When rats are pregnant do they become aggressive?

Hello, I am breeding rats to feed my snakes and I was just bitten trying to pick up my female rat. She is fat near her hind legs and the hair around her nipples is off. She has never bitten me and she is pretty tame. Its funny because my mom didn't want snakes because they bite and she was ok with rats. I was bitten by my rat before my snakes haha



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Short answer, Yes! And once the babies come they will really be protective. What my mamas normally do is give a couple of love nibbles when I first start messing with the babies, but they will work their way up to drawing blood if they have to. Its not bad they are just being protective mama's

Depends. I can mess with my girls and their new born litters with no issue.

But handing heavily pregnant girls can be uncomfortable for them so some have been known to bite out of discomfort or protectiveness

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Mine haven't shown any aggression except one will nibble from time to time. For the most part mine have stayed pretty docile with each litter


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Most of mine are still pretty chill when pregnant and after giving birth, but I don't push my luck with them. I'd take a bite from my grumpy female boa over a rodet bite. Got bit by one girl who got tossed into the surplus male holding cage by mistake. I didn't catch it until I heard repeated squealing coming from that cage one day. It was her defending her litter from the males, and when I went to correct my mistake, she literally leapt several inches up to nail me. Ended up having to use tongs to get her by the tail, which I hated doing but I couldn't find my heavy leather gloves. Once she was in a cage with her babies by herself, she calmed down a bunch.

Thank you. The bite did draw blood too. my mom was freaking out haha it wasn't very bad but it surprised me

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My adult female would curiously nip to test my hand didnt hurt but when she had babies both the mother and father would bite but neither hurt or drew blood

Female rats are like pretty much all mammals, I think. Their hormones cycle, and the changes can cause changes in temperament and/or behavior. The biggest hormonal swings are during pregnancy and the period following childbirth. Part of what their hormones tell them to do is to protect those babies, and they do!

I think how likely a rat is to bite, both as part of the mothering thing and just in general, is part genetics and part socialization. Only 1 out of the females I've raised from birth has ever bitten me. Out of the 3 females I used to start my colony, 1 of them bit me, so that's a much higher percentage, and I think it has a lot to do with the fact that those 3 were not handled much as babies cuz they were quite skittish when we got them. If you socialize the females you are holding back to be breeders, and also eliminate biters, you should get to a point where you no longer need to worry much about being bit, as long as you are reasonable and don't harass the mothers with newborn litters and also take care to offer proper support when handling a visibly preggo one.

I also get nibbled by the rats at times. I think it is an exploring thing, and not really a bite. I can feel it is their mouth and their teeth touching me, but there is no pressure at all. I have one that would "taste" me pretty much every time I put my hand in her tub, but never bit. I decided that was getting ridiculous, so she is now no longer allowed to see that treats come from human hands, and that seems to have solved the issue.

My sweetest rat bit the tar out of me about an hour before she delivered. That's how I knew she was close. When her litter was younger, she would give me warning nips. Now that the babies are nearly weaned, she actually welcomes my hand in their cage because that means either she gets some time away from her babies or I take the babies away for a little bit so she can have some peace and quiet. Now, my more hand-shy females are the ones that I can just reach in and mess with the babies with no problems. It just depends on the female.

I've never noticed any increase in aggressive behavior with my preggo/nursing moms. My older girls depending on the time if yr (if I'm feeding a ton of pinks etc) they get a bit defensive with me reaching and stealing babies, but it take 2-3 litters before they learn this. Otherwise they're usually fine.


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