# Rats Biting - a note to other beginners



## Perocore (Jan 6, 2014)

I've heard a lot of people new as or newer than I am to rats asking about their rats nipping/biting them. I watched a documentary on rat bites the other day and have asked multiple experienced breeders and owners about it. So far I've found there are some different types of teeth-on-human behaviors that can be misinterpreted. My comment with this is that when your rat is being aggressive it is pretty dang obvious, as rats have a potential biting pressure comparable to that of a crocodile. Here's what I've got so far...

*Grooming*- the exact opposite of biting- this is how rats show love and/or kinship! Rats don't have combs and brushes like we do, so they have to use what nature gave them- including teeth! They may seem to nibble on rough skin or anywhere there is hair, and this is a gentle movement when you can just barley feel the teeth, and its often accompanied by a lot of licking and otherwise affectionate behavior. My boys both will nibble on the rough skin around my nails and callouses, but this is just grooming and has never hurt or caused me harm. 

*Mistaken for Food*- we all know rats don't have very good eye sight. Most rats are often used to taking food out of their owners hands, as well. So when you present your hand a rat might nip or even hold on for a moment before letting go as they realize your hand is not food. This isn't aggressive, but you'll still want to tell them no so that they understand. My boys both do this sometimes, though it's when feeding them through the bars that the problem arises. They get so excited when they hear the treat bag rustle that they'll snap at anything pushed through the bars. They sometimes bite hard enough to hurt when this is the case, but its never been aggression, just confusion and excitement. Usually after realizing what he's done, Isaac looks horrified and will carefully lick my finger tip as though to apologize. I do always try to feed by opening the cage though, since feeding through the bars encourages nipping first and asking later (I had to explain this to my mom after she was convinced Styles had bitten her).

*Curiosity*- Much like babies and sharks, rats like to test what's edible by, well, tasting it! Mouths are sensitive and tend to be great tools for discovering new things. So when a rat is presented with a finger they may nip it to figure out what it is. Once they realize it's not food they usually let go, but I've had Styles tug on my fingers before. I am quick to reprimand him in this case, and he's since stopped with it. It seems young rats are especially prone to this.

*Playing*- rats are like dogs in a lot of ways, especially in how they play. They play rough and like to tussle and nip, so when you start playing with them you'll likely receive some nips, since we're a little more sensitive to teeth than rats are, and they don't realize that we think of it as anything other than biting. Don't let the little monsters get away with it, though, get after them as an annoyed parent rat would. I have to reprimand the boys, otherwise they get more rough and I don't appreciate teeth marks on my hands (I get enough of those from my sister's grouchy rabbit).


_Real Biting _- a rat is actually capable of chewing through concrete should the need arise, so it makes sense that when a rat intends to hurt you it _does hurt_, a lot, and it usually draws blood. Only twice have I ever really been bitten and it was not by my rats. Once was an act of aggression on the behalf of a cage-aggressive male, and the other time was a frightened baby that didn't know what to do with the giant hand coming at it.

*Aggression*- This isn't something you should run into often. This is a rat actually going after you and being on the offensive. It hurts like crazy and draws a lot of blood. The rat may hiss at you or otherwise act aggressive before hand, or may just launch at you like the male I dealt with did. He was a grumpy guy, just about 8 months old and very aggressive towards humans. As soon as I was in range he launched, teeth bared, and just barely nicked my hand. I didn't see it coming, and hadn't even been paying attention to or messing with the rats, they just happened to be close enough to me. Even though it was just a nick, blood was drawn and my hand hurt for days afterwards, and was even bruised around the area. This needs to be dealt with immediately- cleaned and bandaged. Unfortunately I don't know how to deal with aggressive rats, since he wasn't mine, so hopefully someone will spread more light on dealing with this. 

*Fear*- Fear biting should always be preventable, in my mind, and is a little more common than aggression. This is to be expected if you're dealing with mishandled or very young rats that don't know you or don't trust humans. This is not an offense and is not the rat's fault. This can be expected if you're ever cornering or trying to pick up a rat. With me, this happened when I was meeting my boys. One of the babies was very shy and didn't know me, but it was the one I'd been looking at (but didn't end up bringing home). I reached for him, and he ran back to the corner, where I followed him. Not knowing otherwise I tried to pick him up around the middle, and he freaked out and chomped down on my finger. I do know how to handle frightened animals, though, so instead of freaking and dropping him, I gently set him down and kept petting him until he relaxed. Please correct me if I'm wrong here...I do not think a rat should be reprimanded when it is frightened and bites. You should certainly do something to get the rat teeth out of your flesh, but don't do something to further frighten the babe. Instead I would just speak in a soothing voice and move slowly. If it calms down a bit very slowly and gently try to pet it to reassure it that everything's alright. No matter what do not leave it alone, quavering in a corner. Talk to it, stay with it, show it that you're a friend. 

So this is basically just to try to explain to other beginners what's going on in their rats mind. I've mostly experienced the not-real-biting biting, since my boys and I are pretty close at this point, but I hope I got it all right!


Please do add in anything that needs to be said, or correct me where I am wrong  Hopefully this can help someone out a bit!


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I would add always examine the context around any bite. Are you sticking your hands through the bars? Are you perhaps covered in berry juice from a treat mishap? Did the rat run at you or away from you? Were you bonding nicely, gave a skritch and were then "bit"?

Grooming can occasionally hurt as rats learn how human skin and hair works. A simple "ow!" Can suffice and the rat will likely try again softer. The food bit can be prevented by clean hands, not feeding through bars, not over feeding (door opening should mean fun, not necessarily food. It is good practice to just open the cage to fuss with this or that) and by offering any treat in the flat of your palm directly before the rat(offers minimal confusing bits to bite and is usually so close a treat-mongrel can't get overexcited and careless). 

A special case remains; the blind rat. They cannot see what is what and humans have this problem with changing their smells constantly with scented this and odor busting that. Strange things like toes are usually victim, and a blind rat shouldn't be punished. If your rat does a head sway, is unpredictable in kindness and biting, she might be blind and please be considerate. Use sound and vibration to communicate as well as smell and touch (secondary level of communication never primary). 

Anyway. 
A good rule of thumb is: if you're not bleeding, you weren't bit. Nipped at maybe. 

Scared rats usually retreat and set up a defensible position. They may provide warning, but may not. Listen for a low hiss or chattering, which is similar to the brux. A scared rat follows a simple action-reaction model, such as you providing chase and he biting. They are thankfully predictable and can be fixed with love and understanding. The best punishment hear is to not relent ground; you were bit to tell you not to pick the rat up. By all means, start manhandling the creature. OFTen, the aggressive rat began as a scared rat that learned that it's teeth got it it's way. Why wait for an action to react to, just bite the human and be left alone. 

The aggressive rat is much worse by far. First off, it has scary body language down. This rat usually exudes alpha pheromones. Check for the rat puffin up. Hissing, wagging it's tail, and lunging at you. The action is usually unpredictable as the goal is just to hurt you into submission. You'll be standing still an the rat will walk by and grab a hold of your finger and not let go until you have screamed mercy. This rat not only shoul be punished to recognize that action was wrong, but needs a world constructed around the fact that this half-pound furball is not the boss of you or anything else. It is your family, a kid throwing a tantrum.


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## Pilot. (Feb 11, 2014)

This is great information. I just got my babies today and they put their mouths on me. I knew I shouldnt have but they took me by surprise and I jerked back a little bit, but they tried again and It was fine then; I was expecting it. It feels really cool when they groom with teeth, actually! Not so much when they pry open your mouth to get to your teeth mind you!


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## Perocore (Jan 6, 2014)

Thank you for the info, Nanashi7! I forgot the blind rats, haven't actually dealt with one yet. I assume that refers to PEW for the most part as well? 

Pilot, glad it could help! Haha, yeah, my boy Styles is always trying to groom my mouth (and remove my braces). Not very sanitary, but still a friendly action so is positive XD


Another note to add is tugging- not biting, but when they'll grab a hold of your clothing/skin/hair. I've had this happen twice- Styles will tug on my clothing for attention or if he wants me to take him somewhere specific (smart little guy), and I had an aggressive rat tug on my clothing to pull me close enough to bite (which was terrifying). I'll never know what that rat had against me, but he did improve once he got older.


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## JaneTheRat (Nov 11, 2021)

Thank you for this thread, I'm sure it's useful to other first-time rat owners! Here is my experience of these things.
*Grooming*: When I first had my rats groom me, I was just freaked out. Why were they licking me? Did they think I was food? I googled it, and then I just felt stupid. In retrospect, it _was_ stupid. Now, looking back, I giggle at my thoughts of the rats thinking I was a lollipop or something. Anyway, 'biting' grooming happened to me too. My rats tried to bite at my fingernails! I taught them out of it quickly though.
*Mistaken for food*: Happened! When I was housing babies, three ran out for food when I gave from my hand. One grabbed a piece and ran away with it, second did the same. And the third took my finger, and started to run back with it! I gave a small twitch of my finger, and the rat finally realised, and took actual food. 
*Curiosity:* Yep! One of my rats, Misty, has ruby eyes. She's pretty skittish, so I gave her my hand to sniff. And she put her teeth around it a few times. I explained this to my family _over _and _over_ again, but the nickname "Bitey" has already stuck to her. My parents are saying I should have called her "Fang" or something, to which I just roll my eyes.
*Playing:* Only once, since my rats don't like me to wrestle with them that much. But Omen did nip me a few times when I tried to play with her like that. I thought she was asking me to stop though, so I did. Now when I try to wrestle with her, she just looks uncomfortable...

Out of real biting, I only had fear biting, and that happened in the first few months I had my rats. My fault entirely, I admit.
Anyway, that's it. Please may I note that I am a first-time rat owner, which is why I made mistakes I have.


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