Hello! Huge fan of this forum - has been so useful for my first time in rat parenthood. My sweet boy Stripe (1.5y) had a brother who passed away a few months ago. I recently adopted 3 more boys to join him - I was told they are his biological brothers as well, all the same age. Stripe is in tact but the 3 boys are neutered. We did the carrier method over a few days and there were a few scuffles but mostly cuddly rat piles. We moved into the big cage and slowly added in items over the course of a week - some scuffles, but again more rat piles than anything (snuggly photo attached).
However, one of the new boys continues to bite my hand. Not an aggressive lunge bite, but rather he'll casually walk up to my hand, sniff, slowly close his mouth around my hand, then start chewing on it hard enough to draw blood. He'll still let me pick him up and everything so it is a bit odd. I've never experienced this before. Any thoughts on what this is? I don't want to discourage normal rat behaviors, but it does hurt and I bleed, and it's different than when one of them might try to groom my hand or even move my hand with their mouth. I've been "eeping" but he doesn't seem to care. Also, my hands are clean before I handle them.
That same boy (who is about the same size as Stripe or bigger so they've been scuffling to be the alpha) has bitten Stripe's tail a few times. It's like a cheap shot - and it's really upsetting to watch, but again, not sure if this is normal rat behavior. I haven't seen anyone fight and draw blood with the exception of these tail bites.
More context on this boy if it's helpful - he came to me with what appears to be bumble foot. He seems to struggle to climb and hesitant to jump off things but I'm not sure if that's due to the foot. Lastly, his eyes are squinted a lot and almost look foggy? I don't think like cataracts but rather just glazed over and not shiny. Either way, thought this might be useful context in case pain is a factor of his rudeness.
Any advice on all this and how I can work with this mouthy boy is super appreciated. I would really like to work with him if I can. Thank you all so much!
However, one of the new boys continues to bite my hand. Not an aggressive lunge bite, but rather he'll casually walk up to my hand, sniff, slowly close his mouth around my hand, then start chewing on it hard enough to draw blood. He'll still let me pick him up and everything so it is a bit odd. I've never experienced this before. Any thoughts on what this is? I don't want to discourage normal rat behaviors, but it does hurt and I bleed, and it's different than when one of them might try to groom my hand or even move my hand with their mouth. I've been "eeping" but he doesn't seem to care. Also, my hands are clean before I handle them.
That same boy (who is about the same size as Stripe or bigger so they've been scuffling to be the alpha) has bitten Stripe's tail a few times. It's like a cheap shot - and it's really upsetting to watch, but again, not sure if this is normal rat behavior. I haven't seen anyone fight and draw blood with the exception of these tail bites.
More context on this boy if it's helpful - he came to me with what appears to be bumble foot. He seems to struggle to climb and hesitant to jump off things but I'm not sure if that's due to the foot. Lastly, his eyes are squinted a lot and almost look foggy? I don't think like cataracts but rather just glazed over and not shiny. Either way, thought this might be useful context in case pain is a factor of his rudeness.
Any advice on all this and how I can work with this mouthy boy is super appreciated. I would really like to work with him if I can. Thank you all so much!
