oasisandbambi
Well-Known Member
I adopted this rescued boy who apparently was never well socialized. I got him yesterday and spend the day with him. He would nib on my fingers and then bite down harder and harder until I had to move away which I know you shouldn't do but it's a reflex when it hurts really bad lol
Today I spend the day with him ( and his brother ) and I've been letting them lick food mostly from the back of my hand. I slowly let him get food off my fingers and once the food was gone he wouldn't bite the finger so I thought he was just previously mistaking my fingers for food at first.
I've been showing him the back of my hand and fingers without food and he sometimes nibbles really hard, breaks skin but doesn't draw blood which is a progress. Just a couple minutes ago tho I showed him my hand again and he launched at my finger kind of out of no wherer, since a couple of minutes ago he was fine with me, and bit through my nail. I removed my hand from reflex again. To not let him get away with it I made sure he could sniff the back of my hand but this time he was trying to nibble hard on it again. I was wondering if this could be hormonal aggression and not just him not being properly socialized. He does not seem to be horribly afraid of me. If I place my hand near him, he comes to me and bites. Not the reaction of a rat that is just biting out of fear, I think. He's not agressive towards his brother tho, so I'm not sure. I'm wondering if neutering him would be a good idea and if it would help. He's between 1.5 - 2 years old and appears healthy and active.
I would also appreciate advice from people who have dealt with bitey rats on what do to and how to stop this behaviour. I found a lot of info on this where people suggest gloves but this seems pointless to me since, even if he gets used to the glove and stops biting, when I remove it he will most likely get back to biting my hand. Thank you in advanced
Today I spend the day with him ( and his brother ) and I've been letting them lick food mostly from the back of my hand. I slowly let him get food off my fingers and once the food was gone he wouldn't bite the finger so I thought he was just previously mistaking my fingers for food at first.
I've been showing him the back of my hand and fingers without food and he sometimes nibbles really hard, breaks skin but doesn't draw blood which is a progress. Just a couple minutes ago tho I showed him my hand again and he launched at my finger kind of out of no wherer, since a couple of minutes ago he was fine with me, and bit through my nail. I removed my hand from reflex again. To not let him get away with it I made sure he could sniff the back of my hand but this time he was trying to nibble hard on it again. I was wondering if this could be hormonal aggression and not just him not being properly socialized. He does not seem to be horribly afraid of me. If I place my hand near him, he comes to me and bites. Not the reaction of a rat that is just biting out of fear, I think. He's not agressive towards his brother tho, so I'm not sure. I'm wondering if neutering him would be a good idea and if it would help. He's between 1.5 - 2 years old and appears healthy and active.
I would also appreciate advice from people who have dealt with bitey rats on what do to and how to stop this behaviour. I found a lot of info on this where people suggest gloves but this seems pointless to me since, even if he gets used to the glove and stops biting, when I remove it he will most likely get back to biting my hand. Thank you in advanced