I have a rescue rat who was neglected quite badly in her previous home. She’s been with me for nearly 3 weeks now and I’ve been trying desperately to get her to be tame. She was never taken out of her cage in her previous home and from what we know she bit the owner when they first got her as a baby and so they gave up on her and separated her from the other rats. She was underweight when I got her and had never been outside of her cage or handled.
I have been making great progress with her. She will stand on the door of her cage and lick baby food off my finger or take treats from me. She has bitten someone at the adoption centre before, as they think she was cage aggressive from being lonely, but she never bit me until today...
I put my hand in the cage (I do this every morning before work) to let her sniff it so she can get used to the smell and movement. She was in her hammock and then suddenly bit me really hard so my hand was bleeding.
I wasn’t moving fast as I know this can scare them, and I’m shocked she’s done this out of nowhere!
I am getting two new girls as cagemates for her on 26th March and I’m worried she’s still cage aggressive. Do I need to start picking her up and get her used to handling even if she bites me?
Are there any ways to avoid getting bitten? I feel bad she never wants to come out of the cage no matter how hard I try to coax her out with food. Do I just have to go for it and pick her up and teach her it’s okay to be out of the cage and biting won’t help?
I’m so stuck!
I have been making great progress with her. She will stand on the door of her cage and lick baby food off my finger or take treats from me. She has bitten someone at the adoption centre before, as they think she was cage aggressive from being lonely, but she never bit me until today...
I put my hand in the cage (I do this every morning before work) to let her sniff it so she can get used to the smell and movement. She was in her hammock and then suddenly bit me really hard so my hand was bleeding.
I wasn’t moving fast as I know this can scare them, and I’m shocked she’s done this out of nowhere!
I am getting two new girls as cagemates for her on 26th March and I’m worried she’s still cage aggressive. Do I need to start picking her up and get her used to handling even if she bites me?
Are there any ways to avoid getting bitten? I feel bad she never wants to come out of the cage no matter how hard I try to coax her out with food. Do I just have to go for it and pick her up and teach her it’s okay to be out of the cage and biting won’t help?
I’m so stuck!