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Lilly267   Lilly267   KaleidoRats  
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 #2233247


Lilly267
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 Biting teenage rat

My teenage buck loves to wrestle with my hand. Recently, he started playing too rough. His bites break the skin and hurt really bad. I whine loudly and he runs away. He seems to understand that it hurts me, but he keeps doing it anyway. Is there anything I can do to prevent this? I don’t want to have bitten up hands if there is some way to make him stop. I’ve had teenage rats before, but I’ve never had one bite to break skin.



08/18/11  06:56pm

 #2236745


Lilly267
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   Message To: Lilly267   In reference to Message Id: 2233247


 Biting teenage rat

Someone please help me. He attacked me while I was eating on the couch yesterday and my hand bled for five minutes.
09/12/11  09:00pm

 #2236766


KaleidoRats
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   Message To: Lilly267   In reference to Message Id: 2236745


 Biting teenage rat

I would suggest not eating while he’s out. You and your hands will smell like food and he will bite thinking you might be a tasty nom. Not all rats do this, obviously, but in this case I strongly suggest you avoid it until you find out why he’s biting.

You could also try "washing your hands" in white vinegar or apple cider vinegar which will make them smell unappetizing to most rats but that would probably be an issue when it came time to play.

Investing in a pair of gloves like one would use to handle a large reptile might be good to protect you. If you can’t feel the bites you might not react in a way he finds pleasing. Some of my rats play the biting game with my roommate. I never react when they bite me even if they break the skin and they get bored. My roommate will spazz when he gets bitten and they make a point to do it often because he reaches in thinking he’ll get bit.

Taking the rat to the vet is also something I would suggest. I’ve had rats go from sweet to nasty due to tumors or other illnesses that I couldn’t see that were causing discomfort and making the rat grumpy.
09/12/11  11:27pm


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