Biting

[BittyBoo]

I have a sweet, sweet boy named Prosper. I love him to bits, and he was big when we got him, I assume at least 6 months. Probably more. He had teeth problems, but we clipped them and got it all sorted out. He was skittish at first, but warmed up to me and cuddled and boggled and basically all that mushy cute stuff we love rats so much for.

But recently he's been...not so nice. I'm at a loss as he's not acting like what people have described hormonal boys to be, and he's not acting out of fear as you'll see in a moment.

See he's started to bite me. Not when I go to pet him, or pick him up, not like he's being threatened and biting to get me to go away. No he seeks out my hand wherever it is and bites it. I tried keeping my hand in a fist to make it harder for him to get a grip on it but then he moved to my wrist. It's not even a bite and release...he just latches and pulls and yanks.

He's not breaking skin, but causing deep bruising and he latched to the base of my thumb and made the joint muscles swell.

He's not showing any cage aggression, not fighting with his cagemates. Just suddenly very hand/arm/my skin aggressive and I'm not sure what I can can do.

I have a hard time taking him out right now (though I still do) because when he does this it makes me cry. I'm a very sensitive person to rejection from my pets and I am not coping well.

I can't get him neutered either, unfortunately. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated as I just don't know what to do.

 

[glitchiq]

Are you sure a neuter is absolutely impossible? He really does sound like a perfect candidate; his hormones are flaring up so badly that the person he once snuggled with is the target of his aggression. Neutering works like a charm almost every time. An angry, aggressive boy calms back down to his old, sweet, squishy self.

There's not a lot of information out there on how to handle an aggressive boy because the general fix is neutering. If I had to suggest anything, I would look at all the typical socialization techniques and use those - but on steroids. Constantly treat him so that he associates you with good things (low calorie treats like pieces of Cheerios or even baby puffs work best because you can feed so many without them amounting to much). Give him treats that take a little longer to munch on and pet him while he's eating. Feed him something like yogurt off of a spoon so that he has to sit near you while he eats the yogurt - hopefully this strengths the bond between you and good food in his mind. Wrap him in a fleece and hold him for 20 minutes; rats can only hold their fear for up to 15 minutes, so by the 20 minute mark he will have chilled out. I know you aren't describing fearful behavior, but maybe it could still work.

My main concern is that he's already associated you with good things and bonded to you, and all those techniques are meant for new/fearful/skittish rats. Maybe trying to rebuild your bond will help.

Honestly, I think neutering is your best shot. Both you and Prosper would come out of the other side happier. However, I understand if that doesn't necessarily work for your present situation.

 

[BittyBoo]

I can't afford to neuter him, as we recently had a medical issue with our cat and are financially recovering from that. I honestly can't see it happening for a few months and that seems like a long time to be bit and hurt and I can't not take him out that long either.

Do you think maybe that I should rehome him(with full disclosure of his aggressive behavior of course)? I hate to do it, but I wonder if it might be best for him if I find someone with a) more experience with male rat aggression (I've mostly only had girl ratties) and b) could afford the neuter faster than I could hope to.

 

[glitchiq]

Yeah, sometimes these vet expenses seem to come at the most inopportune times. I don't know about rehoming him; I would hate to see him leave you and the rest of your ratties just because he's thinking more with his gonads than with his brain right now. *sigh* I'm really not sure; I've been lucky with my vet expenses. It's probably because I only have my two boys, and the rescue I adopted from paid for their neuters. I would see if some of the more experienced people on the forum have any words of wisdom on the aggression issue/rehoming.

My thoughts are with you and Prosper!

 

[BittyBoo]

I would hate to give him up, but I also hate the idea of making him suffer just so I could keep him. Do you have any idea how long a male's hormones stay all surged up and crazy? Or do they never go down again without neutering?

I've had several boys, but none have ever gotten like him, so I'm at a loss as to what's the best to do for him since I can't get him neutered at least anytime soon.

 

[dspch911]

He's using your hand/wrist as his "girlfriend", I had a rat that did this. My dear sweet precious Clark, who is once again my dear sweet precious Clark - without gonads! It will only get worse!!! A neuter is the only thing that is going to stop this behavior. You aren't torturing him - your actually doing him a favor. In my opinion, my neutered rats seem healthier and live longer than my boys that still have the gonads.

 

[BittyBoo]

I mean he would suffer because I can't get him neutered anytime soon. It seems the only way to help him may be to find someone with the ability to get him fixed sooner than me, because it must be torture to feel all hormonal and aggressive all the time.

 

[jorats]

joinrats.com is an excellent site with tons of really good positive reinforcement info with rats and even with aggressive rats. Have a look around, you might find exactly what you need to help you deal with your little guy.

 

[BittyBoo]

Thank you for the link jorats, I'll check it out.

I've had a long talk with my partner and we've decided to just keep him and save for the neuter, even though it will take some time. He has teeth issues and we just don't think anyone in our area would be willing to deal with his issues and still love him when they haven't seen his good side. Also he loves his little brothers to bits (the best thing about all this is he only gets rough with us not them, possibly because they're a lot younger?) so it would kill us to have to separate them. So we're just going to soldier through it with thick shirts and lots of fun distractions until we have the money to get him fixed. We had to think hard about what would be best for him, and I think we can give him that, albeit with a little time and a lot of patience.

Thanks for the advice and please wish me and my boy good luck, I'm going to try to get him feeling better and back to his cuddly self as soon as possible.

 

[jorats]

I'm so glad you've decided to work with him. There are so many tips on that site I mentioned, I bet it will help you a great deal with him.
You and your partner are truly awesome!

 

[dspch911]

Good luck and just watch for the signs he puts out. When you start seeing them remove your arms and put him back in his cage. I was able to tell when Clark was in the "mood" before his neuter. Hang in there Prosper