New Little Hairless- He's a bit of a wreck.

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shadowpaws

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2008
Messages
112
Location
Brampton
So, I was picking up some blocks from the Pet Store and my sister called me over to see some little rats. Of course, they're little nakkies, and I fell in love. I swore I wouldn't buy another pet store rat, let alone another rat- but there he was, a little lump sitting away from the others, bony and out of place. I needed him. When I put my hands in their little home, he came at me, and I expected a bite, but instead was greeted by licks and nuzzles. Only him, no lie! The others couldn't care less! I took him home and set up his little cage and he seemed to settle in. Within an hour or so, he was eating and exploring. I opened the cage to change his water, and he charged at me and bit me. All I could think was, "Oh no, he's stressed, what do I do?" So I left him, and tried to take him out later. He came, without a struggle and sat with me. As I picked him up to put him back in his cage, he bit me again, hard and straight down into my skin. I put him in his cage, after yelling the f-bomb, and went to bed. This morning, he started running around his cage, and then he would climb the side of it. It looked like he was on monkey bars, he was only using his front paws to climb around, and occasionally used his back ones to push him up. I tried to take him out tonight to give him some play time, and of course, he bit me again. What can I do? I've been talking to him sweetly, and trying to give him as much attention as I can. Help. :sad3:

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I would think it is because he is scared to death.......he went from having friends to be all alone. Now this big scary hand is reaching in and he is so scared he is biting. I am not sure of course this is just my opinion. Others on here have more experience with rat behavior then I do....but I have always thought a person should always buy/adopt at least two babies.
 
I assumed he was scared. Any tips on helping him ease up?

And then only reason I didn't buy 2 is because I found that with when I bought Nubs vs when I bought Akiva and Sparta, Nubs has become more affectionate. I mean, Nubs might just be my heart rat, but I found that when it was just me and him, we bonded better. That's what I was hoping for this little fellow. :sad3: I guess my intentions weren't good after all.
 
Actually single rats need about 4 hours of attention compared to the one hour grouped rats need. As for the biting give it time just keep being nice. My skinkids are still quite skittish and Davey will leap a foot in the air if I try to hold him while his feet are on the ground. I would give it at least three months or more. And if all alse fails it might be genetics...
 
Thank you Dahlas, I'm reading it now.

Sausage, as soon I can pick him up, im gonna start intro'ing him with Sparta, my docile male. I already let Sparta sniff him, and he seemed very interested and even tried to groom him. I didn't want to overwhelm the baby, so I stopped him.

Lindsay, I'll get him a friend if his behaviour doesn't change within a week or so. If he starts to soften up, I'll be sure to start intro'ing him with the others asap so he has friends.
 
When I had my little foster boys who were very scared I started with offering them soy baby formula from the bottle while I held it and pabulum from a spoon. I worked up to letting them lick it off my fingers...and take treats from me. I would lay them in my open hand and let them crawl up and get the treat. Of course they didn't bite....so with this boy I would use a spoon longer
 
Hey Shelegh,

Yeah, he's fine. He eats like a little piggy, and he's always got these big, round eyes. Besides that, he had a little porphyrin around his eyes this morning, but it could easily be from stress.
 

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