biting?

[kmom]

okay so lilly, to ME is a sweetheart, but today, my boyfriend stuck his finger in the cage to pet her a little, and she bit him :shock: she didn't draw blood, but he said shepulled his finger in, and put a lot of pressure on his finger....i thought it might have been because she thought he had food on his hands, but he had just washed his hands, so i tried it with my finger,after i had touched some food, and she didn't even nibble me...she looked at me as if asking (how do i proceed with this) and then she licked me a little.. so i'm thinking that maybe she just didn't feel comfortable with him putting his hands in her space (it's quite possible, he spends a LOT less time with them than i do..).. but then i thought back a few weeks ago, when i was holding her, my daughter stuck out her hand, for lilly to climb on, and lilly ran up, bit my daughter's forehead, and then ran... hard enough to cause a small scratch, but not hard enough to make her bleed or anything..

is it possible she's just a biter? she's never bit me, so maybe she just doesn't like them... or is scared? i dunno... i love her to bits, is there anything i can do to discourage her from biting? when she did it to him he squeeked, and it seemed to make her stop.

it's weird because she doesn't ever seem agressive... she's laid back

sorry it was so much info, and sorry if not enough... i just want to figure out why she's doing it, and if maybe i can help her not do it...

 

[ryelle]

my Patrick has started doing the same. Nobody can put their fingers in the bars to scratch him or poke him like i can. If they put their finger near the bar he will bite. He doesnt get handled by anyone but me. They say he is too hyper and doesnt stay still long enough for a cuddle. If my brother opens the cage door and has his hand close, Patrick will bite him. Outside of the cage he is fine with anyone touching him. I can touch, poke, tickle, flip over, kiss (he licks the tip of my nose), do about anything i want to with him inside the cage and out and he just licks me to death. I dont really know why he has started doing it though. I didn't believe anyone when they said he bit them at first until i saw it myself haha

 

[SQ]

That would be grabbing you with their teeth or nibbling ... not biting.
Doesn't make it any more pleasant ...
Sometimes rats will grab and try to pull you into the cage or grab you with their teeth as a warning to stop bothering them.

If a rat were to bite, there would be lots of blood and quite possibly stitches.
Your rats are not biting.

Squeaking like a rat will let them know you don’t like it.
How old are they?
If they are young, they could be just playing a little too rough.

 

[Joanne]

One of my girls started to bite fingers when I put them through the cage - this is not good as I like to pop in and say "hi" on the way by a lot and I stick my fingers in and give scritches. What I did is when she bit my finger, I blew in her face really hard and forcefully (through the bars). She kind of stopped and looked at me. A few days later I put my fingers through again, and she bit me again, and I blew in her face again. The next time I put my fingers there (somewhat hesitantly, of course), she didn't bite me, and hasn't bitten me since. I do talk to them, so they know it's me, and I try to always be positive. I still wouldn't trust her around anyone else, so I do warn people not to stick their fingers through the bars and I NEVER feed food through the bars. They grab my fingers all the time if there is food on them, but it's never a bite.
Unfortunately it's like training anything - you have to allow the mistake to happen before you can correct it, which means getting your finger bitten once in a while.

 

[kmom]

That would be grabbing you with their teeth or nibbling ... not biting.
Doesn't make it any more pleasant ...
Sometimes rats will grab and try to pull you into the cage or grab you with their teeth as a warning to stop bothering them.

If a rat were to bite, there would be lots of blood and quite possibly stitches.
Your rats are not biting.

Squeaking like a rat will let them know you don’t like it.
How old are they?
If they are young, they could be just playing a little too rough.

sorry i didn't want to "label" her as a biter, but this is my first time, with rats and i didn't know exactly how to describe it...

that makes sense that she doesn't really want him to bother her, i wouldn't want somebody i hardly know petting me either... that explains her nibbling him, but what about her running up and nibbling my daughters forehead(i was watching her closely, and she didn't do anything that could have scared or hurt her)....

the squeek i mentioned was him trying to tell her he didn't like that... we read up online a bit about that...


they're pretty youngi think...... 3-4 months about.. more around 4 months...

 

[jorats]

Some rats do like to nip and nibble body parts. I've got one currently that enjoys socked toes. I had another one that would do this to my cheek. This is part of their personality and I feel like it's their way to greet us. Some lick, some nibble.

 

[kmom]

Some rats do like to nip and nibble body parts. I've got one currently that enjoys socked toes. I had another one that would do this to my cheek. This is part of their personality and I feel like it's their way to greet us. Some lick, some nibble.

that makes sense... she's also ruby eyed and it seems like she has a hard time seeing sometimes so it could be just some "this smells like it might be food lemme test it"

i dunno i'm really not worried, it doesn't seem agressive, in the least..

 

[Moon]

If she did the "grab and pull" that probably means she thought he was food... I personally think it's adorable when they do that even if it does hurt a bit, LOL.

 

[kmom]

just an update, she hasn't really done it since. probably thought it was food... i also told him not to pet her through the bars, which he shouldn't be doing anyways. *grumbles*

 

[jorats]

lol... that's great! Ya, I tell all my family members to respect the rat's home and not stick their fingers through the bars.

 

[Moon]

I personally can not help it, LOL, I'm always giving belly and nose scritches through the bars. But I certainly wouldn't do it right now, so soon after cutting up bananas for them.