Augh!!!!

[Willk24]

So, I'm at a complete loss. One of my girls, Yuna, actually forcefully bit my boyfriend last night. He was handling her, and she was climbing all over him happily. They'd done this dozens of times before, and he isn't a dolt when it comes to handling rats, so he wasn't being rough or anything. She stood up on his shoulder and then without warning, she bit the cartilage that juts out in the middle of the ear. It was sudden and forceful and a huge shock to us both. We immediately put her back in her cage and checked out the damage. The wound was bleeding like a faucet. Once it stopped, it looked as if he'd attempted to pierce that spot. He said it hurt a lot and was throbbing for quite awhile. Today he said it seems almost like it almost went all the way through the cartilage and joked about just using one of my earrings to pierce it all the way.

Yuna's never bitten anybody before, at least not this hard. She's always been kind of mouthy, but it's always been with test nibbles and quite deliberate and soft. Needless to say, we're both now pretty wary about handling her again. I'm at such a loss! :gaah:

Can anybody shed some light on this? I'll be happy to answer any questions that may help you.

 

[jorats]

Does he smoke or have any other fragrances on him?
Some rats will do that when chrarged or stressed. I had one do this on the tip of my nose. I looked pretty funny for a week.
You'll have to watch her, don't hold her to close to your face.

 

[Willk24]

Nope, neither of us smoke and he doesn't wear anything except deodorant, which hasn't changed. It was suggested that it was just a freak accident and to just watch her carefully to make sure it doesn't become an issue.

 

[jorats]

I wouldn't say an accident. She purposefully bit. Some rats are like that though. I'd just be more careful when handling her.

 

[mamarat]

I have a little girl who grabs any part of my face with her little hands and bites down. Otherwise Clare is the sweetest thing, never bites fingers not even through the bars.

 

[lilspaz68]

It sounds like a girl who cannot be trusted near your face anymore.

 

[ATez]

I wish i could help but i somewhat have the same problem. Only seen blood once from an over excited Crank who really wanted his treat before Pickle.

I only gotta watch out for him around my face... and my ****s.
He likes to nibble me a bit too hard where it's squishy (****s, upper arm fat, ear lobe) i really can't explain why!
It's almost as if he's trying to dominate my squishy parts?

 

[hopefloats]

I have one of those, she has certain spots on my desk she bites me if i go near her. Which totally sucks because she seems to think my mouse is her, so when she is back there if my finger is on it, she nails me. It started out sudden, i was shocked, but it has not went away but it hasn't grown any worse. I have tried tons of things to break her of it, and it hasn't worked. The only thing my mally has done is teach me how to pick her up, and keep a constant eye on her lol. I have had some startle bites from some of my rats and it hasnt happened again, but sometimes they seem to just keep biting. I learned to just be careful around mally but that is my choice because regardless if she is a biter, i still love her little self.

 

[Moon]

I think a lot of us who have had rats that are bad with faces... some are eyes, some are lips, some are ears. Doesn't mean she's aggressive but something to be wary about.

 

[Zooy]

We had one like that, her name was Spinach and eyelashes and ears were her favourite. She bit right through Mikes cartilege... And gave me a black eye... needless to say rats aren't allowed near my face anymore.

 

[Willk24]

Thanks for everyone's input. I've been watching her and handling her pretty carefully. It's been a bit of a pain, though. She is very much a fan of hanging out on shoulders, but it's such easy access to ears that I really don't like having her there anymore. She doesn't seem to get why she can't be on my shoulders and persistently keeps trying to get on them.