Why does my rat keep biting me?

Question

I got a rat about a week ago and she is really sweet. She will fall asleep in your lap and let you pet her for hours. She spends probably 12 hours a day outside of her cage, usually sleeping under my pillow or something. I make sure goes into her cage every couple hours to get food and water and everything. But for the past couple days whenever she is with me she sniffs me for a couple seconds then really slowly opens her mouth and bites me where ever she's sniffing... my finger or foot or leg or whatever. It's not hard, she's just putting her teeth on me. I feel pressure but it doesn't hurt, and I'm scared she will bite me hard one day. Why is she doing that? What can I do to stop her from biting?

Answer 1

it's a rat.they are known for biting stuff

Answer 2

My missing-one-toe parakeet was the same way. Now she's a blood-drawing, screeching, fightning mad nutjob. Thank goodness the other two are sane.

Answer 3

What color are her eyes? Red/ruby eyed rats cannot see as well as their black-eyed companions.

My ruby-eyed girl grabs everything with her mouth, sometimes more than once. It's not aggression, and she knows it's not food, but it's her way of ''investigating'' things.

Rats don't have the best eyesight to begin with, so they resort to their other senses. Most use their nose, but some will use their taste & nibble at things.

P.S. Consider getting her a rat companion!

Answer 4

hmm,well it's a rat.

rats like to chew on things.

go figure. . .

xD

Answer 5

Rats in general cannot see very well so the age only adds to that. You may be surprised to find that the other comments are right, she's tasting you. When a rat taste something they aren't always checking to see if it food. Rats especially when old depend on smell and taste to tell them whats what, if she is showing no aggression then she is just trying to figure out whats in front of her. Another thing is that she also could be in heat. Are her nipples standing out? If they are then she is definately in heat, even if they aren't she still could be and when my rats go into heat they nip but then stop in 5 days. Also may I suggest getting her a friend? Rats kept alone even with all the attention in the world may develop social issues. It's like if we where to never see another human again but had a pet with us, its just not the same. One last thing that could be causing her to nip is if you feed her alot of treats. Like I said rats cant really see so she may be associated treats with your scent and voice. Every time she smells you she may think its you hold a treat out for her.  

Answer 6

Read some sites online about this to determine the kind of biting that fits your circumstances.  Our rat would nibble,  little love nibbles, which is what yours sounds like, but never gave any of us a hard bite that hurt.  It can take some getting used to.  It sounds like you are enjoying your rat as much as we did.  They make such cuddly and friendly pets and are so much fun.  Ours was left out of the cage a lot too and was definitely a part of the family.  Somehow he got inside the walls one day and we could not find him as we did not know this.  He was missing for many days and we were so worried.  Fortunately the boys heard his scratching inside the wall and we had to tear open the wail to get him out...we were so happy we found him and he was alright.

Here are some sites for you

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Pet-Rats-3537...

http://www.quite.co.uk/rats/#Biting%20an...

Additional hint:  It helps to have freshly washed hands ;)

Answer 7

maybe she is in pain.

Answer 8

Rats do this to their owners as a sign of affection. Also she might nibble at you because the natural salts on our body taste good to rats. She also might be trying to "groom" you which is also another sign of affection.  

Answer 9

maybe because you let her out too long she got scared of everything around her. she's become more cautious of her surroundings. you should leave he rin her cage more than you leave her out.

she bites you because she thinks you'll hurt her.

Answer 10

She probably thinks you are a carrot. No lie, my hamster does the same thing. We asked petSmart, and thats what they said. Try wearing gloves, or just let him bite you. It shouldn't much more painful.

Answer 11

There are two possibilities that I can think of:

1) Rats will sometimes give you a little 'nip' during playtime. This is her way of saying "Hey, you're my buddy! Let's play!" It's actually a compliment!

2) Sometimes, if a rat wants your attention they'll do the only thing they can think of- 'nip.'

3) Mutual grooming, but most of the time you'll have a rattie tongue all over you!

If this is a behavior you really don't like, you can make a gentle "Pssstt!" sound. This is not the recommended choice, but it does work.

Good luck!

Answer 12

She thinks u taste good!! : ]

justtt kidding.

i'm not sure. If you really are worried go to ur local vet or even pet store and explain the problem. The employees or the vet usually give u good information on anything involving ur pet.

Best of Luck! : ]

Answer 13

shes doing that because you taste yummy

Answer 14

thats just how rats are, they bite things, anything

kind of like how rat lovers will thumbsdown anything that offends them in this thread ;)

Answer 15

well she is a rat!is she wild?if so u need to check her for rabies!she is a rat so....!!:)

Answer 16

She's just testing you.  She either means it affectionately (though most rats will l**k) or she might be trying to play.  Rats will wrestle and mouth each other a bit.  One of my boys will run up to my hand, nip me lightly, and then run away.  That's my cue to 'chase' him with my hand, and try flipping him over.

Is she alone?  If she doesn't have a fellow rat to live with, she might just be feeling a bit stressed, too.  I wouldn't worry that she'll randomly bite you hard, but I would try and get her another rat to live with.

Answer 17

It's probably love bites. :]

She seems to be a real sweetie, so I don't think she's trying to hurt you.

Kittens and puppies do the same thing.

If it doesn't hurt, it shouldn't really bother you.

If you're really concerned though, just ask someone at a pet store. They know all about animals. :]

Good luck.

Answer 18

I really wouldn't be worried about her biting you hard. Rats only intentionally bite to draw blood if they are very scared and feel threatened, or if they are very ill and stressed.

The most common occurrences of domestic rat bites (in my experience) are caused from two things feeding treats through the bars of their cage.So when you finally stick your fingers in the cage to touch them, they'll eagerly try to grab your finger thinking it's another treat, but accidentally bite you instead.

Or breaking up a fight with a cage mate using your bare hands.

You may just smell yummy to her. If you use a body lotion try cutting it out. Wash your hands before (and after) you handle her to make sure she's not smelling food on you.

Or it may just be her natural need to chew kicking in and once she feels that the skin is soft and not suitable to chew on, she doesn't bite down.

While I'm not sure why she is biting, there are a few things you can do to discourage her from bitting in general:

-Don't feed them treats through the bars of the cage.

-Make a loud hi-pitched shriek, imitating that of a hurt rat. (I've heard this works quite well.)

-Some people recommend nose-bopping. This is when you physically reprimand the rat by tapping a him on the noise right after they bite. This is a controversial method of disciplining them though.

-If there's a certain spot that she is repeatedly "mouthing" then try using Apple Bitters. Tastes nasty to them, once they taste it they won't  want to bite there again.