NotKate
Member
I rescued a troubled rat off of Craigslist a few days ago.
He was fed to a snake a few months ago, and bit the snake. The person's kids liked him and he was given to an acquaintance. That person says he was nice until he turned aggressive, and would lunge at their hands and bite. They kept him alone, and fed him though the cage bars, which of course encouraged him to bite more, and encouraged them to keep doing it out of fear.
His craigslist ad said nothing but "He Bites!" They were desperate to be done with him, and he came to me for free in a shoebox with no supplies and many warnings.
In honor of his fighting spirit and battle with the serpent, I named him Hercules.
He's living in a temporary cage until I can suss him out and eventually start (carefully!) introducing him to my five-month-old boys. So far he has not shown me much aggression. He's very curious and wants to smell and explore. Of course he's also very nervous to be touched. He took a treat from my hand. When I show him my hand to smell he does a slow bite with increasing pressure, which feels more exploratory than aggressive. He was very responsive when I squeaked, and seemed surprised that I didn't want to be chomped. I can't help being a bit nervous about him, like when someone threatens to poke you in the eye, it's reflexive and not intentional.
I think he's between six months and a year but I don't know. I'm totally willing to get him neutered if he does turn out to be too much of a pill, and I'm prepared for a challenge. My heart goes out to him and he deserves a happy life.
I would greatly appreciate any advice on taming this little guy. Particularly the exploratory bites, is squeaking better, or telling him no? Does it matter, since he's reacted to both?
He also bruxes a lot, which is cute, but I know is not always happy. Earlier he was standing at the door of his cage looking at me and bruxing. Was he threatening me? Scared of me? Or just easily pleased?
Thanks for reading this long-winded post... Any insight or advice would be wonderful!
He was fed to a snake a few months ago, and bit the snake. The person's kids liked him and he was given to an acquaintance. That person says he was nice until he turned aggressive, and would lunge at their hands and bite. They kept him alone, and fed him though the cage bars, which of course encouraged him to bite more, and encouraged them to keep doing it out of fear.
His craigslist ad said nothing but "He Bites!" They were desperate to be done with him, and he came to me for free in a shoebox with no supplies and many warnings.
In honor of his fighting spirit and battle with the serpent, I named him Hercules.
He's living in a temporary cage until I can suss him out and eventually start (carefully!) introducing him to my five-month-old boys. So far he has not shown me much aggression. He's very curious and wants to smell and explore. Of course he's also very nervous to be touched. He took a treat from my hand. When I show him my hand to smell he does a slow bite with increasing pressure, which feels more exploratory than aggressive. He was very responsive when I squeaked, and seemed surprised that I didn't want to be chomped. I can't help being a bit nervous about him, like when someone threatens to poke you in the eye, it's reflexive and not intentional.
I think he's between six months and a year but I don't know. I'm totally willing to get him neutered if he does turn out to be too much of a pill, and I'm prepared for a challenge. My heart goes out to him and he deserves a happy life.
I would greatly appreciate any advice on taming this little guy. Particularly the exploratory bites, is squeaking better, or telling him no? Does it matter, since he's reacted to both?
He also bruxes a lot, which is cute, but I know is not always happy. Earlier he was standing at the door of his cage looking at me and bruxing. Was he threatening me? Scared of me? Or just easily pleased?
Thanks for reading this long-winded post... Any insight or advice would be wonderful!
