Not sure what to do anymore...

[Ktina]

I got Jasper and Jaxon awhile ago from a lady off of Craigslist. It was obviously they were rarely handled. They still don't like human contact very much, and will run away/squeak/stiffen when you try to pick them up, which makes freetime not very pleasant.

The real problem is Jasper. He will nip at your fingers, inside of out of the cage. This nipping has gotten worse, and now it's to the point where if he gets mad at me (like when I need to pick him up) he will full on bite me. Today he ended up attacking my hand and biting me twice, one really bad. He is also a bully to Jaxon. A lot of times whe Jasper comes near Jaxon will freeze like he's waiting for Jasper to fight him.

The problem is that I don't have the money for a neuter right now, especially since the vet I like charges $300 (I could find a cheaper one, but I know my current vet is good). We are already stretching it now so I need to save the money for real medical emergencies. I could possibly save the money, but it wouldn't be soon and it's getting really hard to deal with him (Jaxon is fine because he won't bite and is more outgoing). Any suggestions? I love him but I'm getting pretty fed up.

 

[jorats]

How old is Jasper. It's a shame you can't get him neutered. It would really help the poor guy deal with this stress.
How long has he been doing this, did it start right away or is this out of character for him?

 

[littledevils]

This is what we do in rescue here... it works!

http://www.littlemischiefrescue.org/rat ... ation.html

Ratatouille aka Touille fidget on here adopted is a prime example of that. He bit when he first came into rescue and now he's the sweetest guy ever!

 

[jorats]

Simone, that is an excellent article. Could I copy and paste here as well as a link to it and giving full credit to the author?

 

[Ktina]

I really wish I could get him neutered, too. I think I will start saving up for it, but I need to be able to deal with him until then. This isn't really a new thing, he has never really liked me to begin with. But he has slowly gotten worse, so it's not really out of character. He is, I'm guess, about a year and a half old, maybe close to 2 years.

 

[jorats]

The best thing you can do right now is make sure he's not near the girls or other males that are not in his cage as well as make sure you don't have other rat smells on you when you interact with him. Make sure they don't share play time space either. This should help him a bit to calm down. When you do interact, never pick him up, let him do his own thing. when he jumps on you, gently put him down. You can wear gloves too, it might make you feel more safe.