# Mine's a grabber...how to break the habit?



## stojio (Dec 20, 2007)

i'm sure many of u have dealt with this behaviour before...
my pink eyed champagne just snatches her food and runs into her house and eats it there, while her sister is so gentle and confident. ive only had them for 5 days and they're 9 weeks old.
is there any way to break this habit? she's bitten my finger by accident while doing this. i thought about making her come out of the cage to get treats, but will this reinforce the grabbing? i dont want to tease the little mite.

thanks in advance folks

PS she also seems to get food from the food dish and take it into the house, but i think this is just stashing...maybe she just likes to eat in the dark?


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## crapola (Feb 12, 2007)

you're not alone, my girls all take their food and go off somewhere else to eat it... and if they're very lucky, they dont get followed by one of the other girls...

and yes, they all have different stashes around their cage. the little boys arent like this though... they eat where they're standing.


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## rat_ratscal (Sep 23, 2007)

my girls like to eat in privacy, it all depends on the personality of the rat : )

unless of course i give them a jello treaat, they'll eat that halfway off the pplatform  (i can get pictures of that if you want  )


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Try putting something like yogurt or baby food on a spoon and holding the spoon so that to eat it they have to lick it off.


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## Emster (Dec 9, 2007)

Roxy tends to snatch food at times, she's also got pink/red eyes and as rats with these coloured eyes can't see all that well, I put it down to that.

The other day she grabbed my thumb by accident, she didn't hurt me or draw blood but it made me jump so I had a few words with her


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## Malta (Dec 7, 2007)

> Try putting something like yogurt or baby food on a spoon and holding the spoon so that to eat it they have to lick it off.


 I did that the othe day with some cous cous. Little bear played tug of war with the spoon. I was suprised at how strong she is lol. Took her a while to actually take anything off the spoon.


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## Messerschmitt (Nov 28, 2007)

My Rem will sometimes get my finger instead of whatever I may be holding out to her. It doesn't hurt, and she will usually (if they are in the cage) take the food a little ways away before eating it.
Even if I made a sound when Rem accidentally gets my finger, she wouldn't know. It's hard having a deaf rat ><



Malta said:


> I did that the othe day with some cous cous. Little bear played tug of war with the spoon. I was suprised at how strong she is lol. Took her a while to actually take anything off the spoon.


I haven't had cous cous in such a long time!
Anywho, when I give my girls yogurt on a spoon Leaf will try to take the whole thing. It's pretty dang funny XD


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## Secularian (Nov 7, 2007)

Our two girls are opposites when it comes to that, as well. Willow takes treats and such just as gently as you please, but Tara snatches them out of your fingers like she's afraid you'll rescind the offer! Heheh. She then runs immediately to her favorite "eating spot", with her back to us, and eats.

Coincidently (or _not so_ coincidently), Tara is also the bigger and fatter of the two. The weird thing is that she is also the one that runs on the wheel and plays the roughest. She just has an overall more aggressive personality.


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## jellybeanqueen (Sep 6, 2007)

haha, one of my girls is like that as well.
Vegas tends to take food gently and eats at the spot where i give her treats, but Baby does the grab & dash: she snatches the treat and runs off into some dark corner to eat before coming back to me for more. :roll:


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## Sojuuk (Jun 24, 2007)

Forensic said:


> Try putting something like yogurt or baby food on a spoon and holding the spoon so that to eat it they have to lick it off.


my rats just bite the spoon and look at me like it's my fault they can't eat it


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Sojuuk said:


> Forensic said:
> 
> 
> > Try putting something like yogurt or baby food on a spoon and holding the spoon so that to eat it they have to lick it off.
> ...


You have to be patient (and so do they). They'll get the idea. :lol:


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Eeep loudly when she gets your finger. some rats are just "rude" and will always snatch. You can try training like a dog, and do the word "gentle" all drawn out...some rats have responded to that before.


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## stojio (Dec 20, 2007)

okayyyy...tried the yoghurt on a spoon and she just grabbed it with her hands and then frantically tried to wipe them on the floor of her cage, getting bedding stuck to her hands in the process and then frantically tried to wipe THAT off! haha. 
well i'm just going to leave her to it, it seems from the other posts that this is just her personality and not a prob. i just hope she doesnt end up a compulsive grabber of eveything, or a painfully shy rat...


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