My rat bit me :(

[Suzi13]

Hello everyone,

I have 2 male rats (brothers) who are 7 months old and today one bit me for the first time - not very deeply but enough so that it bled. What worries me most is that it didn't seem to be an "accident" but totally uncalled for and an aggressive behavior... I hope I am wrong though !

Every morning I have taken the habit when one of them is up and about, eating or drinking or whatever, to put a finger through the bars, let them smell/lick it, I pet them a little with it and that's our "good morning", been doing it every day since I got them - Please note that they never ever get any food though the bars - from day 1 I have been very careful to actually open the cage to give them anything.
This morning one of my boys was on their shelf by the food bowl and I put in my finger, about 4inch away from him (so I didn't touch him and he didn't expect it or something). And he just turned towards my finger, jumped on it and bit me...
Afterwards I opened the cage and he came to me, jumped on my knee, business as usual... but to be honest I was a bit scared to handle him or touch him, that bite really hurt! And I really don't want to be scared of him so it really bothers me Of the 2, this one is not the social butterfly, he doesn't like much to be handled or petted, and will generally not come to people as easily as his brother. But he has never been aggressive, he just seems more independent and cautious around people (and I think, dominant over his brother).

Anyone has any clue what that was about and what to do about it?

:thanks:

 

[lilspaz68]

Has your antisocial boy's behaviour changed at all recently? Is his fur puffed up a bit more, his head down with an arched back, does he sidle up to his brother at all? Any digging with his front paws or rubbing his sides against anything?

Its possible that it could be the onset of hormonal aggression, or could be he was having a bad day or you startled him and he didn't think.

 

[Claireybell2477]

Shelagh - sorry to hijack this thread but one of my boys has been shy and fearful from the start. He's shown great progress here and there but he's got his head down, arched back and fur puffed out! He's just over 4 months old - would you recommend a neuter when he's old enough?

He wasn't always like this, he was very licky and friendly apparently. His behaviour has developed into this since I adopted him a month ago. He sometimes nibbles me too and I don't want him turning into a biter. It really looks as though it's going to go that way

 

[lilspaz68]

Shelagh - sorry to hijack this thread but one of my boys has been shy and fearful from the start. He's shown great progress here and there but he's got his head down, arched back and fur puffed out! He's just over 4 months old - would you recommend a neuter when he's old enough?

He wasn't always like this, he was very licky and friendly apparently. His behaviour has developed into this since I adopted him a month ago. He sometimes nibbles me too and I don't want him turning into a biter. It really looks as though it's going to go that way

Clairey, he should be big enough to neuter now if you have the funds. It really sounds like his hormones are starting to kick in, and at 4 months of age, he reminds me of Nate. Nate became quite aggressive towards his cagemates and me by the time I was able to get him in to be neutered. He became licky and sweet again (although always fearful) after his neuter.

 

[Suzi13]

Hey I haven't really noticed any big changes but will definitely look out now and see if I can see him doing any of those things. At first though, of the 2 he was the most social one while his brother seemed more shy, but that changed quite fast (after about 2 weeks or so I had them). Now his brother will cuddle up while he seems to be more cautious around people and more active too - he's the one running around, jumping everywhere and in general never standing still. Never really figured out why the change, nothing special happened to him, so I'm guessing that's just how he grew up to be. He has his "social" moments, but in general he's the one you have to trick with a treat to take him out of the cage for example, as otherwise it can be hard to catch him, he will get close to you then run away as soon as you try to grab him. Will definitely watch him though tonight when he isn't sleeping anymore !

 

[Claireybell2477]

Thanks Shelagh. I will get him to be neutured asap. Good luck with your boy Suzi - keep us updated!

 

[2Rats]

My first thought is hormones -- good 'ol testosterone

 

[Suzi13]

Hello again everyone, and thanks for the answers

Now the 2 boys are out on "their bed" and I've been hanging around watching Thor (the one that bit me), and I didn't really see anything special to indicate his hormones are making him crazy - but I will for sure keep a close eye on him.
BUT I did notice something that worries me a LOT about him, that he never did until today and that his brother isn't doing, it might or not have something to do with him biting (if he feels bad), so I took a video of him and thought I'd bring it up here asap, here's the link to the video in Dropbox . It looks like he has hiccup or something, it doesn't show on the video but he sneezes a little too, and it also looks like he is doing "forced yawns". He has been doing that for a good hour now. I was at the vet with them both just 10 days ago and they were just fine, but this definitely doesn't seem normal to me.

Thanks in advance if anyone knows what the problem might be I am worried about him

 

[jorats]

He is hiccupping in the video and doing some grooming. I'm not seeing an aggressive boy either. His fur is nice and down, he's not puffy in any way. Keep a close eye on him, sometimes rough hiccups could mean the beginning of something respiratory.
His jumping on your finger and biting through the cage bars, that is pretty normal. Rats always react first and ask questions later. He might of thought something awesome was coming though the bars or he might of thought, intruder alert!

 

[Suzi13]

Hey Joanne !

Thank you so much for such a quick reply, I really started freaking out when he was having those hiccups for over an hour and was also sneezing/yawning... It seems to have stopped now but poor thing didn't look very happy. I will definitely keep an eye on him and see if he starts to sneeze/hiccup more, and if I see any more aggressive behavior. So far he seems to be his usual self, not very social but not less than is usual
Anyway, thanks for the quick reply

 

[lilspaz68]

What cute boys, they look like happy babies The only thing I can think of is he's going through a "scared" phase...silly teenagers sometimes go through his phase where everything is frightening including you. It passes don't worry. Just go a bit slower with him, no more fingers through the bars, only through the door just in case.

 

[Velo]

I've found that when my rats hiccup, if I give them a treat to focus on eating, they stop hiccuping. Works every time. XD

 

[Suzi13]

Hey everyone !

1st of all, I would like to send a big THANK YOU to everyone who replied to my post, I am a 1st time rat owner so I tend to freak out quite fast when it comes to my boys, so I really appreciate a lot everyone being so nice and taking the time to tell me to breath deep and chill Velo, thanks for the tip, I didn't think of it so will defo try it if one of the rats gets hiccups again. And I will also look out for more signs of aggressive behavior/respiratory problems...and I will stop putting my fingers through the cage I noticed they are very interested in the bandage on my finger and so nimble on it quite a bit, so it will be a no-no for quite a while

 

[RatPack]

I have rule in my house and that is if you wanna interact with the rats or feed them, then you MUST open the cage door to do so...I don't let anyone put fingers or food through the bars for this exact reason haha hopefully it was just a simple misunderstanding on his part because he looks like a very sweet boys But for future reference just always open the cage when interacting/feeding your babies and it also helps that if they are sleeping or distracted to verbally make them aware of your presence before touching cause they can bite from being startled as well.

 

[Suzi13]

Hey

Yes, I somehow thought I was safe because I have always been careful to never give them anything edible through the bars, so I thought they'd leave my fingers alone, but I guess not I might (maybe) keep doing it with his brother, since he actually loooves it and it feels a bit sad to lose that bonding thing, but with Thor it's a big no-no for sure !
Btw here are some pictures from them both yesterday, i hope they upload just fine And thanks again everyone

 

[jorats]

They are such cuties!!

 

[Joanne]

Cute little guys! They are still just babies. :heart:

 

[Sgreene9398]

I have a bad habit of feeding my Ratties treats through the bars it started with my first rat and I didn't know better but I've never been bitten. Even after I found out that feeding through the bars would cause them to bite, my Ratties very gently take the treats and with one paw push it farther into their mouth. I've even tried to test the biting theory on thanksgiving when I gave the Ratties some ham, I gave them each a piece which they quickly gobbled down and came back to the bars for more. With the smell and grease on my finger still I would put my finger through the bars and they would sniff and lick my fingers clean. Maybe I'm just lucky with my Ratties personalities but every time I have put just my fingers in the bars they only sniff and move on or lick my finger until I pull it out. I have 6 Ratties and have done this from day 1 almost 2 years ago.

 

[Suzi13]

Hehe I had tried to read up a little before I got my boys since I never had rats before, and so i thought they wouldn't think of my fingers as food as long as i didn't give them treats/food through the bars... It's great though if it works with your ratties, they seem to be very nice and careful Hopefully the bite with my rat was just a misunderstanding, but it hurt pretty bad, so for now at least I am a bit afraid to try it again Maybe he is just going through "a phase", either way I rather not repeat the event ^^ It's a bit sad since it was our morning ritual though

 

[Joanne]

If one of my rats uses their teeth too enthusiastically, I make sure to "EEEP!" my displeasure. They get the message pretty quickly.