Rats & mental issues. Rat bit son & I - we bled blood. Rat bite fever concerns.

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fallblossom

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2013
Messages
175
Location
North America
I got my long haired rat from Kijiji. His name is Harley. He was advertised as 8 months old and playful. The first night he curled up in my neck and rested with me. I thought he was sweet. A few weeks later my son received warning bites (bites with no blood) and then would bite my son's fingers where there was a little blood. Today out of the blue, Harley immediately bit my arm with no warning and I bled. Afterwards, I called the humane society to see if we could surrender him today and they said they don't take surrenders until Monday.

My ten year old son was warned NOT to touch the rat and why. He ignored my warning and scritched the rat in his cage behind his ears and received a warning bite. My son flicked his nose (per instructions on rat forums when a rat bites) and then Harley attacked my son's hand tagging his index finger where he bled a lot.

Both of us treated our bite wounds with pressure to stop the bleeding, saline rinses, and a topical antibiotics with a band aid. We feel because the teeth dug into our flesh that we could potentially get rat bite fever (the rat has been on Clavamox for a URI but I don't know if it kills the bacteria that causes RBF).

Does my rat have some type of mental problem to suddenly bite us to to inflict injury? Why is he suddenly being aggressive? He doesn't bite when shoulder riding or when in my top sleeping.

NOTE: I placed Harley with one of my resident rats outside and thought they were okay because they were sniffing each other. One split second Harley attacked my resident rat slicing his stomach down to the muscle (3/4" wide). My injured rat was immediately given amoxicillin and placed in a hospital cage.
 
When a rat is hormonally aggressive do they not bite their owners while outside of the cage as well? Two years ago a male rat who didn't like to be handled started to bite my arm all the way down. I didn't realize that half a second later my hand would be attacked where he suck his teeth in and ripped a flap of my skin up. After that bite I no longer handled him but did allow him to free range where he would hop up our stairs to the computer room where I was, jump on my lap, jump down and go back downstairs to harass the female rats through there cage where they would huff at him everyday.

When he was sickly and close to dying I took him out for walks like I always did (he enjoyed shoulder riding outside) and held him. I decided to hold him on his back and kiss him and he licked me profusely whereas before when he had been healthy he would not offer kisses. It was amazing but while he was healthy I learned to respect his space and body language because he did protest all of the time before the attack - but I did't listen.

My murderous rat, Harley, is on my lap. What is sad is he doesn't jump at the food I offer him like my 12 other rats. When on my lap he constantly sniffs my clothing because there are scents of both my female and male rats on them. I just offered him toast with raw honey and he gently took it from my hands. When I first got him he weighted 525 grams and I felt a little weight on him would be nice. He now weighs 600 grams.

What I am going to do to lessen his stress and mental behaviour is move his cage upstairs so he isn't constantly exposed to the other rats on the other side of my living room in hopes that this reduces his anxiety and aggression. After he bit me yesterday I decided it was best to call his name before touching him. He is a long haired albino and can be see swaying his head back and forth (bad eyesight).

I told my son not to touch Harley unless he is OUT OF HIS CAGE. If Harley bites me when he's been notified I am present then I will have to think about surrendering him. There used to be a rat rescue in Guelph (Canada) which is half hour away, however, they are no longer in operation and it makes sense as to why.

When a rat is surrendered to the humane society do they euthanize the rat? Does anybody think relocating Harley in my home will help reduce other rattie smells that could be bringing on cage/hormonal aggression or would moving him just be in vain? I've had him for six weeks and he gets treated well like all of my other rats and gets more under-the-t-shirt time because he is a lone rat.

Tomorrow I am going to the doctor's to get antibiotics for both my son and I. RBF shows signs a few days/weeks after the initial bite. I'd rather not risk our health.
 
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ive had hormonal males that bite when they are just in the cage or out, it really depends on the rat, but after a neuter they all go back to the sweet boys they were before. Moving him away from the other rats in your house may help but he probably won't be able to be integrated with any other rats until after he is neutered. I wouldn't bring him to a shelter for surrender, they probably won't euthanize him but will adopt him out to another family to deal with the same issues! Is neutering him not an option for you? A rescue would probably be best then as they would most likely neuter before any intros/adoptions. The rescue in Guelph is still active but under a new name- little friends rescue, but I would imagine they probably have a lengthy waiting list.
 
^^^Little Friends Rescue can't take surrenders. Here is what there website says, "NOTE: We are unable to accept owners surrenders at this time due to lack of foster homes and donations".

I wonder if they'd be able to help be keep my rat and help us get a reduced rate for a neuter. We dished out our vet fund to save our cat from a deep leg laceration three days ago.
 
It wouldn't hurt to ask what vet they use and cost. I typically pay around $150 for a neuter, but not in your area. Maybe some other members know pricing/clinics closer to you!
 
How does your boy act right before he bites? Did he puff up his fur, stamp his feet more (like an exaggerated waddle), make some noises that sound like blowing air? These are common signs of aggression. I've also noticed that when my rats are aggressive they are very willing to walk up to whoever they want to attack, whether human or another rat they hate.

If not aggression, your boy rat could be uncertain and untrusting of humans. He could be fearful of humans and notices that when he bites that he gets what he wants (human doesn't touch him). Instead of flicking his nose or giving negative feedback, it's good to help him feel comfortable and secure around humans. This way he will learn to love you and have no reason to bite.

I think it's good to know why he's biting before neutering him, because surgery can be expensive and is stressful for rats (especially if he doesn't trust humans). The way you described he behavior doesn't sound like aggression to me (mainly because rats will bite hard when aggressive, not start with little nips that get worse over time). He could have had a bad past and doesn't enjoy hands over his head, being pet without sniffing you first, etc.
 
^^^Keep in mind I didn't receive a warning bite. My rat immediately sank his teeth into my arm when I went to get his dish out of his cage. He was on his level when he attacked my arm.

He seems like a depressed boy. He just lays in his cage and doesn't climb cage bars like my other rats. He also doesn't brux like my other rats to indicate being happy or content.

I am trying very hard to give him a better life than he had prior. He even learned how to use a litter box as he was never trained beforehand.
 
When a rat is hormonally aggressive do they not bite their owners while outside of the cage as well?
Yes, but not if they are cage aggressive.
Two years ago a male rat who didn't like to be handled started to bite my arm all the way down. I didn't realize that half a second later my hand would be attacked where he suck his teeth in and ripped a flap of my skin up.
I had this happen too, he was using me as his girlfriend. You need to learn his behavior until he's neutered and not let him near your arms. Don't touch his rear end either this will just excite him more. After his neuter our boy was the sweetest rat we've ever had.
When he was sickly and close to dying I took him out for walks like I always did (he enjoyed shoulder riding outside) and held him. I decided to hold him on his back and kiss him and he licked me profusely whereas before when he had been healthy he would not offer kisses. It was amazing but while he was healthy I learned to respect his space and body language because he did protest all of the time before the attack - but I did't listen.
They get cuddlier with age and his hormones may have lessoned up or he was controlling them better.
When on my lap he constantly sniffs my clothing because there are scents of both my female and male rats on them.
The other scents are an issue to a hormonal rat, again he is getting excited and most likely taking it out on your arm. He isn't being vicious - he cannot control his hormones.

After he bit me yesterday I decided it was best to call his name before touching him. He is a long haired albino and can be see swaying his head back and forth (bad eyesight).
That is a very good idea since not only can he have bad eyesight, he could be blind.

Tomorrow I am going to the doctor's to get antibiotics for both my son and I. RBF shows signs a few days/weeks after the initial bite. I'd rather not risk our health.

Rat bite fever is rare, you will know if you have an infection with in 24 hours. The site will get hot to the touch, red, pus is likely, and the redness will spread. You need to watch for cellulitis - I've had that once, but only because before I could get my bite wound washed my husband went and put liquid band aid on it and basically, sealed in the infection. Do the best you can to get your boy a neuter going from house to house is stressful and they most likely will just have him put to sleep at some point.
 
He really needs a neuter with a good vet successfully experienced in neutering rats asap. Then once his hormone levels drop he shoud become a sweet boy and you should be able to use the established gradual intro steps to intro him to other rats.
Please see http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7691
and http://www.ratshackforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32368

If your girls are not spayed, that is likely making him worse.
If sent to a shelter they will consider him unadoptable because of aggression and kill him.

You might be able to rehome him to an experienced rat owner/rescuer (there are 1 or 2 people on here fitting that description that live in ON) but in addition to possibly working with him if needed, they will also need to come up with the money to neuter him.
 
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We went to the doctor's today. The doctor felt my son needed antibiotics because he was bitten on a finger joint and doesn't want infection to set in there as it can damage the joint. He has four tooth puncture marks as well as bruising. Patient compliance with my son will be a challenge because he is scared to swallow pill! I'll have to break the capsules open and sprinkle the meds on food to get him to take it and it will taste bitter/yucky/gross.

I've decided to to take my rat to a shelter as his future would be unknown. He would never get attention and be freaked out by all of the animal sounds and smells. It would be horrible. Instead I am letting my rat know I am approaching him. So far he hasn't tried to bite with this technique. He is sitting on my shoulder now and helped me cook dinner by keeping me company on my shoulder while at times running down my shirt.

He has never bitten a person outside of his cage which probably is indirectly telling us something.

If I rehome my rattie to a rat owner experienced with rattie aggression, you're right they would have to come up with the money to neuter. Putting any rat through that seems painful and puts the rat at risk while under anaesthetic. Why don't they neuter rats the way they neuter cats? Its it due to their scrotums being so large that leaving them in tact would cause problems? Cutting my boys body part off isn't really for me. We do have to respect his space, understand who he is, and cautious with our own safety.
 
All my rats are neutered and spayed.
There is minimal risk if the vet is experienced in doing surgery on rats and knows what they are doing.
Rats heal fast and are much happier then when their hormones are constantly making them feel so horrible.
 
Do you still have your rat?

I can likely help you. PM me before taking him to a shelter if you haven't already taken him.

My boy, Harley, is still with me and his pee is smelly which makes my t-shirts smell gross (I handle him despite the bad odor because sick rats still need attention). Harley is being treated with Septra for a UTI. It's been two days and his pee still smells bad. I am not sure how long to wait to see if his UTI responds.

Harley bit my son again and sunk his teeth right in his finger. My son for some reason stuck his finger in his cage to pet his nose and Harley grabbed his finger at lightning fast speed.

When I handle Harley he is not flaccid like my other boys, he is more rigid which to me says he must be in pain. I am not sure if he should be on NSAID's for pain because I don't know how long it takes for these meds to damage a rat's kidneys.
 
You could definitely try some acetaminophen then. It is not an NSAID. Also if you are able to get a prescription for ciprofloxicin it is a much better uti antibiotic. I would continue with the Septra for several more days though, unless he gets worse.
 
Septra is good, ibuprofen is good too (for pain and inflammation, Tylenol only works on pain and you have to give 10X as much to get the same effect).

4-5 days you should see a difference with the UTI. Hormonal rats are body-tense as well, can you post a video of him?
 
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