Rescue rat wants to bite me,HELP!

[benzin.fox]

Brought beckie home on friday,it's monday now.

Beckie's story :

approx 6 months old given to a rescue from a tiny glass tank in a pet store because she was 'unsellable' due to having never been handled,she is bitey (apparently the store owner wore gardening gloves while taking her out of the tank) the rescue wasnt experienced with rats so i decided to take her in and give her the proper rat life she deserves.

NOW beckie is seeming MUCH more confident,running around the cage,eating,drinking,her wheezes have stopped and she's looking quite happy. I decided it would be time to give her some jam on a spoon to get her to associate me with pleasant things..Beckie licked the jam from the spoon and then climbed up the spoon to my hand- i thought she was going to sniff me but bared her teeth and slowly came forward to bite me! I was so shocked i pulled back.

I guess she's only had bad experiences with hands and i'm wondering what to do?

Why is she coming out so confidently to bite me? I'm actually scared of her now,scared of that first bite..
I've had two rat bites in my life and they hurt. Both in pet stores from never been handled rats. The second one came outof hiding specifically to bite me.

How do i show beckie i wont hurt her and how can i protect myself from her teeth? Is there a method for this?

ANY HELP WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!

I want to build trust and it seems i've come a little way since she first got here but i dont want her to bite me- especially since she looks so happy

How do i show her my hands will not hurt her and she shouldnt be afraid of them? -is she scared of them? She comes to them in an attempt to bite them - i dont try to touch her or even put them in the cage.

EDIT- tonight i have put my hand just inside the cage and was brave and let her do as she wished. She slowly came up to my closed fist (i was scared of finger bites,they hurt) and bit it. I was shocked but put my fist back in the cage to show her it wasnt going to hurt her and wasnt going away. She didnt do it again. Just groomed herself and ignored it and then edged her way around it.

I'm guessing she's curious because i've been feeding her goodies from them but also wary because she's never had a good experience with hands..

any tips??

 

[jorats]

I think Beckie needs more time to adjust. Continue to talk to her gently and when you want to interact with her, makes sure she is completely out of her cage. With all the moving around and different homes, she might have become very territorial of her cage now. Keep offering her treats with your hand if you are brave enough, if not, keep doing it with the spoon.
I've had a few rats come up to me and put their teeth on me but when they realize there's no taste, it's not food they just move on.

 

[MeaganMonster]

I've had a few rats come up to me and put their teeth on me but when they realize there's no taste, it's not food they just move on.

Yep, I usually just let them do it...
She'll realize she doesn't get anything from biting/tasting your hand and turn her attention back to the yummy treats.

My ratties give 'love-bites' basically they just give a gentle nibble to my hand the same way they would to another rat.

 

[MumsyRat]

If she were serious about biting you she would lunge and you'd be bit before you knew what hit you. I don't take the slow open mouth approach seriously - it's just a test bite, or taste bite as Jorats mentioned, and usually dosen't draw blood.

Approach her calmly and gently, speak in quite tones and she should come around. Try bananas or Cheerios as a treat - let her come to you a take it from you. Then she'll associate you hand with the giving of yummies! Good luck!

 

[Dewi]

I had a nippy rat recently, who fortunately is all friendly now.

Here are some of my hints:

My nippy rat bit less when I showed her my hands palm up and with the fingers together. She hated fingers pointing at her. You can also put treats in your palms for her her to take too.

When picking them up (if you are brave enough), scoop with both hands, rather than grab.

Let her come to your hand rather than putting your hand deep into her cage.

When she starts to relax, pet her lightly on her back with a finger. You may need quick reflexes for this one.

When she starts relaxing more, scoop her up in your hands gently then put her down in the same spot after a few seconds. Just to get her use to being picked up.

Like Jo said, talk to her gently and kindly, and let her out of her cage and interact with her there. The latter worked wonders on a REALLY bitey rat I had. Keep toes covered if you do this!

 

[ryelle]

Patrick used to do the open mouth, baring teeth, slow walking thing to Sidian when we first introduced them. I think its just nerves tbh and it should pass once she realises there is no danger. Thankfully!! Ive never had a serious rat bite, just a nip from my friends rat (never my own, yay!), and i can see why youd be scared hehe. Although, if one chased me or lunged O.O Id be a liiiiittle bit scared haha. Took me months to get over my parrot biting me hehehee

Good on ya for plucking up the courage to let her test you though

 

[benzin.fox]

I've taken everyone's advice. She now cautiously comes out to me for food -ive had to take the food out of her cage for now because apparently we have an ant problem all of a sudden- so now if she has food,it comes from me- is that bad??

Today I felt brave enough to let her take baby food from the top of my fist- and she ended up sitting their happily LICKING MY HAND!! but then she retreated back to her igloo only to come out cautiously again and give my hand a few nips- the scrapey kind,no blood and she wasnt acting agressively.I think it was like 'get out of my cage now,im still unsure if i should be trusting you or not' kind of thing -but im not the expert,thats why im here lol.

I didnt remove my hand (it was only JUST inside the cage so she didnt feel too threatened) and she kept poking her head out and going back in. I was getting bored of just standing there so i eventually took my hand out and i'll feed her again like that in an hour or so. If i keep doing it she'll realise i'm not evil,right?

I was talking to her very calmly and i eeked at her when she started biting my hand to remove the food- cause it started to hurt!

I'm also able to pat her on the back and tail for a few seconds when she has calmed down about me being near her in the cage.

Tomorrow or the next day I plan on taking her into the bathroom for her first free range EVER and see how she reacts to me in an environment that she doesnt feel protective of.

I hope she is starting to feel safer..

 

[jorats]

It's a start! I bet she'll come around in no time. I would be a little concerned though that the doesn't have access to her food all the time. You'll have to feed her several time. Rats only eat a little bit at a time but several times a day, they have tiny stomachs.

 

[Moon]

It sounds like you're really getting somewhere with her, which is great

Gotta get that ant problem worked out though!

 

[Vanessa]

It sounds as if it is going well, keep us posted! Try cinnamon and bay leaves where the ants are coming in, if you can find where, they are not supposed to cross them.

 

[benzin.fox]

Thanks for that vanessa! ill put them all around the cage!! i've been able to leave dry food in there for her so i dont have to worry abotu her not being able to eat whenever she feels like it.

Just an update on beckie's progress...


Last night she was licking food from my hand and fingers with only very soft scrapey teeth bites..

TODAY I had my first visit with her with NO BITES! I fed her from my finger tips again

I think we're starting to trust each other a bit. I'm so proud of her and so happy!

 

[MeaganMonster]

:cuddle:

Sounds like progress!

 

[ryelle]

Yay! :joy: good work!

 

[jorats]

And be proud of yourself, not too many people can overcome their fear of being bit!

 

[PiedPiper]

:joy: You're doing great! Progressing in leaps and bounds!

 

[Moon]

Dog bites I can handle, rat bites are scary! So you should be super proud.

 

[benzin.fox]

Just some updates for those who are interested I've taken these from my facebook page.

WEEK 2

Beckie has had her first EVER free range time in the bathroom. This is a big deal for a rat that has known no different than a small glass tank.. to my surprise she took to it so so well! she climbed all over me and let me pick her up! She is hardly biting at all now- only if she feels very scared and even then the bites are not very bad. Her wheezes are back but i'm not too worried just yet. Her cage is now next to the massive ferret kingdom cage which houses my three old girls. All rats are very interested in each other and as beckie is doing so well i'm starting to think about introductions..another big hurdle for her!
So far everything is going well,better than expected..

WEEK 3

Introductions have started and Beckie has been beaten up continually by Marcelle and Genevieve. One on on intros with audrey worked well. They're now best of friends. Beckie's still fearful of your hands in her cage and this is the only time she will bite. She has been freeranging in the bathroom with all three girls and they all get on really well now. Beckie has started to hump Marcelle and Genevieve who are much less aggressive towards her now. I'm happy to see them all getting on so well. Beck Beck is still flinchy and will jump if sudden movements are made.I can pick beckie up if i need to now.She doesnt enjoy it but today was much calmer about it and squealed less.She's getting there..
Next step is moving her to the ferret kingdom...rat battles ahead!

 

[Moon]

That's amazing news, I'm so happy for you AND Becky

 

[benzin.fox]

For the last few days the aggression in my hooded girls has ceased and all four rats have been sleeping together in the bathroom -which isnt the neutral room but the girls out-time-play room.

I've been worried about beckie's biting while my hands are in the cage-she is still very fearful of them then. So as things were going well with all four i decided now would be the time to completely scrub down the FK and all accessories, rearrage the whole thing and after tonight's free range play times wih them all i let them all jump into their new home.

So far no fights and its been almost half an hour. Lots of exploring and eating treats from my hands though

I hope this works,beckie is SO much happier when she is with the girls.

 

[PiedPiper]

:bunnydance: :joy: :bunnydance: Sounds like success to me!