Afraid to put hand near biting rat?

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Imjessiegee

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I've got a PEW, and since having him for 3/4 weeks he's bitten at least 2 or 3 times. Not enough to draw blood but enough to cut. I've been working with him, he's stopped snatching food from me (with gloves on) and is now taking the food gently. He is now also taking food off a spoon gently, without biting and trying to steal the spoon. I've been letting him sniff the back of my hand, through his cage bars so it's harder to bite and he's been sniffing and either looking away or staring at me. His head tilting and shuffling has reduced significantly and he now comes to the entrance of the cage or up to the bars for treats.

He still doesn't like to be touched though. I can't seem to get past the 'putting my hand in the cage and let him lick whipped cream or baby food from my finger' concept. I still winch at the thought of him biting me hard. I've had gerbils who've bitten a first few times and this isn't any different but I can't stop the thoughts.

Any tips?
 
you might find helpful ideas on joinrats.com

You might want to put on a t-shirt with a loose shirt over it, and put him between the 2 shirts with his cagemate(s) so that he gets used to you and your smell.
Does he have at least one cagemate?
 
He does, another males. He's ace and his cagemate is ash, his cage mate is fine and is forming quite the bond so he doesn't bite. But ace comes out, won't let me touch him.
 
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I think you are doing it right, taking it slow. Finding that he trusts you helps with you trusting him and building up the relationship so forth. I've been dealing with my fear of my little guy biting as well. I can't touch him to put him in my shirt. But I talk to him and he's finally starting to take things from my hand, surprisingly so gentle. My friend has rats that react positively when she blows on them.

Good luck! Be brave. The biting sucks but it's the worst they can do at the end of the day. Hopefully our trust building pays off, both rat and human :) On a side note, a neuter may help. My guy goes in Thursday.
 
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Will he allow you to touch him while eating a treat? When I had a biter, we did a lot of our bonding while he was eating, because he would relax then and let me pet his back.
 
He is very alert. I can treat him, and sometimes he will come to the cage door, but when I go to touch him, he usually turns around or moves. He doesn’t allow me to full on pet. I’ve gave him whipped cream on the top of my hand, with my fists fully clenched and he’s took that gently, but other treats like small bits of my breakfast pancakes he snatches out of my hand.
 
Some rats just don't like us in their cage. I respect that and when I have such a rat, I remove him from the cage when I need to clean it or sometimes giving him a treat while you go in helps. To take him out of the cage, you could offer him a small box to climb into and you can then transport him to his play area. Lots of treats can help him trust you. Also, is he alone? Rats should live with buddies. They are a social animal.
 
Some rats just don't like us in their cage. I respect that and when I have such a rat, I remove him from the cage when I need to clean it or sometimes giving him a treat while you go in helps. To take him out of the cage, you could offer him a small box to climb into and you can then transport him to his play area. Lots of treats can help him trust you. Also, is he alone? Rats should live with buddies. They are a social animal.



He lives with his other cage mate, Ash. Ash has no trouble in trusting me, he enjoys climbing up my arms and on my shoulders. I think he sees Ash trusting me and that’s given him some trust towards me. I’ve worked with gloves on him and he no longer bites unless threatened.
 
He lives with his other cage mate, Ash. Ash has no trouble in trusting me, he enjoys climbing up my arms and on my shoulders. I think he sees Ash trusting me and that’s given him some trust towards me. I’ve worked with gloves on him and he no longer bites unless threatened.


That's great!
 
It is, only he won’t let me touch him when he’s near me. He has only been out the cage twice and they were disasters in about the 5 weeks since I’ve had them.
Oh I see. So out of the cage he bites. Seems to me that perhaps he's very scared when out of the cage. Where do you take him when out of the cage?
 
I’ve took him out twice, both times in a shoe box and he bites when being picked up. I’ve put his cage on the floor, with him inside and left the door open. He was fine coming up to the door and stuff but when he came out of the cage, he panicked and couldn’t get back in (he couldn’t see the way in because he’s a PEW and his eyesights bad). He stayed under the drawers for a while and had to manoeuvred out as he wouldn’t move.
 
I don’t have a play area at the moment. Ash (the nice one) usually roams the house when the dogs are outside so he gets the entire place (kitchen, stairs and so on). There isn’t anywhere he can get harmed like small open spaces in the wood work or anything so he free roams. I’ve tried the bath but Ace is scared of being in there so I may need to build a play area.
 
Play areas are good because you can make sure there is nothing harmful to them, such as electrical cords, and nothing they can chew that you would be upset about.
And you can put houses, boxes, toys, tubes, fisher price and little tyke toys, your couch, their cage, litter box etc inside so they feel safe, can interact with you, and are in a rat safe area.
 
It does sound like he's overwhelmed with big open spaced. I would start small like maybe the bed or the bathroom. Let him get used to it and might take some time and just steer clear of his face so you don't get bit again. Have some yummy food for him when he comes out as a reward.
 
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