# Boys have been trying to hump my hands!? Help?



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

Okay I'll start with saying that Cappuccino; one of my girls. Got out of her Martin r-695 this morning and I woke up to a cold rat nose on my skin. After I snuggled her a bit I picked her up and went to the girl's cage to find out HOW she escaped. The top door wasn't completely hooked closed (I'm so used to only having to hook one part of the door on all the other cages I have owned and I'll only use one hook when I have only one of the girls out). I have been only doing the two hooks on the right side of the door and I hadn't hooked one of them so the corner was able to be pushed open. Thankfully only Cappuccino had bothered to escape. After putting her away and properly latching the door closed I went to say my good mornings to the boys and I was greeted with claws grabbing on to my hands and fingers as they sniffed me which isn't abnormal they just aren't normally this aggressive about it. Then they started trying to hump my hands. I couldn't pet them without them trying to do that.
Does this have anything to do with Cappuccino's escape last night? Both cages are in the same room and while the girl's cage is escape proof as long as I don't leave the door unlatched like I idiotically did last night. Which is a big deal because my dogs have free reign of the house and I leave my door open every night. I'm lucky Cappi didn't decide to explore the house. While she can easily climb up my bed she isn't quite keen on climbing back down. But again while their bar spacing is way too small for escape, the boys are in a ferret cage that the girls can get in and out of. Its up off the ground but less than two feet off the ground. And Cappuccino is very obviously in heat. Whenever any of the other girls brush against her she does the little dance thing. I checked for a plug and didn't see anything but her fur makes it really hard to tell.

I reaaally really don't want to end up with babies and I've already had two close calls before. I'm NEVER going to have boys and girls at the same time ever again after this. I'm actually scared of handling pinkies. I can't stand having to handle small fragile things. I'm not fond of rat babies either and seven rats is enough for me as it is.
I really need some reassuring advice.
One of my friend said the boys just might be getting to a hormonal age and that this is coincidence. Cause my girls obviously have been in heat before and outside of the cage while free ranging but the boys never acted this way.
Also one of my girls, Peanut Butter, keeps humping Cappuccino.
Also will my boys stop doing this, I find it to be kinda gross and it is deterring me from interacting with them much.
oh and they are four and a half months old, the boys that is. The girls are between 7-9 months.


----------



## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

I've never kept both sexes at once, but hand humping is a dominance display. When my boys grew out of their baby stages, they'd start to hump my hand when we would wrestle. The solution is to flip them over quickly and power-groom their bellies with your fingers. You should always be the alpha.

I would seriously consider getting your girls spayed.


----------



## Voltage (May 15, 2013)

cagedbirdsinging said:


> I've never kept both sexes at once, but hand humping is a dominance display. When my boys grew out of their baby stages, they'd start to hump my hand when we would wrestle. The solution is to flip them over quickly and power-groom their bellies with your fingers. You should always be the alpha.
> 
> I would seriously consider getting your girls spayed.


Next time they do that I'll try that. My boys get really wriggly when I flip them over, they don't like it. They used to wrestle my hand and flip over themselves but haven't done it lately. 
Also I've been spending a lot of money trying to move myself, my rats and my boyfriend. Also spent a lot on the girl's new cage and on a vet visit for Toast to find out nothing was wrong with her. 
The past couple months have been extremely expensive for me and I just have enough to pay for my boyfriend's flight and then I'm broke til I either get a job or catch up on my commissions so I can accept more. I mean a vet visit is one thing but four spays is gonna cost me an arm and a leg. My parents would also be extremely upset with me as they don't see rats as an animal that should cost that much.


----------

