# Does my rat hate me... like me.. or just think I'm really dirty?



## Bomileloed (Jul 4, 2009)

My rat Louis is very skittish of me, he usually jumps up to nip me if my hand gets near him.. but once he gets a wiff of who I am he begins to lick my hand... could he be slightly blind or what? He's a dumbo rat btw and his eyes aren't red.


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Bomileloed said:


> My rat Louis is very skittish of me, he usually jumps up to nip me if my hand gets near him.. but once he gets a wiff of who I am he begins to lick my hand... could he be slightly blind or what? He's a dumbo rat btw and his eyes aren't red.


I would say you're a dirty human he likes 

He reacts by nipping then realizes its you and starts to lick instead. Approach him a bit more slowly, call out his name etc and eventually you won't get nipped anymore but licked right away


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

i've got a rat that's really licky
that's my timid one 
she's never nipped me but still its pretty odd being licked by a rat


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## Bomileloed (Jul 4, 2009)

That's a breath of fresh air to know he doesn't despise me lol I think he is always going to be skittish since he was mistreated at Petsmart. I'll try calling out his name and letting him come to me instead of me going to him next time.


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

sounds like he's had bad eexperiences with hands...hang in there and keep working with him and he'll come round eventually


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## begoodtoanimals (Dec 6, 2007)

One of my rats will do that too if I offer her my fingers. But when I first approach her with the back of my hand she is OK. Important: make sure they are awake before you approach them by calling them and letting them stretch and yawn *so sweet to see*.


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## hellomagpie (Jul 16, 2009)

Licking is always a good sign (unless, of course, it's followed by a big chomp). When a rat licks you, he or she is either a) enjoying the salt on your skin or b) grooming you, which is the way most rats show affection. Licking means that your rat is comfortable with you and enjoys your company. My rats even climb up my shirt to kiss me on the lips! 

The nipping first may mean that your rat got startled, or you may be right and he can't see you very well and does a test-nip before he figures out who you are. I'd recommend bringing your hand towards him slowly and saying his name, so he gets used to the sound of your voice and can recognize you that way as well as by smell (in case his eyes don't work so well).


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## maddy (Jul 27, 2009)

like hellomagpie says just move your hand towards him really slowly...so it doesn't startle him 
he doesn't mean to nip u


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## teresaisaacs (Jul 31, 2009)

my girls to start off would do a testing nip... not hard, but enough to make me wonder as well... i have never had blood drawn though. i think its due to poor sight like hellomagpie suggested... i also call my girls names before handling them now and niping is minimal.


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## nikki_malicious (Jun 24, 2009)

hellomagpie said:


> Licking is always a good sign (unless, of course, it's followed by a big chomp). When a rat licks you, he or she is either a) enjoying the salt on your skin or b) grooming you, which is the way most rats show affection. Licking means that your rat is comfortable with you and enjoys your company. My rats even climb up my shirt to kiss me on the lips!


i love rat kisses!!!! my boys will kiss me on the lips all the time!! peanut even goes so far as to stick his head in my mouth every once in a while. once he licked my tongue. my dad told me that rats are really attracted to human spit for some reason.


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