# Rodentistry.



## jessyyyissiqqq (Feb 7, 2011)

All of my 6 rats except two are OBSESSED with licking my teeth, every single chance they get. They litterally pry my mouth open! It's very painful with those teeny little nails. It's really funny and cute though. But why exactly do they do this? And are any of your rats this.. into it? Haha. Like, they do it so much it makes me think maybe they think they're like nursing from me. Lol call me crazy but they literally do it every single time they're near my face, and they puposely smother my face when I'm laying with them because they know I can't resist those cute little faces...And the boy that does it will just lay on my pillow right next to me and try to do it forever until he falls asleep from me petting him or gets tackled by his brother to play. I'm just curious as to why they might like it so much.


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## Kinsey (Jun 14, 2009)

I don't know why they do it, and I have one who's addicted to it. The others only lick me and try to clean my teeth if I smell like food. The one who loves it, though, has really cut my lip before with her little claws. It's cute and rather funny.


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

Licking - Taken From:http://firstrats.tripod.com/id30.htm
_Many people think rats lick because of "salt on your finger." That is very seldom the reason rats lick people (though if you do have some food or lotion on your hand, they will lick for the taste). When dogs lick, we call it kissing, but for some reason, people don't usually make this connection in rats... Licking is a social behavior. Rats groom each other to bond with their group. Older rats groom younger ones as a parenting instinct and to show that they are dominant. Younger rats also groom older ones in submission. When rats are wrestling, one that is pinned down will lick the other one in submission and to signal the game is over. Similarly, some rats recognize their owners as the dominant "rat" and will groom you. Maybe it's "love" or acceptance or simply saying they mean you no harm and don't want you to hurt them; but it is certainly more than just "salty hands."_

I would assume this to be the same for them trying to lick your face, ears and mouth. Not only does it taste awesome for them, but there has to be a social aspect of this behavior(love, attention, domination). One of the males I had, Diesel would do this to the point where it was annoying at times. Each time taking him out of the cage, he would scrambled to get onto my shoulder, where he would reach with his hands to pull the side of the mouth open and get in there with his little mouth. Yes, it can be kinda gross if you think about it. But then again, rattie tongues are not the worst thing that can enter your mouth. Even biting your own finger nails can pose as more dirty. I think this behavior is adorable and really shows how social and loving pet rats can be.


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## jessyyyissiqqq (Feb 7, 2011)

Yeah exactly. I think it's super adorable and I always hoped it meant that they just love me a lot haha. And they definitely have cut my lip many of times! And sometimes when I'm laying on my bed reading or something, 2 or 3 of them will just lay on my chest the WHOLE time until I pick them up and put them next to me, and even then they scramble back up my shirt while I'm trying to get the other ones off of me, and it gets super uncomfortable because I can't move because I don't want to disturb them when they look so comfy haha.


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## HuncaMunca (Dec 29, 2010)

I have rats that would try to actually try to get in my mouth to lick my teeth, but I tried to discorage it. I don't mind them licking my face or mouth, just not my teeth. My girls will give me kisses on the mouth, and I personally enjoy that, but I think alot of the time it's because I'm drinking something sugary and they can smell it and want a taste for themselves! But husband thinks it's gross :, oh well what does he know!

I'm wondering though if it's a hormones/pheormones thing as well though. I see rats licking eachothers mouths and I know alot of animals and humans release pheormones through thier saliva. Maybe they're trying to get to know us a little better.


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## smesyna (Nov 22, 2010)

In animals that don't have our dentist care, healthy teeth equals life, bad teeth equals death. I think they may be trying to help us keep our teeth clean. And what AleTron said about the social behavior, grooming 

ETA: With all the bacteria in our mouth, I try to avoid letting them do it.


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## Capistrono (Apr 12, 2010)

One of my boys, TK, used to do that all the time but the habit sort of faded. Seymour seems to have taken the role though, it's pretty cute.


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## Alethea (Jul 14, 2010)

The only downside to all of this, is that some rats partake in eating their own feces, so that notion is rather a turn off to allowing them to be my dentist. As smesyna said about bacteria in our mouths, they might have more in their little mouths then we do lol.


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## mhaymond (Mar 21, 2011)

Haha, I had a rat that did that too. I have two, and one is much more dominant and friendly. She would try to pry our mouths open, and would lick anything she could get. My boyfriend finds it pretty disgusting, but I think everything they do is adorable. But it does hurt, so I would move her paws away from my mouth and gently push her away. 

Eventually she just got the hint. She'll still do it very occasionally, but as long as you let her know you don't like it, I think they'll stop.


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