Help with aggressive rats!!

[pisces86]

Hi i have just re-homed two new girl rats , they are 7-8months old, problem is they bite and nip due to stupidly being brought for a families children, who then became bored of them, stopped handling them and became scared of them. the poor things when they turned up smelled like they had never been cleaned out in their short lives . This is what happens when people give into their children and buy them pets that they themselves are not willing to care for when their kids lose interest . any way they are very nervous and jumpy. i have a few rats of my own, but i am slightly scared of these girls i don't think they would think twice of biting my finger off lol, i know them biting doesn't really hurt its more of the shock that gets me, they are so fast lol. i need help and advice on what to do to help them and me get over our nervousness i am sure it doesn't help me jumping out of my skin every time they go near my fingers. so any advice you can give would be great. i have taken them out of their stinky cage and since cleaned it, i have put them in a new cage and they seem to have settled down a bit already i have been able to stroke their backs without too much fuss. they are lovely girls and i want to try my hardest to get them used to human contact that's the least they deserve poor things. here is a picture of the two girls. help on colour would be appreciated too i know u may not be able to see in the pics but they are hooded.

[ChokolateLatte]

Sad but all too common.

I suppose all you can do is take it slowely with the girls and give them time to trust you. Talk to them a lot and offer treats from your hand, with the door open and not through the bars. I think rats will only be biting through fear themselves.

I hope they do come round for you and go on to live better lives.

[LisaLQ]

How sad, it really is sad - rats dont get like this from the owners not handling them, they get like this when their breeders dont handle them and their owners daren't handle them because of that. With kittens they often come around somewhat, but with adults it's sometimes harder (but not impossible - dont lose hope!).

I think the best thing might be to try stroking them with something like one of those cat feather stick toys, stroking them gently til they tolerate that, giving them treats while you do so. Then progress slowly til they'll tolerate you stroking them directly. Handle if you can, even if it means picking them up with a teatowel over your hand to protect it, and just popping them in a rat pouch/pocket/hidey bag on your lap and giving them lots of treats to show that humans=fun.

With really bitey rats it can take a long time, but it is possible that they're just incredibly scared and will come round quicker than you think. I hope so

[pisces86]

Hi girls thanx for the advice, i have been able to stroke their backs for a few seconds, i have given them some treats and this morning they came to the front of the cage to see who i am, i might try putting an old t-shirt in the cage that smells like me, that might help them get used to my smell, i will let u know how i'm getting on.

[LisaLQ]

Best of luck, they're very pretty

[pisces86]

AWW thanx hun they are cute, just a shame these people get pets and dont bother to interact with them then they end up like this, finding it hard to get loving homes because they are scared of everyone. It just upsets me, but never mind they are here now and i will try my best to help them trust us giants.

[Horatio]

Good luck with them - you should be proud of yourself.

[Nebbz]

I have a girl who is like that, she will bite for england, but put ur hand in a fist and tense it. the bite doesnt hurt then, just a scratch, Plus it then puts to them that you will not back off with a bite. Now i just get a little nip from my girl and seems to be coming around slowly, shes still nervous and not to sure about me, but thats what i get for feeling sorry for a pets at home animal!

good luck they are gorgeous!

[LisaLQ]

Originally Posted by pisces86

AWW thanx hun they are cute, just a shame these people get pets and dont bother to interact with them then they end up like this, finding it hard to get loving homes because they are scared of everyone. It just upsets me, but never mind they are here now and i will try my best to help them trust us giants.

I think in this case it's likely they went to their home unhandled (eg pet shop or naff breeder) and then the owners got scared, and lapsed with the handling too. Well handled babies dont get like this from not being handled, nervous rats are born like this - it's up to the breeders to put the time in and make them tame confident rats. Pet shop/rodent farm bred rats rarely get handled at all (literally - at all). That's why you see so many threads saying "how do I tame baby rats?" - when the answer is - dont get them from these places in the first place. You shouldn't have to tame a rat at 6 weeks, they should already be tame. Without handling from birth many rats dont come around at all - our pet shop boys lived til 42-43 months old, and never once became handleable despite our best efforts. Had they been handled from birth we wouldn't have had that problem.

It's why I started breeding - so many people doing it wrong, it's time we had some nice pet rats and not other peoples lazyness affecting them.

[temeraire]

Originally Posted by LisaLQ

It's why I started breeding - so many people doing it wrong, it's time we had some nice pet rats and not other peoples lazyness affecting them.

Until you have had the pleasure of owning rats from lines selected for good temperament, born from several or more generations all handled from birth, & socialised & raised by a breeder who knows what they are doing, you haven't really known rats at all...