Bitten?!?!?

[J.huff23]

So i just tried to take my ratty out for a hold. And it violently bit my finger. This was no affectionate nibble either. This was a full fledged violent bite! Rats are not supposed to be like that! They are supposed be really friendly. It knew it was me because she smelled the air and then lunged. My right index finger is now slit open and was bleeding pretty good. It just stopped bleeding. I was so shocked that a jerked my hand away and made the wound even worse! It makes me wonder if I should ever even try to hold her again.

Any particular reason why a rat would bite like this?

 

[crpy]

Where did she come from

How old

Has she ever been handled

 

[arachyd]

If she sniffed the air then bit it is most likely your finger had the scent of food on it. They tend to bite for food quickly sometimes and their eyesight isn't the greatest.

 

[hardlucktattoo]

If this is the rat you received for free maybe that is why it was free also it may have been a feeder that was never handled

 

[MaartenSFS]

I used to have a pet rat and one day I offered it some peanuts in my hand and it bit my thumb. Mistakes can happen. It never bit me again. I second the food scent notion.

 

[mikeythefireman]

I've been bit by several different small mammals (no rats, but just about every other one) when I was too quick and I surprised them or when I woke them up. Any chance that's the case?

 

[xBurntBytheSunx]

i've had several rats and only one that ever bit. rats may lunge for food but i've found the more time you have spent with them the more careful they are about fingers and other body parts.

have you spent much time holding your rat?

 

[J.huff23]

She may have been frightened at being woken up. I was handleing my snake before I handled the rat.

Yes I handle her almost daily. From what I know, she is only a few months old.
She WAS sold as a feeder but I keep her as a pet.

I agree that she was frightened or smelled food.

Thanks for the replies guys. I will wash my hands before i handle her anymore.

 

[ballpython2]

She may have been frightened at being woken up. I was handleing my snake before I handled the rat.

Yes I handle her almost daily. From what I know, she is only a few months old.
She WAS sold as a feeder but I keep her as a pet.

I agree that she was frightened or smelled food.

Thanks for the replies guys. I will wash my hands before i handle her anymore.

just to let you kno wash your hands after handling her or any rodent or you might be mistaken for food when you hold your snake(s).

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

Also, if during the full moon you have an insatiable craving for cheese and a compulsion to run in a wheel, you may have a problem. Especially if you start to look like this!

 

[antbebo]

I once had a very moody white rat. I was stroking her on the head one morning with my finger when she suddenly bit into it. Her teeth sank into and completely through my fingernail and the underside of the finger, only being stopped by the bone. It bled uncontrollably for several minutes even with direct pressure. Sadly,the next time I handled her was when her tumor had gotten the best of her and I took her to the vet to be euthanized.

 

[arachyd]

Even feeders can be tamed. Keep handling her. As you say, wash your hands every time first. Rats are naturally sociable creatures (just not naturally with humans) even in the wild or people wouldn't have been able to do so much with them as pets. Your chances of the rat having a good temperament are much better with a pet from a careful breeder that breeds for temperament but feeders aren't hopeless either. All the rats I had were bought from feeder cages at pet shops except the ones I bred from those feeders and they were all great pets once they got used to being handled.