# Why is my rat biting me?



## Rob&Beth (Aug 5, 2013)

Hi,

We've had 2 male rats for almost a year, and recently (past month), one (Snorlax) has started to bite us, sometimes just nipping but sometimes drawing blood. When he does this he puffs up and looks jumpy and nervous. I think he is scared of his cagemate (Francis Drake), but they have been living together since they were littered without problems.

Snorlax is bigger than Francis but generally more passive, he can't climb as well and he eats a lot more. He has recently had a respiratory infection so I was hoping this would stop after he got better, but it hasn't. In the cage, Francis often seems to be grooming him too hard, making Snorlax squeal and occasionally ripping out a lump of fur. They still snuggle up when sleeping but we have noticed they spend less time together when free roaming and when they do meet, Snorlax gets agitated and bites us soon after. 

It's not just when we go to pick him up, in fact then he doesn't bite, but when they are free roaming he will actively come and find us so he can bite us on the arms and feet.

If anyone has advise it would be appreciated, thank you !

Rob&Beth


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Is he neutered? Male rats can become hormonal and aggressive at any time an sometimes the only way to fix it is to get them neutered. I do not own male rats I've learned this from threads on here. 


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Sounds like post-puberty territorialism. I agree, if you can't manage it with immersion and communicating with him, a neuter can reduce the aggressice tendencies. 


He sounds like he is also trying to communicate alpha status over you since Francis is doing it to him. Try to tell Francis he CAN NOT be the boss over anyone as you are the boss of you. My male rat often bullies my female, and it only stopped when I let him know it was NOT tolerated.


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## Rob&Beth (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks for your reply. No they're not neutered, we did look into it but most people said it was not worth it unless it was for medical problems or severe aggression, due to complications, not waking up from anaesthetic etc. It seems that he isn't really aggressive in general, only when he's afraid or agitated.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I can't observe your rats, but maybe Francis would benefit ( or Snorlax -- neutered males are less likely to attack and to be attacked)

It can be risky, but those risks can be minimized by an experienced vet. Neutering does help extend life in terminal illnesses, reduce the chance of testorone-induced tumors, and no chance of testicular cancer.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

To clarify -- try immersion, correcting Francis, and working with Snorlax to communicate biting is NOT okay before jumping to surgery. But don't be scared to resort to it - better than an increasingly aggressive rat who can't be managed.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Yes agree if immersion doesn't work then neuter is the best option. 


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## Rob&Beth (Aug 5, 2013)

Ok thank you, we will try that! Not sure how to go about correcting Francis, as he's no trouble at all to us humans, only towards Snorlax?


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

Well, he's troubling a member of your family: Snorlax. If you observe him being a bully, tell him no, bop him on the nose, or blow in his face. Maybe fashion a bin cage and try "time out" -- not sure how well that would go. He just needs to realize that when he does bully behavior, he gets into trouble.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Immersion should be the best start... both to address the biting behavior and the bullying... 

Basically for whatever reason your rats don't see you as the alpha... please read alpha as more of a parent and leader rather than as a bully. So as you are not in charge you don't get to set the rules in the cage. 

Moreover as an outsider, your rat is defending itself and it's pack from the intruder, who currently happens to be you. He might also be seeing you as a disobedient subordinate. 

Rats are pack status oriented. No one bites the alpha... very bad things happen if you do. And everyone follows the alpha's lead because nice things happen when you do.

But if there is no alpha a rats hormone levels start increasing so he (or even she) can become the alpha. Especially in males they get bigger, stronger, faster and more aggressive. In nature being the alpha is a very tough job, and beefing up is critical to an alpha's success. And all of that extra aggression is channeled into survival and pack defense and maintaining order.... (no offence intended to our valiant police officers, but it like what happens to a some nice guys when they become cops and start rousting teenagers and beating up their wives) If a rat high on it's own hormones doesn't have anything real to do combat with to burn off that extra energy it turns the aggression on it's pack mates and humans.

Thankfully... studies have shown that once a rat loses it's alpha status it returns to normal hormonal levels and behavior. It's not instant, but over time the rat goes back to being a happy pack member.

Of course, biting is never permissible and must be treated immediately and if necessary with what ever is required to eliminate this behavior. I've written on extreme immersions for extreme cases. But even after the immersion you will have to work extra hard with the offending rat to stay in charge until his hormones return to normal.

Lastly... after a year, something has gone wrong with your pack dynamic. Perhaps you are spending less time with them, or something has changed in your household to trigger your rats to fight for status. I've seen it happen when folks change jobs, or go on vacation and leave their rats home, or have human babies so they don't spend the same quality time with their rats.... certain rats dying or even hot new human relationships can also come between humans and their rats. I'm not there so I can't say what it is... But likely there's good reason for things going sideways.

When a human becomes a pack alpha, it only works if they are actually there to enforce their rules and be part of the pack structure. And it only works when they are consistent with those rules. 

So basically, this is the fix...

Immersion to fix the biting and take charge of your pack.... extreme immersion if necessary. Hopefully it wont be that bad. You have to signal a change in policy your rats can understand... basically the human alpha is back and taking charge again.

Immediate negative reinforcement for biting and fighting... rats don't do what hurts them or what their alpha disapproves of.

Consistent follow up and long daily play sessions to maintain their leadership role.

And if you can figure out what went wrong... well, fix it as best as you can.

Best luck.


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## Rob&Beth (Aug 5, 2013)

Hi everyone! Just to say, Snorlax is no longer biting, back to his old self yay!! We tried to do the negative reinforcement thing for a few weeks which made him really anxious, hiding under the sofa for hours and very jumpy. Then I basically bribed him with treats and now he loves me again... they still scrap a bit but that's normal, no mega fights or mysterious tufts or fur found. Thank you to everyone who replied! I'm very happy he is friendly again!  EDIT: it has taken a long time for this process but all is good


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## LeStan82 (Dec 31, 2013)

I have 2 males also and when they hit puberty, one did bite me twice and drew blood, I firmly said NO and gave a little tap on his butt, he never bit me again.I also have one that has a foot fetish so to speak. he will run up to you and bite you on the toes(only) then will run away, almost like he is playing(and he will do it several times) but it hurts. and he only does it when you have no socks on. so now we learned to wear socks and shoes when he is out and about..lol :/ and he has never bitten us any where else. just toes.


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## Rat Daddy (Sep 25, 2011)

Rob&Beth,

That's very true about negative anything not making you friends... either does being the parent that has to enforce discipline... basically it gets you some respect though, and that's something you can build a friendship on.

A long time ago, before people thought communication was possible with rats, there was behavioral modification, it uses a carrot and stick approach. It was useful for training and worked in the short term or when there was already an underlying bond between the rats and the humans involved. Then people, thinking they were actually improving things went with the carrot and the carrot approach. And believe it or not, that usually made matters considerably worse. No one, neither rat nor human child can be properly raised in an environment without some limits and some consequences for doing things wrong. In nature, a rat doesn't even need an alpha rat to teach it that it has done something wrong... that's what predators are there for. But yes, in the end it's the nice parent that wins the day and the rat's heart... the nice parent that's always there to reinforce the loving and gentle friendly rat's good behavior... after the bad behavior is dealt with.

I'm glad things worked out for you. So many neuterings are done for the wrong reasons and are completely unnecessary, I always love to hear when communication and training solve a problem for an intelligent and emotional rat that just got a little confused.

Best luck.


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