# FEMALE Rat BITING for NO reason!!



## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Okay, I recently "rescued" my female rat, Holly, from a pet store on Christmas Eve. She was not active at all when I got her, but she seemed to adjust to Rosie (my other rat about her age) very well, because they were snuggling and sleeping together. Two nights ago, I was saying my goodnights to my babies and I stuck my finger through the cage to say goodbye and she bit me so hard I bled for 30 minutes, and I thought "okay, that was on me. That WAS stupid." I also thought that perhaps the cause was that my hand may have smelled like food or something. Last night, however, I reached into the cage Through the door to say good night and socialize with Holly a little bit, and she bit me again, about 1/16" away from the last bite! I washed my hands before that so I know it couldn't be that, and she was awake and so I couldn't have "awakened with a spook", so I am concerned that she may be a male, because I have read in several sites that females do not bite unless you have startled her extremely, or your hurting her severely. Some other things that I have noticed about her is that she is the only rat I have ever had that burrows, and I don't think she knows/likes to climb, and sometimes she fights with Rosie to get away from her "spot", and not to be innapropriate or anything, but she looks just like a female, exactly like Rosie, it seems.

Please help me find out what's wrong with my Holly!

Thanks in advance!


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

Is it only when you put your fingers through the bars? If she was rescued, her previous owners may have fed her through the cage bars, resulting in her now biting when you put your fingers through.


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Oh whoops i meant by "rescue" from snake feed, I feel so weird xD and when I opened the cage door and stuck my hand in there to pet her, she ran like, 3" and grabbed my finger, and human's natural reaction is to pull away, and when I did so she still held on.


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

Oh, whoops! So sorry... I'm not sure then. :I Is this new or has she only been acting this way recently? I know you just got her so you may not have much experience with her, but has she been doing this since you got her?


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Well, the first time she bit me was on the 26th of this month.


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

Are pregnant rats more fiesty? It's unlikely she is preg, but she kind of looks like she could be (no offence, Holly) , she isn't too much active or anything....


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

My dad says it is quite possible, after all:

she is agressive 
she prefers her solitude
she doesn't explore on her first 2 days like other rats
she isn't energetic,
she is bad atbalancing,
she does NOT climb.
She collects the bedding from all around the cage and piles it in her "corner"

I don't know the first thing about pregnant rats, but maybe, just maybe, she is?


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

We'd really need some pictures of her belly to determine if she is... Some from her stretched upright on the side and then some straight on her front and maybe one of her lower parts if you still want to confirm gender. I'm not experienced in that at all but I know many members on here will be able to help you with that... Some females naturally act that way though, so you may not want to jump to conclusions. My Neera wasn't big on exploring and she's not particularly interested in climbing and such. Not all females are. The biting is unusual and may take some work though...


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

okay, i will try to take some pictures now on my dad's phone


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

I can't take a picture of Holly tonight, I will try to get some tomorrow though. My dad really believes she is pregnant though, I noticed she only bites me when I go near her nest, and she does the same to Rosie often.


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## ratsrdog35 (Dec 28, 2014)

Rats are often cage-aggressive and will bite a human finger through the bars, so unless you've really bonded with your rat you should never put a finger through the bars, as that will excite them and lead to a bite much more easily than if it was not through the bars.
Also a biting rat takes alot of patience to train them out of it, the only thing that will work is positive reinforcement, if your rat associates you with positive and not negative then she will no longer bite you, however since shes a feeder rescue she probably has alot of negative toward humans.
Start by giving your rat some delicious mushy food from a spoon, several times daily, every day move your fingers closer to where shes eating than the last day, than start feeding her yummy treats by hand, etc, make sure to do this gradually without rushing the process. Heres an article on that: http://www.ratfanclub.org/trust.html


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

She also bit me when I didn't stick my finger through the cage....


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## mimsy (Jun 8, 2014)

From what you are describing it could be pregnancy. But my other thought is she is in pain. A lot of animals will bite when they feel bad. My only experience with biting with a rat was one we brought home from a pet store that was very ill.

A picture would be really helpful to see if she is pregnant.


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## Korra (Dec 11, 2011)

I have fostered many pregnant rats and have never been bitten. I know it happens, but I think biting is more common after babies come, not before. 
She might just be a biter. My friend who owns close to 40 rats has a few that just bite.


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

I stayed by her for 2 hours last night and she doesn't bite me when I get near her nest (I had to get her cage mate off her head) anymore.. And it isn't true that females don't bite?


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## Sabatea (Aug 23, 2014)

Any animal with teeth has the potential to bite... I haven't heard of any real difference between the ratio of biting females and males personally. Rats as a whole are much less likely to bite than other pocket pets but some _do _bite. The closest my pair has come to biting me was when Dela chewed on the callouses on my foot. 

It's really important to pay attention to their body language when you're trying to figure out some behavior issues. Look for body stance, fur appearance and other movements that may allude to this behavior. Does she fluff up her fur before she bites you? Does she make any sort of sound? It may be very subtle but it could be helpful to note anything like that to determine where this behavior is coming from.


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## Cookie and Mischief (Sep 30, 2014)

I dont recall any thing other than her biting me, no warning...

Thanks!


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