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Clairebee1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
72
Location
Northern Ireland, Belfast
My once friendly little boy novo bit me :cry4: :cry4:
He was in his cage just after grooming and i went to lift him out and he grabbed my hand and its badly bit im so upset i had to walk away im so scared of him now. :cry3: :redhot:
What can i do he will bite again hes never been aggressive before theres noway im getting another rat hes freaked me right out :cry4: :cry4: :sad3:
 
Did you startle him when you went to pick him up? Did he know you were there and were reaching for him? One bite does not make him aggressive. If he bit and immediately let go, it sounds more like he was afraid than anything. Did you handle the new rats in your home before you went to touch Novo? Did you have any food on your hands?

There literally are thousands of reasons a rat will bite, and 90% of them have absolutely nothing to do with aggressive behavior.
 
Agree with javakittie. I was bitten very badly by one of my old rats who was the friendliest, most gentle rat I'd ever met to that point. It was completely my fault that he bit me, but I was so afraid of him for a few days after that!!

I made myself handle him again, and before long I was no longer afraid of him. :)

As long as you're taking precautions to avoid the things that javakittie mentions, you should be fine. It is very likely an isolated incident and you'll both be fine with each other soon.
 
Jo,
The babies i got had to be taken back they had a very bad breathing problem and the petstore wanted them back to treat them we had then for no longer then 2 days.
And novo only seen them once.
Yes i think i did scare him maybe but he was grooming then he stopped in his cage and i put my hand around his tummy to pick him up and he bit me and then let go i was so freaked!!

He does seem to have got really grumpy since his brother has gone, but i feel that now after this if i do get new babies he will only get more aggressive would i be right???
 
No, that's completely incorrect. A lone rat is a terrified rat. There's no one else to let him know that he's okay and nothing's going to hurt him.
 
When he bit you, it must have scared him, especially since there are no other rats in the home, just you and him. So I don't think that he's aggressive either and having a friend might be good for him.
 
I know it is very scary, take it slowly with him if it makes you feel better. Like others have already advised, it seems as if he reacted purely out of fear and not from aggression. As much as we have domesticated them, they still have a fair amount of prey instinct left and will sometimes act that way. Providing him with ratty buddies will make him less easily startled and defensive as well.
It has been my experience that aggressive rats don't just bite, they show a lot of typical aggressive behaviour and/or use body language that you get to recognized easily when you have encountered a few - then they bite. Rats that react to being startled don't display that behaviour, and will even often react as if they are sorry after they have bitten.
Take it easy with him, offer him some treats to assure him that you are not angry with him. Get into the habit of announcing that you are going to pick him up and be sure that he knows where your hand is and that should avoid him being startled.
 
I would agree that it sounds like you took him by surprise, I guess he did the same to you.

A lone rat is not as secure and if he only recently lost his brother he may still be feeling a little out of sorts...extra cuddles needed :thumbup:
 

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