# Rat bite! Advice please.



## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Our rat just drew blood from my 3 yo son! They are sweet as can be (the rats) (kids too, lol) so I don't know what happened. Maybe I'm just dumb. We always put our fingers in the cage. Since we got them about 3 weeks. They come up and lick us. We never feed them thru the cage. We tell our kids, never feed them thru the bars or they will bite you. So my son usually is at the cage giggling, "he kisses me, he's kissing me." Well today he starts crying really hard and says, he bit me! I was still in bed and my husband was with the kids, so I'm not really sure what was going on. Do you think he jus thought my son was food? My son was more sad that the rat didn't like him anymore. What about the bite? Should I be concerned? I just put neosporin on it and a bandaid.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Clean it with peroxide, bandage it.

It's hard to suppose what happened with half a story. I'm inclined to think that perhaps they kid poked in without warning, the rat was alarmed and protected his territory? Often enough, especially with red/ruby eyes.


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## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

Did your child eat first? Could he have had food smell on his hands? Keep it clean and watch for any signs of infection.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Be aware of infection. Also, if the boy shows any signs of a flu like illness over the next couple of weeks, take him to a doctor right away and mention the rat bite.


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Thank you. Do you think I should have the rat tested? He is actually my sick rat. Although He seems fine. He is on antibiotics for uri.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

It's just with the case of the kid who died from untreated Rat Bite Fever we all need to be aware of any flu like symptoms that arise after being bitten. The URI that the rat has will not affect the child as that is not what causes RBF.
Here is more info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat-bite_fever


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks for the link. I wish I didn't have to worry so much about it. I worry way to much in general, so this is just one more thing to worry about!


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## cagedbirdsinging (May 28, 2012)

Keep it clean as you would any other wound. To a parent, these words are often meaningless, but there is no cause for alarm. On the VERY slim chance of infection, it is so easily cleared with a round of antibiotics, IF you go to the doctor. Check temperatures and if anything is off, head right to the doctor and disclose the fact that you do have rodents and that there was a bite, and insist on a round of antibiotics. I'm the first person to be upset at how nonchalant doctors have become with ABs and how they throw them at every little problem needlessly, but IF it were to be rat bite fever, that is nothing to mess with We have seen in the news what happens when it is left untreated.

The poor little boy in the news went to the doctor and yet was untreated as, based on the re-tellings, the family did not disclose that there was a bite in the previous days. It was written off as the flu and he was sent home without meds. (This is all that anyone can speculate from the stories. We have no way of knowing what truly happened as we weren't there.)


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Are you treating this sick rat? If a rat has doxy, ever, they don't carry rbf. 

Now, I've been bitten loads of times by various rats, some mine some not. From the dregs of the humane society to my own babies. I have had only one issue where it was a matter of where I was bit, how I was bit, and how I responded. And that issue showed immediately - as do most things. 

If your child is up to date on shots, he should be fine. I believe (though I could be wrong) a child that young also still has some of his mothers immune system. Maybe it was three months and not years though. 

It's really hard to say don't be alarmist - my sister sends me close ups of her children's eyes if they bump their head or demands I drive the half hour to come see if they've a concussion. But the cases of rbf are really rare - how many times before one poorly handled boy had you heard of it?

It's just like any other animal bite. Clean it out (neosporin doesn't so don't use it) and keep it clean. If you get sick, be suspicious and mention it to your doctor. If it was a cat bite, I bet none of us would have to mention this and those are way more dangerous. 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

I'm older than some of you... and I still use iodine for just about anything that breaks the skin, burns a little but really kills the germs...

As to your rat biting your son, you should really supervise the play yourself to see what went wrong... Rats don't usually bite, and they don't confuse their humans with food... Something went wrong that caused your rat to bite your son and finding out what it was will prevent bites in the future. 

To be honest, I have a rule against toddlers through 3 year olds playing with my rats. I made up this rule only after I had toddlers grab my rat by the tail and even throw her... Yes little kids seem sweet and they can often play with a rat for a long time until they do something really stupid... But for the most part toddlers and three year olds can't be expected to have great impulse control and know how to properly handle animals... For every 3 or 4 little kids that were great with our rats one was a real danger and two were likely to act unpredictably sooner or later... They would play fine for a long time and then get the idea they can squish a rat because it's soft for example....

If your son is going to play with "his" rats, you really need to supervise him very closely. Not just to prevent him from being bitten, but to keep your rats safe.

Best luck and I hope your son feels better soon.


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## George? (Apr 1, 2014)

Yeahhh, I'd do peroxide and a band-aid. If rats are really scared or angry, they can cause vicious jagged damage, but those kinds of bites happen very rarely, and tend to be caused by wild rats, not tame ones. Unlike a vicious bite, your son's bite is probably sharp and clean. It probably bled a lot but didn't hurt that much, and likely will heal up cleanly and quickly. As Rat Daddy said, watch your son with the rats to make sure he doesn't do anything that might upset them. Of the other two possibilities, one is that maybe the rat can't see very well (this is common with red-eyed rats) and was startled. The other is that maybe the rat was trying to groom or hold onto your child (they sometimes grip things with their mouths) and your son pulled away suddenly. Three-year-olds have thin, delicate skin and rats' teeth are really sharp, so he might have torn himself yanking away. Your rat may not have intended anyone to get hurt.


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## littlefoot (Mar 10, 2014)

Hi

I'm sorry this happened. And though I am not quiet a rat owner yet, I have spent the past year researching everything I could about rats. Also about kids and rats, but especially about the health risks having pet rats with a child with a compromised immune system could be.....

Our son was a micro preemie born seventeen weeks early at 23.3 weeks. He is five now, and his immune system barely functions...I am a germ serial killer. And after I did all my research, I was actually more worried about any pet cats he might come in contact with and dogs...than our potential rats. 

I even spoke to his medical team of dr's, none objected. And a few recommended we go ahead. They said there is very little risk, even from bites. RBF is extremely rare, and a rat pet owner knows about it and is bitten or someone else is....they will be informed and action can be taken to prevent it becoming serious, if it happened to the bitten person.

I agree with Rat Daddy, not to say you weren't watching your kiddo...but having two under five myself...I know how tricky, fast and sometimes silly kiddos can be. If your son is anything like my daughter, who I could see sneaking the rats her food....maybe have a wire play pen around the cage for when you are not right there to watch him interacting with them.

That's what we are going to be doing.

Hope your little guy feels better soon.


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks everyone, making me feel much better. Rat daddy: My son is very sweet, but also a bit overexcitable and I don't even let him hold the rats with me there. He probably would squish it! He stuck his finger in the cage. Which is why I sad I was probably dumb. I have been letting the kids, and we all stick our fingers in, because they come up and lick us. We never feed them thru the cage and have been doing it for the last 3 weeks.


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

I just saw the last couple of posts...thanks for those as well. I blame myself because I let him stick his fingers in. I never thought I'd have to have him be supervised with the cage as well. But with the threat of the rats biting him, he has never fed him thru the cage. And now with the bite, I don't think he will be putting his fingers in again.


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## DustyRat (Jul 9, 2012)

Rat Daddy said:


> I'm older than some of you...


Haha! I resemble that remark


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

Aw...I can relate. My eight year old got bit (and bled a little) by one of my double-rex (aka patchwork hairless) rat does and all he did was gently put his hand in the cage. My double-rexes also bite him when he is trying to touch them when they're in my t-shirt - they will bite his finger through the fabric. 

I think my rats are used to my handling them and are not used to other people, hence the bite that was probably due to being territorial. To remedy this cage aggressiveness, I told my son to play with the rats so they get used to his smell, but he is older and understands how to handle small animals with care.


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## Nikadi (Jan 11, 2014)

This post will be too late for you now but, in the UK at least, you'd be advised by doctors to get a tetanus jab within 72 hours of a bite that draws blood. Over here it's free so worth doing for the peace of mind if the bitee is okay with jabs!


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## Snake eye 3 (Mar 21, 2014)

Thanks, although he's already had tetanus vaccine with his annual shots.


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## Nikadi (Jan 11, 2014)

I'm not sure if you're UK based or not but you have five tetanus jabs over here from infancy to teenage years, so you'd still be advised to top up. I'm not sure how jab courses run in other countries though so that might just be over here. And then even though you're considered to have the full protection once you've had all five you're advised to top up if you get bitten by an animal or scratched by a rusty nail and in other situations. I got bitten a few weeks back and the nurse didn't see me for my last minute slot so when I tried to rebook the doctor told me it'd be useless after the 72 hours. Many people don't, but obviously it's worth doing if you can


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