# 90% sure I'm getting rid of Marley



## relken0608 (Jul 11, 2013)

This is just crazy, guys. I can't keep subjecting myself to their tantrums or whatever they are. I've always got cuts and half of them are bleeding and trying to scab over and just as they heal i get a new batch. I could handle that if it was just because they were climbing on me but these are intentional injuries they're giving me and i mentally can't put up with it anymore. It's causing me a lot of stress and emotional turmoil. I simply don't have the stuff to stand up to them when they hurt me, i just want to get away from them and their bloodied faces not try and punish them and get bit again.

I wish i had this episode on video. I had let them out last night, about 20 minutes each for free run. Then this morning, i did a ten minute training session. I had clark out first. I was going over the "hand" trick, and he was starting to catch on. after ten minutes i gave him some lovings and put him back. took marley out. he doesn't like the same treats so i went and got a peice of Provolne, ripped tiny peices and was using that. he's really really hesitant about coming onto my hands so rather than teach him Hand, i decided to try and teach him Spin. So i'd get his attention, show him i had some cheese, say Spin, and run it around him while he followed for 1 rotation, then let him have it. i did this three times, and let him run off and have fun. the next time he came back to check on me, i gave him one then had him spin again a few times. his 10 minutes were nearly up when he went to my arm, standing over it. I braced myself, and he bit. he huffed at me, scratching with front paws and backpedalling with the rear paws. I booped his head three times, but he didn't let go and it was starting to be too much pain so i grabbed him up under the arms. of course he bit harder. oops. but i couldn't have just left him there. 

So i booped his nose and set him down about two feet away from me. He skipped right back to me and tried to sniff my arm as i investigated the glorious artwork he'd put on it. 







(Found a nice 'closeup' setting on my camera. there's about twice that amount of scratches, but here you can see the puffy skin where he bit and drew blood)
So i didn't let him smell at that arm but had left my left arm on my lap. he saw it, skipped over there, and dug in. I lifted right away, since i was halfway distracted, and little damage was done. i held my arms in the air as he sniffed around, taking some deep breaths. he walked off uninterested, so i put them down again and tried to remind myself that these are my kids and i can't let my kids behave this way. While i was prep-talking, he came back and latched onto my left wrist. Latched. Seriously. I couldn't get him off. Ended up pulling him away with a shriek, shoving him away from me once he was on the ground.







His teeth were far enough in my skin that when i pulled him off, i pulled my skin away from itself too. You can *kind* of see that from this angle. My arm was shaking so it was hard to take a decent picture. 

I held my arms up, taking deep breaths. He ran off and i tried to calm myself down. Marley had always been my favorite. He's so affectionate when he's in his cage, if i put my hands in he'll lick me like crazy and move my fingers around to where he feels needs grooming. But even when clark was his worst, he wasn't this serious about it. I mean he didn't inflict *this* kind of damage. Boy, those were the good days. Now every other time i let them out of their cage i wind up wiping blood off my arm if not wrapping it with gauze and neosporin.

I'm obviously doing something wrong. I obviously don't have what it takes to mentally push myself into showing them i'm the boss. My arms are so scratched up i'm sure it looks like i'm doing self mutilation to those who don't know me. A regular customer at work asked if my boyfriend was hurting me. 

I can't take this, guys. I have to get rid of at least one. I figure that if i give marley away--and i would only give him to someone on here who understands that he's a biter, or a friend who works at a petstore--i'll have more time with clark instead of trying to find ten minutes there and ten minutes here, then ten here and there for marley too. Clark is a quicker learning as far as taking treats and learning his name so i think if i stick to a solid trainging regimen, he'll get a lot of bonding time with me. Hopefully that'll curb his aggression. 

I don't have 200$ to drop on a neuter. I don't know if that's the cost or not, my phone is broken and i'm waiting for a new one to come in the mail so i can't contact my vet. Might stop in today and ask what they think, just because. But anyway i don't have the money to drop on a neuter that may or may not fix his problems and may or may not leave me with getting rid of him anyway. 

I live halfway between Milwaukee, WI and Chicago, Il. I'm willing to travel to either place if i have to but much farther would be difficult. Negotiations could be made. I'd give the cage and some of his hidey's with it. Does that sound like a reasonable offer? I'll put up an official post on the adoption page in a little while. 

Pictures of my terrible little mischief 







Clark ^








and Marley ^


I'll be sad to see him go...but i can't take it, and leaving him in the cage is a sad way of 'dealing' with the problem. I don't want it to come to that.


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## relken0608 (Jul 11, 2013)

ah, correction: it was clark who bit Marcus' hand, which was the worst bite i've seen. the kind where the amount of blood made me stop talking for a few seconds while i stared in stupified surprise. So now i've no idea who's going. Great.


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## luvmy4rats (Nov 29, 2013)

I never knew rats bit their owners until joining rat forums because rats are known to be gentle and non-biters. One of my rats, Fiona who is a standard eared tiny rat is aggressive toward other rats. She puffs up and bites and will attack with intent to injure which she is a master at. But with me she is kind and gentle.

Scratches are normal with our rats climbing on us (and slipping on us) and I get them daily and am used to it, but if they inflicted wounds on me out of aggression I am not sure I'd have the patience to 'try' to calm them down. I'd be emotionally hurt if my rats turned on me when I know I am doing my best to give them a good life. If I had injuries like you, I would probably try to rehome my aggressor with someone who has experience with _all_ types of rat behaviour. 

Some may say to pts, but I personally don't think I could do that. Both your rats are dumbos - aren't they supposed to be more laid back? I hope you're taking care of your wounds properly so infection doesn't set in and am sorry to hear you are going through such a tough time with one of your companions. (((Hugs)))


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

Don't beat yourself up so much about it. While it is unfortunate, it is perfectly okay to acknowledge that you and your pet are not a good match for each other. It happens, and you can't guarantee that every animal you own will "work" with you. If he is inflicting injuries on you and stressing you out, and you do not feel like you can train him out of it, he would be much more appropriate in a home that can. There is no need for you to feel obligated to keep an animal who you cannot tame and you do not enjoy being around. Rehome him to someone who is willing to have a biter! He might do better with just rats, not so much human interaction, in a bigger mischief. Good luck, so sorry to hear about this!!


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## artgecko (Nov 26, 2013)

Honestly, I'd pts. I wouldn't tolerate a cat or dog biting me, so why should I tolerate a rat? I do the best I can for my pets, but they are just that, pets... They are here for me to enjoy their company and watch their interactions. If you are at the point where you are actually afraid of interacting with him and have tried training, etc. (which it sounds like you have), it's obvious that he has a temperament flaw and /or bad temperament and probably just isn't suitable as a pet. Rats do have their own personalities and just as a "shy" dog can be worked with but is still more likely to bite, so with your rat it seems, that's just his natural inclination. I give you props for working with him this long...I'm sure I wouldn't have been that patient. 

Good luck finding someone who is willing to take a biter, but I'd avoid any home with kids that may not be as careful around him.


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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I wish I were closer to help 


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## Eyerish91 (Dec 14, 2013)

I live in Florida, so I'm not sure if you're close to me or not. Probably not. But I wish I was there to help too. I've dealt with aggressive animals before. It can take a lot of time to get an animal to even be somewhat tame. If you don't have that time and are worried about yourself and your other rat, I would try to find someone that has experience with aggressive rats.


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

Don't pts unless you absolutely cannot find a good home for him. Pts is a last resort for any problem animal. He doesn't sound like an unreasonably aggressive rat, just a problem rat. If he was completely untamable, wildly aggressive, old, and unable to be helped even with extreme behavior analysis and training, then he could be pts to relieve him of the stress of confinement & human care. Marley does not sound like he is unable to be a pet, he is just not the pet for you.


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## Mitsy (Apr 8, 2013)

Did you try immersion?, is he neutered?, has he always been like this?, what did he come from before coming to you?. 

I would not pts no matter what, he is a problem rat not a sick and suffering rat. I don't think that would be right at all to do sense he has an aggressive problem, that would be like if you had an anger problem and someone decided they wanted to pts you because of it. 

Sorry if that comes off mean I don't mean it to be, but that's how I think about putting an animal down that's not suffering. They have feelings just like a person.

I would try everything possible before giving up. Maybe find an adoption place that will take him in? I would try training techniques first. Maybe PM ratdaddy for help on this? 


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

Totally understand ...Without getting into too much detail, It really sounds like your rats are hormonal boys rather than just sheer aggression. It sounds like you've had enough ; It may be better to let them go to someone who can neuter them and handle their behavior. 


See if there's a great shelter In your area, or someone looking for a boy who can neuter him... Instead of giving a cage, see if it would be better to just sell the cage and contribute to the neuter, if you can find a decent shelter or someone reliable to take him Just a thought ... also ...watch out for people on Craigslist... They may be looking for a free rat to feed to their snake or to treat horribly. It's happened to others. 


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## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

What is pts?


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## RattyDaddy (Dec 8, 2013)

Put to sleep


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## ratsaremylife (Nov 5, 2013)

Oh.. Thanks.


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## relken0608 (Jul 11, 2013)

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. Now that i've calmed down i'm much more on the fence than i was this morning. 

I wouldn't put them up on craigslist. Seems like a just plain bad idea...

So can i get a general consensus, especially from those who've been following my story more, whether most pet rats are like this? Or did i just get the unsocialized pet-store stock that coincidentally turned out this way in addition to my poor, first-time experience in handling them? If i were to get one from a breeder, would it be more docile?

Or are hormones, hormones, no matter where the rat comes from?


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## Finnebon (Jul 15, 2013)

If you haven't already, you should read this thread by someone who has a similar problem where Rat Daddy gave input: http://www.ratforum.com/showthread....one-of-my-adult-rats-or-giving-him-away.-Help

He is very knowledgable on rat behaviors and what causes certain behaviors, and how to fix them. It may answer a lot of your questions. I hope it helps! 

Personally, I don't think it matters much where you get a rat. Some rats are naturally more high strung than others and and some are naturally more friendly. A feeder rat could be the best pet in the world and a breeder rat could be skittish and aggressive. The sweetest rat I've ever met and adopted is my Bijou who was pregnant at the time (commone cause of defensive aggression), in a small 10 gal tank, filled with 4 week old babies where many were badly picking on her by biting her and pulling at her from inside their hiding space and then quickly hiding, and the popping out to bite her again. She patiently sat curled in a ball and seemed to be trying to ignore them. She has a nick in her ear and was so stressed that she had barbered all the hair off of her forearms and she still has this little personality quirk where she is always "shaving her legs" and keeping her forearms bare. She loves nothing more than to explore outside the cage and hangout with me. She is the best little rat and came from a not-so-great petstore situation. All her babies are wonderful too, trusting and sweet, have been held and cuddled since they were 1 day old, but a couple are just naturally skittish. They are not afraid, but it's just part of their personality. So I don't think it matters where you get your rats from, jsut be careful about choosing them and keep in mind that personalities can change after they relax a bit in their new home.


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## Gannyaan (Dec 7, 2012)

You did have bad luck with your ratties... Definitely not all rats are like yours. My rats would never think of biting me, and they've come from some crazy circumstances...

One from humane society, one rehomed (my weird girl, but still wouldn't bite lol), one found in an oven with cats trying to eat it, one in a terrible pet store with the cage wreaking so badly of urine and poop and had to be opened with a crow bar)



Anyways, none of these girls would ever bite me. And one is blind, so that's saying something.... I hope you DO find some fur babies that are as sweet as rats can be  




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## nanashi7 (Jun 5, 2013)

I've dealt with a biting rat. It is a lot to deal with, and no words can explain it to someone who hasn't dealt with it. 

Could you perhaps sell stuff to raise money for a neuter? I would check with humane societies and low cost spay/neuter clinics as some may do rats for cheap.


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## JBird (May 23, 2013)

Don't be afraid of advertising him in your local classifieds. Craigslist is a great place to rehome your pets because YOU are in charge of who gets him, versus surrendering him to a shelter/rescue/pet store. Rats are a unique pet, and people who are in search of a socialized rat are typically on local classified sites, since a good pet rat is difficult to find otherwise, other than feeder bins. 
I'd put an ad up there, scrutinize potential owners and be very clear that he will go to a proper home only. There are many great rat owners looking for a new baby who go on the classifieds! (myself included!) I've gotten all of my rats, short of my newest one, from ads on Craigslist, and all are fantastic little rats (except Wolfe... who, ironically, is needing to be rehomed as well. He is simply depressed and unhappy in my home. He doesn't like his cagemates and has not bonded to me or them despite several months of trying. I feel your pain about considering rehoming. This was not an easy decision for me, but I decided it would be what is best for him).


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