Help! My rat bit me! He's never acted this way before :( ?

Question

My rat and I have had a great relationship from the time I got him last October when he was just about a month or two old. Today I gave him a bath like I normally do about once a month, since he's a male and tends to smell after a while. He doesn't really mind baths-I use a very mild soap and warmish water. After, I always help him dry off with a dry hand towel.

Today, I was doing just that. Whenever I pet him or dry him off, he always "grooms" me back by l*****g my hands and arms. Today, everything started out normally and he was l*****g me-then he bit me. Now, I'm used to little playful nips, but this one hurt. It didn't break the skin, but it left a little welt. I thought little of it and continued. He went back to l*****g, but kept biting me once in a while. Then, he finally bit my arm so hard that it drew blood and made it run-I was appalled! Then, he went into a frenzy and wouldn't stop the biting. I had to pick him up with the towel and put him back in his cage, because he would have bitten any exposed skin.

He's always been so congenial! What set this off? He's never bitten like that before, even when my fingers have smelled like food or had crumbs or whatever on them. My skin IS a little salty I guess since I've been doing a lot of work today-do you think that's what he wanted? And since he really lost it when he drew the blood, do you think the taste of blood set him off?

What do I do? I'm so afraid to take him out again because I'm afraid he'll bite me. Has anyone else experienced anything like this before?

Help please :(

Thanks.

Answer 1

Its very likely that he is grieving or its a bath gone wrong.

): How old is he? Rats grow through a macho-man stage at age 6-8 months I think? I'm not quite sure but maybe that's it.

): I'm so sorry that he's acting like that, I really really am

Answer 2

That stinks!  My guess is that something about the bath didn't please him, or something you were doing while you were drying him off.  Since he perhaps gave you "warning" nips, maybe he bit you hard to get you away from him.  

I'd try to see if he is still trying to bite you.  I know it can be scary trying to play with an animal after it has bit you, but you need to know if it was a one time thing or not.

If he is still biting, another possibility is that he might be ill.  He might be biting because he feels horrible.  Has he been eating normally?  Acting normally (minus the biting incident)?

He might be going through the male "macho" period.  One way to possibly fix it is to have him neutered.  Check this site out for further information. http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/#Biting%20an...

I'm not too familiar with grief in rats turning into biting, though I suppose that could be a possibility.  I'd first consider the others before that though.

If you are scared/hesitant, you should try luring him to you with his favorite treats until you can hold him again.  Another way is to put on gloves and a sweatshirt to protect your skin to see if he attacks you again.  Keep in mind though that he might get confused because obviously gloves smell like gloves and not like your skin.

Hope that helps!

Answer 3

You might have been squeezing him too hard while you were drying him off. Or got soap in his eyes or something. But those can get them to bite.

Answer 4

My rat (Deek) had done the same to me. I had had him for well over 6 months and everything seemed fine. Every morning he went with me for car rides so I could do errands and one day he curled up around my neck, as always, but this time he bit my neck!! And like you drew blood. To be honest I was afraid to handle him after that. So, I took him to the vet and found out he had gotten a Resp. Infection from a bath gone wrong. I find rats to be very good natured pets if cared for correctly. Not that I cared for mine improperly. But, I would have to say that the loss of his buddy is most likely the reason for him acting the way he did.