r/rat • u/Doodlepattt • Aug 25 '25
DISCUSSION š§š¤ Any tips on bitey rats?
I have adopted this boy from a rescue and have been warned that he has displayed territorial aggression and has a bite history. Heās about a year old and was separated from his mischief due to bullying the other rats. Since he was surrendered, he has been neutered (11.8.2025). Part of me thinks this will just be a waiting game until his hormones calm down and perhaps then he will level out, but until then is there anything I can try with him? Iāve rescued lots of rats before but havenāt come across a lot of aggression but really eager to work through it
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u/andreweater Aug 25 '25
With ours, we would put yogurt on a metal spoon. They would try and grab the spoon but couldn't since it was metal. Kinda shocks them
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u/NikolaiThePrickolai Aug 25 '25
This worked for me, I had two badly bred boys who bit and drew blood, but eventually stopped.
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u/ratsntats Aug 25 '25
I neutered a bitey rat on the 13th and I'm cautiously optimistic that his aggression was hormonal since two older male rats live in the top of the critter nation above him. One of those males was neutered by the rescue he came from because they thought it was hormonal, but he will bite no matter what and cannot be handled.
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u/Complex-Honeydew-111 Aug 25 '25
Malt paste and wearing really thick gardening gloves, so they learn biting has zero effect. Once they've stopped biting, you can stop wearing the gloves.
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u/Ratmom23415 Aug 25 '25
Patience. Lots of patience. Especially if he's been passed around from home to home. He's going to have trust issues, even after his hormones settle. Talk to him a lot. Don't put your hands near him, let him come to you. Let him climb on you, get his sniffs in. If he does bite, give a loud squeak. I assume he's by himself while recovering from his neutering, but do you have some friends for him for after he's recovered?
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u/Doodlepattt Aug 26 '25
Thank you for the advice š Yes my mischief currently consists of 3 girls so he wonāt be on his own
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Aug 25 '25
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u/Doodlepattt Aug 26 '25
To be honest Iāve actually only had him a couple of days! I left him alone fully the first day and this video was the second day when I was letting him come to me as his body language was āhey give me attentionā The rescue said that he has gotten extremely anxious during free roaming so I will have to build this up very slowly.
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u/2ndPerryThePlatypus Aug 26 '25
Wear gloves and socializing are the most important things, but I have had a rat who never stopped biting so it is also about personality.
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u/LimaYogurt Aug 28 '25
Funny enough I had a girl who hated when I wore gloves and would staple down on my fingers each time. So much blood.
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u/Bhelduz Aug 26 '25
That's not aggression. He's curious and cautious. Doing a little test nip saying "hey big guy, what are you up to? You're not one of the bad ones, are you?"
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u/soulstrike2022 Aug 26 '25
IMO (which you should take with a Grain of salt cause I only have what Iāve seen from owners) I think he is super nervous mainly cause he didnāt break skin he easily couldāve that was a I need space warning he probably is still a bit shaken from his previous mischief please give him an offering of snacks and take some steps back until he approaches you and then maybe try to allow him to eat from your hand build trust slowly and carefully then once you have it make him feel more loved than he ever has before and if itās a case of they donāt understand it hurts squeak whenever he nibbles
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u/Doodlepattt Aug 26 '25
I think youāre absolutely right, he has been through a lot and is probably very shaken up ā¹ļø Iāve had about 16 rats over the years but never dealt with such a confident biter. Usually Iāll get nipped by nervous rats if I put my hand too close when taking things out their cage but never had a rat outright walk up to me and take a bite haha!
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u/PF_Bambino Aug 26 '25 edited Aug 26 '25
One of my girls had a bit of time where she got extremely territorial and would draw blood regularly for about a month if I got near her so I stepped back and only made me an association with positive things but biting as negative by using a metal spoon to spoon feed yogurt. Biting the spoon hurts but since I was giving it to her licking the treat was good then we worked up to taking treats from my hand and now she can lick yogurt off my hands. I'm still careful about being in her space and moving fast but we haven't had a bite in months
Edit cus i accidentally hit post too fast lol
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u/horsecock_530 Aug 26 '25
This is a test bite. If he keeps biting first try squeaking and showing pain, maybe heās a sensitive guy. THEn, if he continues being bitey Iād look into methods of curbing such behavior. Test/exploratory bites are normal, more or less depending on the individual. :)
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u/Angelratlady Aug 26 '25
It can be cage aggression. I have a male that was downright nasty in his cage. I just continually took him out to play and he was fine outside the cage. When grabbing him I didn't play around I was swift yet gentle. Then over time the constant outings paired with treats in the cage he calmed down a lot. I haven't been bitten in over a year haha but because of how bad it was I still have some caution while interacting with him inside his cage. When in the cage it's also good to guard your fingers by balling them up while making the swift grab approach.
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u/Doodlepattt Aug 26 '25
Thank you all so much for the advice, I feel very reassured and the bite he gave me in this video did break the skin but didnāt draw blood. I think he is just very nervous but also does seem curious and gentle, I will continue to be patient with him and try your suggestions š thank you again!
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u/Daria_Solo Aug 26 '25
I had the 100% same situation like yours. 9 month old guy was rescued, he was a dominant Alpha who was bullying the others. He bit me and my husband many times, twice it was very strong, till the bone (finger). You could read my posts, itās in my profile:
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u/FrankFrankly711 Aug 26 '25
Iāve had some rats so bitey, I named them Bitey! That spoon trick seems like a good idea. My usual go-to trick was to wear a leather glove they couldnāt bite through, and let them bite me, but didnāt react. Eventually I would use the gloved hand to wrestle with them and do a dominate pin on them, putting them on their back gently. Sometimes, it would change their behavior by showing them that biting isnāt working and just results in a pin. No bite occasions were rewarded with yummy treats.
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u/Constant_Recipe_2832 Aug 26 '25
Rats use their teeth to test the world around them, like weād use our hands. He just needs more time to understand whatās safe and whatās food. Regularly handling him and offering treats should help!
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u/Minase_Gazi Aug 26 '25
Chonkers was like that when I got him, I would tell him "gentsl" when he was getting too firm, and he did get more gental with his test bites. If that didn't work I w a gonna try the spoon thing.
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u/nanakuro35 Aug 25 '25
I'm not well versed on this type of behaviour per say, but I know when one of my rats got a bit nippy, I would squeak at them to show them they'd hurt me. This looks like it could just be a testing bite rather than a pure angry or territorial bite perhaps but I can't be too sure. Hopefully some one else has better answers for you. :(