# 3 types of rat bite



## AceYourFace (Jan 4, 2008)

I have only experienced bite type 1. Whoops I thought you were food lol

This is a good bit of info I accidently ran across. Take a look see:

http://www.ratballs.com/RatTails/Tails059.html


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## Tryxx (Jan 30, 2008)

I've had my two babies for just a couple days now, but the closest to a bite I've gotten was a little scraping of the teeth when I forgot to wipe the cheeto dust off my finger before sticking it through the cage bars. Could've come out as a bit more than a scraping, but hey, they're too sweet to bite me! ( Feel free to quote the preceding statement when I come on here going 'My ratties bit me ;-; <33 )

Anyone have experiences with actually getting bitten that they want to share? Don't want to drum up any repressed memories here ^.^

-Tryxx

PS - Rats tongues are really soft!

PPS - Ratties really like cheeto dust!


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

I've had some very nasty bites in the past - usually as a result of using my hands to break up rat fights. Ray - my latest bundle of pent up aggression - is very good at the number 3s. Although - it's usually my fault for winding him up or if I'm holding one of his brothers and he's feeling a bit jealous. He's gotten into the habit of running up to me - attacking my arm - then running off. Looking cute all the while, but you tell that to the big ole holes he leaves in me! Lol

He's the only real 'problem' rat I've ever had. The other boys have been known to bite, but that's only if they've been seriously wound up by another rat first.


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## dragonegg (Oct 2, 2007)

I've only had #1 and another one not on the list. It's the mothers' "don't touch my babies" nip. My Waffle tried to defend one of her eepers and nipped me. It hurt, but didn't leave a mark, so I know it was just a warning. She's a great little Mom and you have to respect that!


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## kaylaface (Sep 6, 2007)

I've only had two of my ratties bite me, one is the food thing and the other I'm not quite sure.He just walked up to me and bit my finger. It didn't smell like food or anything. lol I dunno what that was about.


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## Jingles (Feb 2, 2008)

i have had only one number 3.....i still want to cry thinking of it.......she bit me on the bone and cut me up bad.....it was my fault...but it was bruise for a week....


and then i think we all have had a number 1


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Two things to add to this conversation. The reason a rats bottom incisors can separate is that the bottom mandible is not joined like a human skull, but actually has cartilege that allows for the flexibility.

The other thing is the "aggressive" bite is often either slashing, or the *crunch* *crunch* where you feel them bite down a couple of times.

I have experienced all those bites  I don't like getting bitten but I would rather my hand get injured than a much smaller rat who could be hurt sooo much more. I call it "taking the bite" if necessary.

Most rats do not bite like this. I take in some troubled rats at times and expect this from them.


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## Vixie (Jul 21, 2006)

I took in a rat from a girl I used to know, and he had some serious problems. Cage aggression, didn't like children, that whole thing.

I managed to escape a type 3 bite from him but I do have a scar from him scratching me.

Jake gets startled very easily when there is too much noise or too many people around him but he never bites me, he just grabs my hand tight and sniffs or noses my hand out of the way. Cutest thing, it is.


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## Meliss (Sep 1, 2007)

I have a rat who bits because she is jealous that I picked up one of her brother or sister-- she must think that I can only pick up her. She also bites when you restrict her from doing something.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

*looks at her hands - fresh bites and scars* Bites are an unfortunate side effect of rescuing. I don't even react now.  Just wait until they release.

(I love ratballs.com! In fact, we adopted to her recently!!)

I want to echo lilspaz: "Most rats do not bite like this. I take in some troubled rats at times and expect this from them." Rats are not biters by nature.


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## zimmyzam (Sep 9, 2007)

Haha, Mimzy's only bit once. And I wasn't the victim, even though it was my fault, so I'm not sure what type it was. I wanted to take a closeup of her, but I had no idea someone had turned the flash on... I felt horrible : ( So she freaked out peed like there was no tomorrow, and when my friend tried to pick her up, she bit him. By the sound of my friend, it was a type tres.


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## calvo88 (Feb 3, 2008)

ive only had the number one in my 6 years off owning rat! hope it stays that way too! hehe


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Had all three... all from the same rat... 


I do love Perry. Most of the time. :lol:


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

sigh....my Penny decided to bite me today but I hardly think it was 1, 2, or 3. She tends to nip when I clean her cage but she broke the skin today. Of course it didn't feel like more than a paper cut but still what a moody little rat lol. I think she was really sorry after though!


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## Gary26Uk (Oct 2, 2007)

Ive only ever had the "are you food bite" , I also get another type of bite im surprised hasnt been mentioned , my littlest one nibbles my hand/fingers gently when im cleaning out the cage or getting her out.Im not sure what this is , maybe some kind of cleaning/social thing.


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## Forensic (Apr 12, 2007)

Gary26Uk said:


> Ive only ever had the "are you food bite" , I also get another type of bite im surprised hasnt been mentioned , my littlest one nibbles my hand/fingers gently when im cleaning out the cage or getting her out.Im not sure what this is , maybe some kind of cleaning/social thing.


That's grooming, that's not really a bite.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

Kimmiekins said:


> *looks at her hands - fresh bites and scars* Bites are an unfortunate side effect of rescuing. I don't even react now.  Just wait until they release.


Haha, yes, the joys of fostering pregnant/nursing moms too! My current foster has only scraped my knuckles a few times though, she hasn't had the chance to latch on (yet). 

In the past 2 weeks I've been nibbled by babies, CHOMPED by my Remy, and grazed (and had blood drawn) twice from Momma rat. In that same time Remy has also claimed two other victims. It's a good thing he's cute .

Ahhh, the joys of rat ownership, huh?


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## mopydream44 (Jun 10, 2007)

Remy looks like he means business in your signature. Almost like he's saying, "Yeah, I'm good looking but I gotta do what I gotta do ladies!"


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

Why did I read this thread *whines*


I was helping a friend with her first abscess last night, a nasty one on her boys cheek who hates to be restrained. almost got me a few times. I go home and break up a fight between the subbie of the cage and the alpha...Asha the subbie normally lays her teeth on me in her agitation (I have done this many times) this time she sunk her teeth into my hand and wouldn't let go...:roll:

Weirdest thing is it barely bled, so I assume it was bleeding deep into the tissue since it swelled up like this. These pics just show where she got me and how much meat she bit thru LOL

top








bottom









This was right afterwards, you should see the swelling this morning. Ice, ibuprofen and sleeping in between 2 pillows so that my hand could be elevated..heehee
She was very sorry afterwards :roll:


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

oh Shelagh, that's the way it always seems to happen, isn't it? I hope your hand is feeling better soon!


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## ration1802 (Sep 25, 2007)

My Ben has gotten into the bad habit of giving 'don't you DARE take that' test bites. He's a terrible horder - anything semi-yummy he finds on his free-range time travels he will run back with into his cage. It just so happens that when he finds a 'naughty' such as wax crayon (I haven't owned them in years!) and takes it into his cage - of course I remove it. But when I put my hand in his cage, I get 'the look'. I pick it up, I get 'the huff' and then I go to remove it and he jumps on my hand, huffing and puffing and nipping the back of my hand. Not hard at all - but what a grumpy bugger he's turning into! He's worse than a 2 year old!

Just thought I'd share as a chocolate wrapper horde just reminded me :lol:


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

i think there are actually 5 types of bites given my experience with rats and what i've read here (been subjected to all 5 too). 

there's of course the first 3 that have been mentioned by rattails:

1) oops, not food. 

2) ah! don't scare me! 

3) you're in for it now! 

but then there should also be: 
4) "look, back off before i have to get serious/don't do that" warning bite- which i think we can most often get from rat moms who don't want us touching their babies. but i have also experienced it from rats that i was cleaning the cage when they didn't want me to, or like ration, was taking something naughty away. it doesn't really hurt too bad normally and certainly the ones that are a bit more serious have no split bottom teeth but you get the point that they are not happy with whatever it is you are doing and i think can easily lead to a #3 if not listened to. when i am in the right though (when cleaning a cage or taking away something they shouldn't have) i have learned that if i push my finger further into their mouth not only do they let go sooner and so get less of a bite but then they will go away and sulk and leave me alone to finish whatever i'm doing. they are also less likely to bite the next time i go to clean the cage or take away something they shouldn't have (though they will sulk). 

5) "i LOVE you!" nibbles (i guess these aren't real bites but there is teeth involved and can lead to a bite). these can be disconcerting the first time and sometimes pinch with a rat that is adamant about showing their love but are the best types and never hurt. this would include grooming with teeth and pulling fingers in the cage so they get the attention, sort of like "hey! i'm over here! here!!" however, you know the meaning isn't them testing for food, its all about affection and getting your attention. i've also had rats that would hold my hand with their mouths while i was patting them. they just liked it holding it. it never hurt and they were happy to have my finger dangling from their mouths. the last two signs of affection (holding hands and wanting your attention) you have to be careful not to jerk back from though as that nearly always results in bite type #2. 

but yeah, i've been bitten so much that i don't react anymore either. and its transferred over to other animals now too. i was bitten by my mom's barn cat a couple years ago now and it took a few minutes to realize i should pull my hand back. i quite literally just stood there going "OW!!!!" before the thought struck me "not a rat, maybe i should take my hand back now..." i think the cat was surprised too as when she did let go she gave me the oddest look like "man you're dumb, why did you let me bite you for so long!?"


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## Emster (Dec 9, 2007)

Thankfully I've never had 2 & 3 bites - I'm always scared that a new pet will bite me.
I sometimes get bite 2 from Roxy, she's abit of a snatcher and can't wait to get her treat. I've also had the 'New Rat' nibble, where they're just testing you and have abit of a nibble on your knuckles - Which I think is kinda cute


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## AZratkeeper (Jan 27, 2008)

i have exprenced all 5 and more i had a mother rat take a good mouth full of my finger off and i have also exprenced when a mother rat holds on and doesn't let go and boy does it hurt


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

yeah, that would be a number 3-"you are bad mojo and need to die" AKA "you're in for it now buster". some mothers can be like that but all they are really doing is protecting their babies. my mom once had a dog that was like that. i think she would have preferred the rat...


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## lilspaz68 (Feb 24, 2007)

reachthestars said:


> oh Shelagh, that's the way it always seems to happen, isn't it? I hope your hand is feeling better soon!


thank you! The next day it swelled up, most of my hand too. 

Left hand unbitten









Right hand









but instead of going all sorts of pretty colours the swelling went down...sigh. I was hoping for an extravagent rainbow of bruising. Oh well. :roll:


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## Sami (Dec 11, 2007)

I've been bitten by frightened rats at work before, but never anything too bloody. My girls have only ever given me the "oops, thought you were food" bite though... unless you consider love nibbles, which Dust gives me all the time. ^^

Gohma _almost_ drew blood with a food bite though. It started out as all those food bites do.. She sniffed, nibbled a little, sniffed again... but for some reason she insisted I had food, so she grabbed my bare finger with her paws and bit harder. I pulled away and Gohma was like "Nooo! I want food!" so she pulled back, and tried to drag my finger into the plush tent to eat. XD

Her teeth were starting to break the skin, so I yelled at her and the poor girl has been a little wary of taking real treats from me ever since.


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## reachthestars (Feb 27, 2007)

lilspaz68 said:


> but instead of going all sorts of pretty colours the swelling went down...sigh. I was hoping for an extravagent rainbow of bruising. Oh well. :roll:


Hahaha, that seems to happen alot too. Whenever Remy manages to get me, I always hope it gets super swollen and dramatic, so I have an airtight way to get out of doing things. Funny, but people just don't expect you to do much when your hand is black and blue :lol:. So far I've been lucky enough to just have minor swelling.


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## Almi (Feb 11, 2008)

Hmmm, interesting. I never knew that rats could get so grumpy! I've only ever had five rats in my life (all girls) plus a litter of eleven babies, and I've never been more than nipped a little (not even enough to hurt), and of course I've been mistaken for food.

I have a question/problem though -

My rat Amber. We've had her since she was a baby (she was the one we kept out of the litter of 11), so we know she hasn't been abused or anything. She doesn't get picked on by the other rats, in fact, she's the fattest and seemingly most dominant of them all. She isn't as fond of us as Felicity and Fiona are, but I think she's starting to come around. She has started paying more attention to my calls when I open the cage.

Anyway, the problem. She always bites my girlfriend Heather, pretty much every time she gets a chance. If Heather tries to pick up another rat and Amber is there, she'll bite her. If Heather tries to touch Amber, she'll bite her. Sometimes, if Heather just sticks her hand close to Amber, she'll run up, bite her, and then run away. Other times she bites Heather, she'll just sit there like nothing happened. It's not a really vicious bite, but Heather says, "OW!" every time it happens, and there have been teeth marks on several occassions. She sometimes will nip strangers as well. She NEVER bites me, no matter what. I can do anything I want, and she will not bite me.

Any ideas?


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## SJean (May 10, 2017)

I've had a couple of painful nips that don't leave marks from one of my rats, because he doesn't realize that my socks have flesh beneath them and he likes to chew on the fabric in his cage. He lets go as soon as I twitch my foot, so I guess that's equivalent to the thought you were food bite. Neither rat has ever bitten me when I hand feed them and let them lick peanut butter or milk off my finger. 

I just experienced the truly aggressive rat bite tonight. My smaller rat (barely) slipped through the bars of his new cage, and the bigger one decided to follow. Of course he got stuck and started screaming (at a pitch that could raise the dead) and flailing everywhere. When I swooped in to try to help him (stupid move), he ripped into my finger with that third bite that makes several nasty tares. After wrapping my finger in a kleenex and donning an oven mitt, I was able to turn the cage sideways and let him use gravity to slip out. Moral of the story: if your rat is in pain put on gloves before helping it, or you may be in pain too.


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

I've never been bitten out of fear or agression yet. 

First bite occured when Pippin was given some strong pain killers and was totally off her face for the next 12 hours. She would just lay completely limp with her eyes practically bulging out of her skull for 5 minutes and then out of nowhere she would completely freak out, scratching, squealing and biting. Pretty sure they overdosed her, the vet even admitted she was her first rat paitent and the clinic rarely gets rats. But it was 12:00am, it was the only open vet and I was desperate. 

I don't consider it a real bite, she didn't know what she was doing or where she was. Poor rat was probably having hallucinations. Last time I went to that clinic. All that for a very minor sprain, some childrens advil would've done the job just fine.


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## rottengirl (Mar 16, 2016)

I really liked that article, a lot. I want to recommend it to be stickied.......people should know that rat bites are methods of communication and not all bites should be treated equally.


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## Ratman87 (Mar 13, 2017)

My rat pulled out my earphones, then pulled the ear bud off and ran off. I had to chase it round the room until I cornered him.(The people one the phone thought it was funny I was shouting "drop" to a rat ) He still wouldn't drop it so I had to take it out his mouth. He nipped me then, but it was just the same strength as a test bite. Like he was thinking "I'm annoyed you stole my toy but not enough to hurt you".


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