Very bite-y female

[Kiera]

Hello! I need some advice with my rat who has some biting issues. She's my first rat, so I've looked up everything I could about biting, but nothing seems to work. Pet store rat, had her for over a month now.

She's very dominant with other rats, but isn't violent with them; she's currently just living with one other girl, who she play-fights with all the time. But with me, she'll bite 80% of the time. She seems particularly bite-y with most anything that moves, but she'll bite my hand even if it's flat and still, and even when it's tucked into a fist. The worst bite I got was when I was moving my hand out of the cage and she sunk her teeth into my finger and held on for a couple seconds. She's very curious, so if I try to get into the cage to fix a ladder or clean up, she'll run down immediately to see what's up (and then probably bite).

She bites both inside and out of the cage, about the same amount. She likes coming out of the cage to explore, but doesn't like being touched at all.

Recently, I've started wearing some thin wool gloves to try and socialize her without all the blood. Things I've tried:

- Treats when she sniffs my hands without biting
- Feeding soft food by a spoon
- Talking to her and calling by name
- Saying "no" firmly but not loudly when she bites
- Giving her a treat whenever I approach the cage

Any idea why she's biting? Is there anything I can do?

(Also, on an unrelated note, my other rat does this thing where she slowly moves her head to the right when she wants to focus on something. She always moves her head to the right, pointing her left eye to what she wants to look at. Does this possibly mean that she is blind in her right eye...? Or is this just normal rat behavior? I've tried waving to test her right eye's field of vision, but it's hard to tell if she can't see me or just doesn't react. =/)

 

[Dahlas]

Sorry I have no suggestions for a bitey rat...I know if she was a male I would try a neuter but not sure if a spay would help this girl....
As for your other rat my experience has been that nervous rats move their head from side to side when trying to focus and smell any dangers...I have not really seen it much otherwise.... There are many behavior experts on here who I am sure with be able to help you with socializing your girl.

 

[jorats]

The swaying is normal specially in red/pink eyed rats.

As for the biting girl. That's a tough one. When females decide to bite, it's hard to snap them out of it. How old is she? You've only had her a month so hopefully it's just a matter of trust. The things you've tried so far are very good and keep doing that. Also, take her out of the cage often. Open the cage door, scoop if she doesn't lunge to bite and put on your shoulders for 10 minutes several times a day. If she does lunge to bite, then use a towel to retrieve her and put on your shoulder.

 

[Kiera]

Shoulder...Wouldn't she bite my neck and ears though? She has bitten my arm and palm before, so she's not just interested in fingers.

Hopefully it's just a case that she needs to get out more! I'll try increasing her free range and socializing time.

My other rat indeed has red eyes, but it's not swaying that she does. She only moves her head once to the right (always and only to the right). It's like she's turning her head rather than moving it to the side. The action is slow and deliberate, and takes about two seconds.

 

[jorats]

Usually they wouldn't bite up there because they are worried out in the open but if you are worried about it, maybe you could hold her instead. With a towel.

 

[hopefloats]

Shoulder...Wouldn't she bite my neck and ears though? She has bitten my arm and palm before, so she's not just interested in fingers.

Hopefully it's just a case that she needs to get out more! I'll try increasing her free range and socializing time.

My other rat indeed has red eyes, but it's not swaying that she does. She only moves her head once to the right (always and only to the right). It's like she's turning her head rather than moving it to the side. The action is slow and deliberate, and takes about two seconds.

Most girls are far more cage biters than anything. I have one now if you speak to her prior to sticking your hand in there then she is a bit better but if you just stick your hand in she will chomp. Our Allanah is a biter, she is a pink eyed girl as well so she sways back and forth I think that doesnt help with her biting. She gets me all the time but my daughter speaks to her before sticking her hand in there and she does not get bitten..

 

[Kiera]

Here's an update on her progress~ It's about 0%...

I've increased her outside time, and she enjoys it, but nothing new to report in terms of the biting. However, I do have a new question. I've noticed that she bites everything she encounters when she's out playing - not particularly hard, but a lot more often than I've seen other rats doing. Are some rats just very inclined to bite everything that seems bite-able? If she feels like biting inanimate objects all the time, I worry that she might keep biting me just because I'm bite-able.

(Also, when given a choice between my fingers and a cheerio, she picked my fingers twice...Even when she initially wanted a cheerio. :wallbang

 

[dspch911]

You said you have other rats - do you wash your hands before going near the bitey girl after having contact with them or other pets in your house? He have two boys that will bite if we go near them smelling like the rats in our other cages. Do you feed her through the bars of the cages? That could be why she goes for your fingers. Does she give you any indication she is going to bite? Sometimes our two boys will puff up so we know not to go near them or we're just asking for it.

 

[jorats]

I wonder if you mean she nips instead of biting. When a rat bites, you will have a deep wound and lots of blood. But when a rat nips, they don't break skin. I've had females and males who will nip me and any part of my body. It's more annoying than painful. The only thing I did in this case was not allow them to have access to my body parts. lol

 

[Kiera]

@dspch911:
The other rats belong to a roommate; my rat originally lived with those two girls for almost a month, but I had to buy her a separate cage and new cagemate because my roommate didn't like the biting problem. I don't have any contact with the other two now, nor do I have any other pets.

I usually wash my hands anyway before coming near her. I've tried three or four different soaps in case one of them smelled like food to her, but there's no difference. Do you know of a good soap scent that you know rats wouldn't want to bite?

I also don't feed her though the bars.

Before biting, she stares at my hand for about a second or more, sometimes sniffs it. She sometimes nips a little before biting, if I have my hands still. Always stares though. I once caught her staring as I tried to clean the litter, so I jerked my hand back on reflex, and she jumped after my finger to bite it (deepest bite so far). The same happened a second time, though luckily I was wearing gloves (she held on for a good 20 seconds though). I've also noticed when I put toys in the cage, if I pull it or try to take it out, she will bite a toy that she was otherwise uninterested in. Is it normal to attack retreating things like that? Though, I guess, even if it is, she still tries to bite my hand when it's not moving...

@jorats:
She definitely bites; at this point, I'd be thrilled if she just nipped! I lost track of how much blood I've seen.

 

[UhHuhHer]

I have a rat right now who had the exact problem. I also wore gloves to handle her. I would have individual play time with her on the couch, by her cage. I spread a blanket over my lap that I slept with so it smelled like me.

I would pet her and talk to her softly on my lap and we would have some relaxed bonding time.

When she bit, I would yelp and immediately put her back in the cage (ending snuggles, which she enjoyed) and wait a while. Eventually she learned that biting means no outside time with mama. She learned in a few days, but we took hours a day, not consecutively, to learn it. I got some nasty bites in the process. She's great now. I was just playing with her a few minutes ago.

Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk

 

[dspch911]

Wow, and I thought my Oliver was bad! Maybe you need the time out cage. Every time she goes for you put her in a cage with nothing in it for 10 minutes. Make sure she has nothing in there and don't give her any attention or put it in a place that will allow her to look at anything enjoyable. 10 minutes only each time it happens.

 

[jorats]

I like UhHuhHer's methods... put the rat away the minute she bites.

 

[Kiera]

Hmm...I made a time-out box, but so far, it's practically her second home during playtime. Bites as soon as she's back out.

My rat doesn't like snuggling (or having anything to do with me). I've been putting her back in the cage whenever she bites ever since she day 1, but it doesn't seem to do anything.

Forgot my gloves and got bitten to the bone yesterday...Nothing I do seems to have even made any improvement, even after two months. She still bites everything, and I have to wear long pants and long sleeves whenever I want to play with her. :sad3: She's also biting hard enough to draw blood even through my glove...

 

[jorats]

Wow. She's nasty. Can you afford a spay? It may or may not work, but it's something.

 

[Joanne]

I agree with Jorats - a spay won't make it worse, and may make it better. Do you make a high-pitched eeep! every time she bites you? If she bit a rat, they would definitely voice their displeasure.

 

[Kiera]

I'm not sure if I can afford it...My apartment rate will be jumping up by a couple hundred next year, and I don't know how long my part-time job will last...I'll look into the nearby places though.

I've tried squeaks, but no noticeable result. Her cagemate is very vocal and has squeaked loudly on occasion, but it didn't seem to change her behavior.

After thinking about her psychology, is it a possibility that she just has too much energy? She doesn't like wheels or half the toys I buy, so she might have a lot of pent-up energy. I'm thinking of giving them the whole bathroom to themselves each night while everyone's sleeping. Since it'll give her plenty more time to run around, any improvements she might have will be noticeable. I just hope she doesn't chew the walls...

 

[jorats]

That's definitely worth a try. All kinds of things can set off an unbalanced brain. Once, it was because a cage was too large, it drove one of the girls crazy until I made her environment smaller. Weird, but no weirder than us humans. lol