My Dearest Mallymkun

[hopefloats]

Please stop biting the hand that feeds you all this junk that you love so much. The one who went out and purchased you an awesome FF cage for you and your cage-mates to have to play in. The one who also keeps your food bowl full and your cage nice and clean. I even broke my brand new sewing machine making you a hammocks! I am also the one one who let's you out for hours at a time, do you know how many rats would kill for that opportunity?

Love your owner, the one who rescued you from that awful pet store,
Peggy

If only my sweet mally could read!

I love my mally I do. She is so dainty so gentle except for when she bites!

My middle finger and my index finger has bite marks. Her and the other girls are still fighting on occasion. she is just not happy i dont think.

The only time she bites me is in my chair! I always have a rat crawling behind me in my chair, so out of habit, i reach back and grab them out, well with 10 of my 11 rats it is fine. I find out really fast that it is mally! i have two bite marks so the bites are getting harder. Now they actually drew blood.

I have been working with her, but it is not working.

Little history with mally, skittles beat the crap out of her constantly. She was tiny when we brought her home, we took a couple weeks intros, but still to no avail, fights. Sat them out, thought they stopped since there was no blood shed, but we still have a few with her being the one starting it. It is even worse when mally is getting picked on she bites if you go near her.

Usually when I grab her from behind, which is hard to tell when you just reach back behind your chair, she bites. I have found scooping her up or talking to her before generally helps. I would love any advice. I am almost thinking about taking her out or splitting the cage.

Mally is also the sister of templeton and loki. She is really small, I am sure because of who bred her, probably not the best breeder in the world.

 

[jorats]

Silly Mally.
What I suggest is lots of socializing with her, holding her in your hands a lot. Scoop her with a towel, the hold her in your hands, do this several times a day, for 5 min or longer.

 

[hopefloats]

she is fine if she crawls on you, she comes running up for treats everything. She is leary if you pet her head, or pick her up but only from behind, I guess I need to move it into my chair instead of the table LOL since that is where she is biting me at. It is just beyond me, I think she is doing ok, then bamm two nights in a row, she draws blood.

Do you think she is stressed from the other rats? or is it just me, since I am the one bleeding and not them LOL

 

[jorats]

I honestly think she's all play and playing too hard. So if you can show her your hands a lot, show her that hands are fun, for playing and for getting treats, that might make her no longer want to bite your hands.

 

[hopefloats]

wow then she should live with the boys if she plays that hard. I will try with the towel. My daughter has them in her room, trying to free them from the boys smell for a bit, see if that calms her down. I just hate fearing her.....she is so tiny.

 

[Joanne]

Make sure you squeak your displeasure loudly when she does bite you! Squeaking and blowing air in my Jazzy's face stopped the nipping before it escalated to biting.

 

[hopefloats]

well I if i could see it coming i would be alright LOL that little bugger is like grease lightening, it is fast. I will try the air, I just need to get over the shock of her biting me. One would think with as many times as she has bitten me, I would not be surprised anymore. I am not the sharpest crayon in the box though

 

[jorats]

Oh I don't think anyone gets used to bites, no matter how many times they get you. I had a girl that liked to nip various body parts. I jumped and screamed each time. lol