Hey guys! Lately Bo has gotten into the really annoying and painful habit of biting my ear lobes when he climbs onto my shoulder. I try to give him strict, harsh "No!"s when he does it and I obviously take him off of my shoulder, but he continues to climb onto me just to bite my ear over and over again. Every time, he's drawn blood. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do to make this habit stop?? It is obviously undesirable for me, but it is also making it harder to bond with my other boys, Jack and Gordon, because I'm getting so paranoid about getting bit by Bo that I get scared whenever any of them crawl on me. Any help or advice you have would be amazing! Thank you!
Rat Biting - Ouch!
- Thread starter skelly10
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Are your ears pierced at all? And mine have a strange attraction to eyelashes...took a lashing bite to an eyelid one time and it was NOT pretty. Solution for me was, don't let them around my eyes. I know it sounds strange, but he may just not like your ears (or really like them and want a hunk o' one hehe) and needs to be kept away from them.
KatTheHippie
Well-Known Member
Oof, man, that sounds painful! My girls have a tendency to jam their noses in my ears and up my nostrils, but they've never bitten my earlobes.. Has he always done this, or is it a new thing?
jorats
Loving rats since 2002.
Don't allow Bo to climb on your shoulder, not until you can trust him again. It might be that with time, he will outgrow this nasty habit.
It's a new thing that just started about a week and a half ago. And my other boys will sniff up my nose or in my ears, but Bo honestly climbs onto my shoulder, bites my ear, and then leaves... it's almost like by me taking him off of my shoulder to try to correct the behavior, he thinks it's all part of a game or a new trick he's learned, so he'll leave on his own now... but still feels the need to bite my ear. What the heck!
And thanks, Jo. I definitely make sure to try to keep him off of me for now.
And thanks, Jo. I definitely make sure to try to keep him off of me for now.
You could try wearing a scarf or deerstalker while playing with him. That'd let you judge how badly he wants to bite your ears, too... if he tried to dig his way through to get you, you know they're really delicious. Some rats just seem to enjoy sinking their teeth into squashy human parts...
