. He'd walk into a carrier when it was cage cleaning time, so no need to pick him up. It's always scary & a shock when one gets you!
One of my boys had bit my nose two days before I had to go to a wedding. 😅 Love them tho ❤
Oh nooooo 😬
I adopted a castrated rat a month ago. It was my first rat in 15 years. He was a plain dark rattie. He was neutered because of dominance issues. I put in two females (both rescues). It goes very well. Remy is even the submisive rat in the household :D
Aww you named him remy
My rats (one in particular, and she's teaching the babies bad habits) frequently draw blood, but it's more from aggressive grooming than biting. They just like to peel the skin off my fingers and I have no idea how to make them stop. The one time I actually got bit by a rat was on my finger and the blood was literally squirting out, even though it wasn't that deep. I think fingers just bleed really easily.
our rats came from an amateur breeder, and they bite often. The one that never really bit us when we first got her started biting me a *lot*. Like, I have scars on my fingers from it. She all of a sudden stopped liking me essentially, I can't even go near her without her trying to bite me and it's really disheartening cuz she was the rat I chose and named.
For more context; it does seem like she all of a sudden stopped liking me. I don't do anything that might hurt them, I feed them, clean their cage, play with them. She loved me before, I have no clue what happened or why she started attacking my fingers like that.
she was trying to protect her sister who had cancer, she loves me again ERM
I made the critical error of wearing an extra sparkly septum ring while playing with one of my girls today… let’s just say we played an impromptu game of “got your nose” and she won. Thanks for this video!
We were given a beautiful girl rat almost 4 weeks ago, having kept rats for years and needing a friend for our other girl who lost her cage mate a little while ago, we were so excited. initially she was a bit skittish but from day 3 she stopped eating and starting darting at us and biting. On day 5 we found out why when my son called me to tell me that he found babies in their hammock. Complete shock, she did not look pregnant at all and was I feel so young. Since then she has bitten us several times and really badly, we have taken to wearing gloves when putting hands in the cage as she darts from out of no where. She has not shown any aggression towards her cage mate and does seem to be calming down a bit now that her babies are moving around on their own. Is this just a matter of being patient, we have had 2 previous litters over many years but moms were raised by us and had no aggression at all. Up until this point the only other time we have ever had a bite was an older male who had started to lose his eye sight which was understandable. I just don't want my kids to develop a fear when ratties have brought us so much love and joy over so many years and we definitely want to continue to give her a loving home. Anything you can suggest to help?
i got two rats from a petshop, and one of them bit me twice, once as a checking limits thing, and it wasn't too bad, the other out of fear because he got stuck behind the radiator after escaping the cage, and that hurt like hell. We ended up putting them up for adoption a couple days later, because it was way too stressful as a first time rat owner, but now I have two baby boys who are the absolute sweetest, and while i do miss my old ones, i know they're going to a better home with people better equipped to deal with them
I have had several rescue rats that had biting tendencies. For some I would only pick them up with a towel or with really thick/padded garden glove as they were afraid of being picked up - they were often okay to sit with me/on my lap and tolerated being petted (on the body, not the head), just not being grabbed. But some would bite if my hand just went near them, so I slowly introduced them to my fist (hiding my thumb and fingers) so they couldn’t do a deep bite. That helped some eventually warm up to me. I would first keep at a respectable distance and over time they’d let my fist be closer, until eventually they’d be okay to sit with it like it were another rat.
Some rescue rats took a year or more (the longest was 2 years) to finally trust me, some still never truly let me pick them up without a towel but they at least were bonded with me/truly liked hanging out with me and which was important for the ones that couldn’t live with a companion due to their aggression/anxiety. These rats had usually been hurt/traumatised and neglected in early life and would either try and kill other rats in fear for their life or collapse/pass out from the stress.
If I ever end up in the right financial circumstances I’d love to set up a formal rat rescue and be a place where aggressive, traumatised or no longer desired pet rats can be dropped off at. So far my rescue rats have all been discovered by chance but I’m sure there’s plenty out there people would surrender if they had somewhere to take them. It’s a lot of work to get an aggressive rat, even after desexing, to be safe to handle, especially if they’re neurotic in some manor as a result of trauma and understandably not everyone has the time or money (or spare rat cages) to do all that.
Rat bites hurt way more than I expected. One of my adopted boys was partially blind and because of that I kept him near my other rats but for safety reasons they didnt share a cage. I was pretty good about keeping my hands clean before handling him but the one day I didn't he bit me. He latched onto me and just wouldn't let go. If it was in a different part of my hand I'm pretty certain there could have been nerve damage.
one of my rats did this exact same thing, she is a rescue so she’s abit scared. I was fixing there bedding and she came running over to my hand just to bite me.
I have a bite scar too. Thanks for sharing this
We have our main cage right by a half-bath with major first aid collection specifically because I have a girl who is a sassy nipper.
I’m a new rat owner and I just got the crap bit out of me a few hours ago. Never thought I’d stop bleeding lmao, I can’t even type blood without my thumb throbbing at the memory haha. I’m not sure why he’s gotten kind of mean on the second day, but I chalk it up to maybe I might be going too fast for him, and/or hormones. I’ll give it a little it a little longer before getting him snipped. Honestly one of my first thoughts was “oh god I’m a terrible owner. (You) never would’ve gotten bit like this” so this puts my mind a little more at ease. Thank you for making this!
First of all, I love your hair. So pretty! I’m glad you made this video. Hopefully neutering helps your rat. We are going through a sad time with one of our rats too. He used to be a very friendly rat who never bit. He is one of our youngest, he’s about 6 months now. He’s had bad health, he got a tumor that ended up going away. But then he got a respiratory infection. We had to give him meds and quarantine him for at least 3-4 weeks. Once we tried to slowly introduce him to his brothers he became very aggressive. He kept attacking them. He was puffed up and couldn’t relax. Now he’s started biting us. My husband’s hand was bit on a nerve or something and became so swollen. He had to get a tetanus shot, antibiotics and steroids. It was bad. I want to let him free roam a small area I sectioned off for him. But I have to be careful because he tries to bite almost every time now. It’s hard to see him like this. We used to have a decent bond.
Glad your thumb is doing better. How can you tell when it's hormone aggression compared to food aggression? I have one boy that's approx 3.5 weeks older than the other 4. Introductions went great, they were young, 4 were 8 weeks old & he was 11.5 weeks old. The oldest is 6 months now & he's been fighting a lot with the others. Seems to be worse when there's treats, veggies, fruits etc.