Tilly… please help, very new to pet rat. She’s biting.

[Tillysmom]

I’m not sure if this is where I should post this if not sorry.
About 2 months ago my daughter (25 yo) went to a friends apartment and a small critter ran under his chair and was begging for food. They started feed the little thing Doritos and is stayed there and let them pet it and she brought it home because She has 3 pet mice and this little one was about the same size. (A little smaller) Her tail looked different and she used her front paws a little differently. We put her is the small travel cage for the mice. We fed her the mouse food and gave her a spare water bottle by cutting a hole in some cardboard for the top. She stayed here for 2 weeks, and never tried to get out.
I ordered another mouse cage for the 3 mice. We put the new girl in the old one after I scrubbed it and sanitized all the parts in the dishwasher. Knowing we needed to quarantine her for at least 30 days, we were planning on letting her meet the others after this time.
After 30 days she has grown too big for the old mouse cage.
She is not a mouse!.!.!
I ordered her a larger cage. Now she has enough room to stand up and climb all over the place. I have fallen in love with this little girl.
I’ve given her some cardboard boxes to get out of the daylight. Bought her a 2 layer hammock to hang in her cage. She sleeps in it in the afternoon. I gave her paper pet bedding, and some squares of Terry cloth in the boxes.
I bought her the oxbow young rat and mouse pellets, and feed her vegetables every morning (either fresh or thawed frozen) I put paper towels in one corner, and she potties on them, not all over her cage.
I don’t know if I’m doing things correctly. I’ve worked with birds in my past, and worked for an avian veterinarian for years, so I assume that this little girl will need similar care.
Any help and advice is appreciated.
Thanks
Tillysmom

The last few days Tilly started to bite. I don’t know if it is just a stage, or something else. Frustration, excitement, “toddler stage”, it makes me nervous though. I know how to handle a bird that bites, but I can’t grab her around the neck. (birds have very hard cartilage in their neck and you cannot choke them, just control their head that way) she’s so quick I’m afraid she’ll leap to the floor. I have 2 dogs. One is a minpin who is very interested in her. the other is a rat terrier who is 17 and blind. She could care by less about Tilly. I’m afraid the minpin will hurt her.

 

[Snowy804]

Hi there, can i ask how old is she currently? Young rats handle their first heat a little aggressively. They tend to bite and snap. And is there any chance she could be pregnant? If so this also define her behavior. As for rat bites, always keep a disinfectant near by and immediately apply is any of them bites. And if rats bite each other keep them seperated for 2-3 days.
P. S. Give her some of her favorite food, it helps ease the mood.

 

[Tillysmom]

As for her age, she was the same size as our mice when we found her at the end of February. We thought she was a lost pet mouse. We put her in quarantine for 30 days rather than introducing her right away. After quarantine we knew she is not a mouse. She more than tripled in size, and was no longer comfortable in the mouse cage we put her in.
She lives in her cage alone. I posted a picture of the cage she is now in. Which is next to my recliner, and now in a high traffic area in the house (only 3 people in the house). To give her lots of socialization. She was in a quiet out of the way corner of the living room.
I know nothing about the care of pet rats. I was not planning on getting one. She chose us, and now she has become a beloved family member.
Any advice is appreciated. If you see anything in her cage that should be changed please speak up. I ran paper bags through my shredder and she loves them rather than the paper bedding crumbles I use for the mice.

 

[Snowy804]

Her cage is good. She maybe going through heat from what you're describing. If she's alone in her cage , you should let her out of cage for an hour or so everyday. That way she'll explore the house not will not be to bored alone. And you can increase physical contact with her using treats. Just smear some of her favorite cream or sauce, give to lick it(mine loves cheese sauce and icecream)and try scratching her ears gently.
Important thing is to not let her feel alone coz rats are social animals and tend to get depressed when they are alone. So if you're ready to take care of one more rat, get her a sister. Don't get a male as you'll have alot of rat babies within just a month.

 

[Tillysmom]

I have her cage right next to me, and I play with her a lot throughout the day. I share most of what I eat with her. (No avocado, grapes, raisins, chocolate, or alcohol or tobacco, and a few other things I can’t think of now)
Is there any foods she should not eat for toxic reasons?? I don’t want to accidentally poison her. She has started to beg, and it is really funny. Her favorite treat is whipped cream.
Whenever I take her out, she runs back towards her cage and runs into her box.
Taking her out and letting her run around is out of the question. I have a little dog that I do not trust to leave her alone, and she has killed several squirrels on my deck, and my other dog gets very excited every time I open Tilly’s cage. I’m afraid that the dogs will hurt Tilly.
I gave her a stuffed tree trunk (on the picture) and she tore the stuffing out of it. It was poly fill so it took it away.
She loves to hang out next to me in the front corner of her cage. (Attached picture)

 

[Snowy804]

As long as she's happy and healthy. As for food avoid onion at all cost(cooked or uncooked), raw beans, any caffeine and also soda like. Too much gas can kill as rats can't throw up. As she gets older increase liquid in her diet more like bread or oats mixed in 1/2 milk and 1/2 water. Few things which can help with their health are clove and turmeric. Give her a clove or two once a week. And roast turmeric powder lightly, add few drops of honey and give her if she's feeling under the weather.
P. S. - My babies

 

[Lise Patterson]

Sounds like you're doing well. Don't worry about her timidness right now - she's had a trying start to life and she'll need time to let her guard down. And this is probably just as well, given the potential threat posed by your dog.
One of the best things you can do for Tilly now is to get her a girl friend - female rats have great need for social contact and stimulus so she'll inevitably get lonely and bored in times when you're not engaged with her.
Here's a lovely video on this topic:

 

[Tillysmom]

As long as she's happy and healthy. As for food avoid onion at all cost(cooked or uncooked), raw beans, any caffeine and also soda like. Too much gas can kill as rats can't throw up. As she gets older increase liquid in her diet more like bread or oats mixed in 1/2 milk and 1/2 water. Few things which can help with their health are clove and turmeric. Give her a clove or two once a week. And roast turmeric powder lightly, add few drops of honey and give her if she's feeling under the weather.
P. S. - My babies

Oh my gosh those babies are the cutest.

Anything that is not okay for conventional pets or for birds I don’t give to Tilly. Onions make them extremely anemic (causes red bolls cells to basically die off) so does garlic. I cook with a lot of onions and garlic. So I’m very careful about what I share.
I have a question about her bedding. She loves to sleep in her hammock when it is warmer, but sleeps in her box when it’s cooler. I gave her some squares of old towel but she threw them out. What else cal I give her to make her box more comfortable. She also hides all her favorite foods in her box, and she took some of her shredded paper in there.

 

[Tillysmom]

Sounds like you're doing well. Don't worry about her timidness right now - she's had a trying start to life and she'll need time to let her guard down. And this is probably just as well, given the potential threat posed by your dog.
One of the best things you can do for Tilly now is to get her a girl friend - female rats have great need for social contact and stimulus so she'll inevitably get lonely and bored in times when you're not engaged with her.
Here's a lovely video on this topic:

Thank you for the advice. The video is so cute. If I get her a companion what do I need to look for? I came across an ad on Nextdoor app needing to re-home 2 female rats. That all the post says, and has a picture of each girl. They look small like Tilly is. I’d be afraid to get her a friend who is much larger than her. For context the wires on Tilly’s cage are spaced 1/2 inch apart.
I would be horrified if I introduced her to a friend and one of them got injured in the process.

 

[Lise Patterson]

You might look for one or two sweet-tempered girls - personality tends to be more important than size in determining compatibility. That said, you probably don't want rats too much older than Tilley - a very mature rat might not be active enough for your youngster. Also, young rats are often quicker to accept new pals.
Introductions can be tricky, though they tend to be easier with females than with males. The usual advice is to introduce rats on "neutral" territory that hasn't been scent-marked by either rat. Some people use a bathtub for this. When both parties are young and seem seem very friendly I sometimes just let them both free range in a room to discover each other - but only after I have kept them apart for the after standard 2-week quarantine period. This wait period can seem agonizing but it's important to spot any diseases or parasites before they can spread to Tilley. Is your smaller cage be big enough to accommodate one or two new girls for the first two weeks? If not you might try for a loaner.

 

[Lise Patterson]

I just read your first post again and saw that you initially quarantined Tilley for 30 days. I guess two weeks is considered the bare minimum time, but you may wish to be more cautious. (Other forum members may wish to chime in on desired quarantine periods.) If you are keeping newcomer(s) in quarantine for a full 30 days she/they will no doubt need something bigger than your initial mouse cage.

 

[Tillysmom]

You might look for one or two sweet-tempered girls - personality tends to be more important than size in determining compatibility. That said, you probably don't want rats too much older than Tilley - a very mature rat might not be active enough for your youngster. Also, young rats are often quicker to accept new pals.
Introductions can be tricky, though they tend to be easier with females than with males. The usual advice is to introduce rats on "neutral" territory that hasn't been scent-marked by either rat. Some people use a bathtub for this. When both parties are young and seem seem very friendly I sometimes just let them both free range in a room to discover each other - but only after I have kept them apart for the after standard 2-week quarantine period. This wait period can seem agonizing but it's important to spot any diseases or parasites before they can spread to Tilley. Is your smaller cage be big enough to accommodate one or two new girls for the first two weeks? If not you might try for a loaner.

Hello Lise,
I live in a fairly small home with my daughter and her husband. They have a large dog, and three pet mice. There are 2 mice in one cage they are 8 months old and 1 in another cage we don’t know how old she is, but we’ve had her for 2 years. They are separated because the babies attack the older one. She seems happy to be alone. I have two small dogs, a 17 year old rat terrier/Pomeranian mix Daisy Mae, and a 10 year old miniature pincher Tiger Lilly (Lizard). Daisy is the one that kills the squirrels on my back deck, and Lizard is overly interested in Tilly. There is no way I could let her out to play freely in a room.
I really do not want another pet in the house, as some days o feel overwhelmed with the ones we have now. I am the one who feeds and waters everyone twice a day and I am the one who cleans all the cages and picks up after the dogs. Cleaning another cage or cleaning one more often would be too much for me.
I have Tilly’s cage next to my chair in the center of the living room so we all see and talk to her several times a day.
Yesterday when I had her cage door open she climbed onto my hand on her own. I didn’t have to pick her up. She ran back into her cage as soon as I moved.
The other cage I have is way too small for a rat. One has tunnels to get from one level to another (4 levels) the other one has a small box she won’t fit in. Both are mouse/ hamster cages.

 

[Tillysmom]

I just read your first post again and saw that you initially quarantined Tilley for 30 days. I guess two weeks is considered the bare minimum time, but you may wish to be more cautious. (Other forum members may wish to chime in on desired quarantine periods.) If you are keeping newcomer(s) in quarantine for a full 30 days she/they will no doubt need something bigger than your initial mouse cage.

Tilly has still in a cage alone (quarantined) we thought she was a mouse. We have 3 pet mice who do not all get along so they are separated. We were hoping to put her in with the mouse who is in a cage alone. Tilly soon grew a lot and our suspicions that she was not a mouse were confirmed. Tilly was in the green and blue cage for her most of quarantine period. Originally she was in a mouse quarantine box that is 7 inches wide by 5 inches deep, by 6 inches high. We put a piece of cardboard on top to place a water bottle on it. I use this box to put the mice in while cleaning their cage. I scrubbed the cage with the same cleaner we used to scrub the surgical suites, then ran all the parts through my dishwasher.
I and my son-in-law are immune suppressed due to kidney transplants. My daughter is type 1 diabetic. So we have to be extremely cautious. I just followed the veterinary guidelines for quarantining a new pet with an unknown history.

 

[Tillysmom]

I just bought Tilly a 13 inch run about ball this evening, for her to run around the house and be safe. We have a smaller one for the mice and she used it when she was tiny, but she outgrew that one rather quickly and hasn’t been able to get out and run around in a while. I put a whipped cream trail into it to tempt her to go in. It’s her favorite treat. She would go about halfway in and run back to her cage. She kept this up for about 20 minutes. I didn’t want to stress her out with a new adventure too much.
Her favorite game seems to be when I open her cage she comes to the door and to my hand, she will start to climb on my hand then “bite” me and run away when I raise my voice to tell her not to bite. The “bite” is more her putting her teeth on my finger. She has never even pinched me, let alone hurt me.
In the late evening she has started to nap in the bottom corner of her cage that is as close to me as she can get. She seems to like when I rest my hand next to her while she sleeps.
Should I get her a small stuffed animal “teddy bear” to cuddle with?
Thank you all for all the advice and help I really appreciate it, and am trying to implement your suggestions.
Tillysmom

 

[SqueakingJellybean]

Oh no, please don’t put her in that ball. They’re not good for rats. Imagine how much you’d enjoy running around in your own waste, with poor ventilation and no ability to stretch all the way out (that tail has to go somewhere).

 

[Fidget]

Most rats don't like run around balls and will just sit in it and poop, some will even fear-poop, I'd never make a rat use a ball - but I've had a few rats that really loved it, during outings they'd climb in it by choice and wait for me to put the hole cover on it - so it's up to the rattie (just make sure to wipe out any poops or dribbles right away so they aren't sharing the ball with it).
I wouldn't bother with a stuffie, I think Tilly would prefer a small blanket she could arrange to her liking & snuggle up in.

 

[Tillysmom]

Oh no, please don’t put her in that ball. They’re not good for rats. Imagine how much you’d enjoy running around in your own waste, with poor ventilation and no ability to stretch all the way out (that tail has to go somewhere).

Tilly had a run about ball when she was little and she loved it. She only went to the bathroom once and I cleaned it immediately. She would get in it as soon as I picked it up and wait for me to close it. I would never force her to go into it.

 

[Tillysmom]

Most rats don't like run around balls and will just sit in it and poop, some will even fear-poop, I'd never make a rat use a ball - but I've had a few rats that really loved it, during outings they'd climb in it by choice and wait for me to put the hole cover on it - so it's up to the rattie (just make sure to wipe out any poops or dribbles right away so they aren't sharing the ball with it).
I wouldn't bother with a stuffie, I think Tilly would prefer a small blanket she could arrange to her liking & snuggle up in.

Tilly had a ball when she was little and loved it. She could run around the house and be safe from my dogs. She would even run at them and they would back away. I also never left her unattended. I would never force her into the ball. It is big enough for her to stretch out inside. I don’t want her to be uncomfortable in it.
I gave her a small towel in the bottom of her box, and she balled it up and threw it out. It’s not very soft though. I’m going to make her a small fleece blanket and see if she will like that better. I’ll use the towels for the bottom of her cage instead. She hates the paper pet bedding from the store. She spent the night pushing it all out through the bars of her cage to the floor with her back feet. It was a mess. I gave her shredded paper out of my shredder and she had drug it everywhere. Stuffed it in her box, put it over her food bowl, and made tunnels in it. I just worry that some of the edges can be sharp and give her paper cuts.

 

[Fidget]

Tillysmom - lol, hopefully she is still loving her ball, it sounds like she has lots of energy to burn off Sounds like she's been an entertaining surprise since she came, and will continue to be..
I've always given my ratties shredded paper from my strip-shredder, never noticed any papercuts..
Btw, rats can have avocado, its perfectly safe and one of their favorites. Grapes, raisins & chocolate are fine too, just in moderation because of the sugar. Oxbow for rats is the best for an always-available dry food. This might be helpful for food questions ratclub.org - rat care - diet
And 2 very good info sites -
JoinRats and
Rat Guide – A Layman's Guide to Health, Medication Use, Breeding, and Responsible Care of Pet Rats
Far as her pushiing her litter out of the cage, you could get a couple plastic placemats rom the dollar store, cut them in strips, join the ends, and wrap it around the outside of the lower 5 or 6 cage bars to make a higher litter barrier.
Good luck with it all, and have fun with Tilly!

 

[Tillysmom]

Hi Fidget, thanks so much for all the advice. Tilly is a lot of fun. I know that avocado is toxic to birds so I was being extra careful and just figured I’d follow the guidelines for the pets I’ve raised and cared for in the past until I learned more.
She has progressed to putting her teeth on my hands ever time I play with her, and is progressively getting more aggressive about it. Any ideas on how to stop this behavior. I don’t want her to become aggressive or people to be afraid of her. If she keeps this up I can see that happening.