Fearful/nippy girl....dont know what to do :-(

[horselo285]

Hi everyone,

So, as of yesterday, I was trying to find a home for one of my female rats as I was in a bit of a panic over her behavior and really don't think my house is the right house for her.

Although I still don't think my house is the best bet for her, I have calmed down a bit and thought I would ask for help on how to handle her behavior. I had rats on and off for many years when I was younger and never encountered issues like this. :-(

Ok, so one of my rats, Ruby, an albino dumbo female, has been very nervous since the day I brought her home from the pet shop (never getting pet shop rats again....what a not good experience!). I didn't handle her too much at first as she was clearly very stressed....when I did handle her, I popped her under my sweater to try and make her feel safe. This did work...however, we have never been able to leave the "shirt time phase."

She has been at my house now for roughly two months and unlike my other girls, she does not want to be handled, touched, picked up, etc. As of last week, I thought we had had a breakthrough as she began to come out of her hiding spots on her own during feeding time. Unfortunately at that point, she also started lunging at my finger and nipping. I am not scared of being bit, so I have been trying to work with her. I warned my almost four year old son not to touch her.

I think that she thinks I may have food in my hands....but the lunging at me for potential food is just not something I have dealt with before. I don't mind working on it, but my concern from the start has been my two young children. I have stressed to my older son (the almost four year old) not to go to the cage unless I am there and not to try and touch Ruby when he is playing with "his rats" but yesterday am, he got out of bed and while making his way to my room, he stopped to say "hi" to "his rats," stuck his finger in the cage to pet the one closest to the barn, who he thought was "his sandy" (he is so darn cute with them....he really loves them!) but it turned out it was Ruby...she lunged, bit him, broke skin and drew blood.

For me, this is a huge issue. As I am sure you guys will understand, I do not want my young children getting bitten. Accidents, of course, will happen....but she lunges and is just so unpredictable. This is why as of yesterday, I was trying to find someone with more experience to take her if possible.

I was made to feel bad about this by a rescuer I contacted, and while I understand that they must be frustrated by people trying to "lay off" their pets on a rescue, I am truly not that person. I have no problem working with her, I am just concerned for my children. It is impossible to keep little fingers out of the cage at all times. And now she is venturing to the lower level of the double critter nation they are in....making it possible for my 16 month old son to get bit as well.

Besides my concern for health safety (lets face it, any animal bites that break skin can get infected or transmit disease) I am all concerned they will become fearful of rats, which I do NOT want. :-(

Please, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!

Laura

 

[mamarat]

How old is your little girl? It sounds like she may be cage aggressive. Sometimes (it was only once for me) but a spay did help.
Can you put a "fence" around the cage at all times so your human babies won't be hurt? I do that when little kids come to visit. They can't reach the cages unless I'm there with them.

 

[horselo285]

She, along with her cage mates are about 5 months old.

I feel really bad for Sean, the older of my two children because he loves to go up and talk to the rats and pet them through the cage (the other two are so good and he is great with them!)

I want to figure out something at least on the lower level so the baby cant get bit. Sean at least understands why im telling him not to stick his fingers in, even if he doesnt always listen. The baby just doesnt understand.

It is becoming an issue during play time to. :-( Usually Sean opens the cage and lets Sandy and Bella climb all over him as he talks to them and tells them how much he loves them (its soooo cute). During this time, I am usually getting the girl's food ready or tidying up around that are of our apt so my eyes are not on them at all times. Now that Ruby is coming out, I feel like I need to keep making sure he's not putting his hand near her. It's been a stressful few days. :-(

And Ruby is still so nervous. On one hand, she is coming out a bit more (although that has led to the nipping) but she still runs away if I try and pick her up. And during feeding time, she just grabs food and runs into a corner to hide. Granted, that is an improvement over before, when she would not come out at all for feeding and I was concerned she was not getting her fresh veggies as the other girls hoard them quickly.

As far as spaying her, it is quite a lot of money around here. Close to $300. Their vet wanted them all spayed, but honestly, that is not something I can afford. :-/

I am very hopeful that whatever is going on with her can be helped without spaying, cause honestly, I just dont have that kind of money. I have some money put aside for pet emergencies at this point, but with many bills and two children, I really need it for the emergencies that I know will eventually come up. Sandy has already had an active myco infection that need attention and meds. (she was clearly sick within a day of bringing her home from the pet shop) :-(

I feel so stressed right now. :-(

 

[mamarat]

And of course a spay will not guarantee to stop the nipping. Since there's only 3 of them can you keep them only on the top level for now? Just bring down the ramp when you're there for out times. If you have the time, one on one socializing would help your girl. Just put her between sweat shirts and go about your work. Another way is to pick her up for a few seconds at a time and put her back down. Do this several times only holding her for a few seconds. And give her a treat after. Until you have a sweet girl your best bet with your human kids is to close off the cage to them for now. She's still a scared baby at 5 months and even then some rats do get episodes of fear at that age. Hope this helps.

 

[jorats]

I agree with mamarat.
Close off your Critter nation so the rats can't go to the bottom, Let them go down when your babies are sleeping. Or you could fashion a fence around your cage so baby and Sean can't go near the cage without mommy. This is actually a good thing to teach your kids anyways, playing with any pet should always be with supervision. It's better for everyone involved.
Like mamarat has mentioned, extra one on one is extremely important, especially during the fearful stage and beyond. Something spooked the girl and she's stressed out about it all the time. Lots of talking to them, lots of handling them, lots of treats. What I do with my scared rats, I scoop them up with two hands, I give them a treat and set them down. I hold them for only seconds and place back down. She needs to associate your hand to good stuff. Treats will do that. Now that will also make her relate hands to food but the point we need to make now is that she doesn't bite unless there's food. Once she's no longer lunging, then we work scooping up for cuddles and not for treats.

 

[SQ]

:yeah: .......... :nod:

 

[maria-mar]

Congrats on deciding to keep her and work with her!...
I agree with everything said above. She seems to be quite the territorial girl so maybe you could have better results by starting to bond outside the cage. I'm sure with time she'll get a little better

Protecting your children is a good idea though. I still have a huge scar from my extra territorial male, you don't want to risk that with the kids.

 

[ratkin412]

Albino rats are pretty much blind. If you consider her to be a 'special needs rat' due to her poor vision, you might have a better chance with giving her the concessions she needs in order to help her learn not to bite.

 

[horselo285]

Thanks for all the advice!

I am closing off the bottom level of the critter nation and will keep working with her!

I did have an e-mail from someone who is interested in adopting her but I feel very torn on what to do. I actually really like her, I just don't like having to worry so much about her around my boys. :-(

BTW- The kids are not allowed to play with the rats without supervision, its just hard to keep fingers out completely at all times and the critter nation is situated in the middle of our apt and the kids play area. There is really no where else I can put it. :-( At least splitting off the critter nation will keep the baby out of any danger. Sean hasn't been as interested in seeing the rats since he got bit.... :-( I had to talk him into coming down to give them dinner tonight...something he usually loves. Hopefully he will get over that soon.

Anyways, Thanks for all the advice!

 

[horselo285]

I was able to pick up Ruby today and get her to sit with me for a little while without freaking out too much.

And there was no biting at all today! Yay!

 

[jorats]

Yay!!! A little TLC can go a long way. Keep up the good work.

 

[mamarat]

That's great, in time she'll become a sweetheart.

 

[SQ]

:joy: