rude ratty, how do you teach manners?

[Petunia]

my girl Paige was rescued from being snake food because she was pregnant, so I think she probably didn't have the best start in life and may have been separated from her own mom too early or something.

Whatever the reason, she's a bit er, different from the other girls. Mostly in interesting ways.

But the other day I was giving the girls tiny bits of banana and she darn near took my fingers off!

she lunges for food, and often misses what she's lunging for but just tries to grab ahold anyway. She won't actually bite me, she realizes quickly enough that I'm not food, but it's a bit disconcerting to have her lunge like that.

what can I do to teach her to take food more gently? or do I just stop offering her food from my hands?

All of my girls will get excited when it's something they really like, but she gets carried away.
Except for my girl Hope, who takes food very daintily and slowly, she's so sweet!

 

[lizmo1221]

What I have done in the past with my fosters (a few of whom acted the exact same as Paige) is put a cheerio (or other similar, hardish treat/block) in between all five of my fingers so that its not sticking out at all, its actually nestled right in there (but not so far back she can't get at it). That way, she will smell the food, and probably try to nibble on one or more of your fingers before she figures out she has to slow down, sniff around and figure out exactly where it is.

I have had much success with this, and in only a few sessions the fosters have almost completely stopped this lunging for treat behavour. Even when it is sticking out, they will usually slow down, sniff it first, then grab it. I think it also helps when they figure out there are lots of treats/food to go around and they don't have to dive for it to get one.

Good luck!

 

[jorats]

Another thing you can try is putting the food in the palm of your hand and letting her crawl over to reach it. Anything you do that involves your hand will end up socializing her, even holding onto the treat and not letting go right away while she tries to get it will teach her better manners. Another thing you can do is have another cheerio or piece of banana ready to replace the one she snatched and let her keep taking them over and over, yes it will be a lot of banana pieces but this will show her that there will always be one there.
What worked for my guy who was food aggressive, I would pull him out of the cage when it was treat time, all the other rats would get theirs first and he had to wait in my hands for his. Then I would give his... it worked wonders for him.

 

[hprats]

What I have done in the past with my fosters (a few of whom acted the exact same as Paige) is put a cheerio (or other similar, hardish treat/block) in between all five of my fingers so that its not sticking out at all, its actually nestled right in there (but not so far back she can't get at it). That way, she will smell the food, and probably try to nibble on one or more of your fingers before she figures out she has to slow down, sniff around and figure out exactly where it is.

what a neat trick, I am so trying that.

 

[MomRat]

I would think going with the socialization idea, that you give yogurt, banana mash, or baby food as a treat. Something they can't just grab and run away with, that they have to sit there and lick off. Start with putting it on a spoon you are holding, to reduce the number of times you get nipped. Stick with mushy food like this for a while, then intersperse it with grabby treats like cheerios. You can start offering the yogurt on your fingers, so they realize that food doesn't have to be grabbed and run away with to be enjoyed. We have done this before, and ended up offering treats dipped in yogurt, and they ended up licking all the yogurt off the blueberry before they even considered taking the blueberry. =)

 

[Joanne]

It's very important to never pull your fingers away when she is diving for food. If you do, it will make her grab for it even more.
I would try dipping your fingers in baby food or yogurt and making her lick your fingers for a treat. When she bites your finger, don't move it, but EEEEP! loudly.
Another thing to try is to push the food towards her, making her back up. (I do this with grabby dogs too - they can't grab the food if you're shoving it down their throat! Hahaha)

 

[Petunia]

wow, thanks for all the great ideas!!
I'll probably try them all. I am glad I don't have to stop giving her treats, it's one of the things I really enjoy doing.

Paige is really competitive, she acts like if she doesn't get to it first, she won't get any so it's a good idea to let her see that's the going to be more.

she also wants treats so badly that she's the only one who will stand on her hind legs and immediately walk toward it, when it's held over her head.

I like teaching my girls "up" and with some of them, I try to teach them to walk a few steps to get the treat.
Most of my girls take a long time to learn that I don't just want them to stand up, which they all learn really fast.
They will take one or two steps and drop back down on all fours.
Paige will just keep walking and walking LOL
she's really something.

I love all my babies but this girl is so interesting.

thanks again! I'll let you know how it goes :thumbup: