Rat Bite!

my hooded rat just bit me. cut is deep.this is worse than when my burmese bit me. she has 9 pups. i cleaned the tubs this morning and same old same old. but later that night, she was lying with her belly up i was going to pet her like i normally do, then she just lunged at bit my finger. when i saw the blood, i really wanted to whack her against the wall! LOL! but her pups have 2 weeks to go before they are weaned.ill just kill it after they get weaned.lol. is this normal?

thank you.

raymond

Why would you kill her? It sounds like she was protecting her babies, and you probably startled her. I am VERY careful around nursing moms - their protective instincts kick in. I've been lucky not to have been bitten as badly as you have, but I have been given some VERY stern warning nips - hurt like heck, but didn't break the skin. I certainly wouldn't reach in when she's laying on her back taking a snooze. I generally talk to them to wake them up and encourage them to come to me, not me just reach in to pet.

Yes, i would not kill her, she was just following her instincts;)

I've been bit very hard like you, deep wound and brought blood, my fault too. Like any mom with kids, she's stressed out and was just on "auto-pilot" when she bit you.

I bet ya when the pups are weaned, she will be back to normal. ;)

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Originally Posted by munding

my hooded rat just bit me. cut is deep.this is worse than when my burmese bit me. she has 9 pups. i cleaned the tubs this morning and same old same old. but later that night, she was lying with her belly up i was going to pet her like i normally do, then she just lunged at bit my finger. when i saw the blood, i really wanted to whack her against the wall! LOL! but her pups have 2 weeks to go before they are weaned.ill just kill it after they get weaned.lol. is this normal?

thank you.

raymond

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Is it normal for a female animal nursing young to be protective? Well of course it is. The most well behaved pet dog can get snappy when she's with her litter of pups - would you "whack" your dog?

If you are going to breed animals, any animals, you need to understand the difference between normal behaviour and true aggression. If you want to waste a perfectly good adult female breeding rat just because you got bit, that's your choice I guess.

cos i heard from a member here that you shouldnt tolerate aggresive rats. but yeah, its my fault. i startled her. shes not aggressive. just doing motherly instincts. my mistake. thanks for the advice guys. :):oops:

i guess that it was also an instinct to kill it when i saw so much blood.lol.yup. im an idiot. hehe.

thank you.

raymond.

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Originally Posted by munding

cos i heard from a member here that you shouldnt tolerate aggresive rats. but yeah, its my fault. i startled her. shes not aggressive. just doing motherly instincts. my mistake. thanks for the advice guys. :):oops:

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I don't tolerate breeders that are overly aggressive with one another or towards their babies even more so with mice but this is for the sake of the colony itself and a different situation.

When it comes to this kind of situation a different and to be expected.

Always proceed with caution when dealing with a nursing mom, best thing is to remove her carefully and place it in a separate container when dealing with the babies.

Haha!!! I know how you feel - I'be been bit right down to the bone by a rat before, and it hurts like nothing you'd believe if you haven't been bitten by a rat before!!!

The sympathy is there, it was all I could do not to inadvertantly toss it across the room at the time out of sheer "Get off my hand you devil animal" instict (it wasn't my rat, it was when I worked at the vets).

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Originally Posted by Deborah

I don't tolerate breeders that are overly aggressive with one another or towards their babies even more so with mice but this is for the sake of the colony itself and a different situation.

When it comes to this kind of situation a different and to be expected.

Always proceed with caution when dealing with a nursing mom, best thing is to remove her carefully and place it in a separate container when dealing with the babies.

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ok. got it. thank you. and i wont be touching any of the moms anymore! aside rabernet's advice on talking to them and letting them come to me,any other advice on how to approach it? before i didnt care when i was doing my weekly cleaning. just grabbing it by the tail, and transfering it to another tub. but after that bite, lol..i wana know what you guys do to prevent that kind of situation. dont want that to happen again.:oops::oops::oops:

thank you

raymond

I can generally tell a female's mood, and after talking to her and seeing her in a relaxed mood, I'll gently pick her up behind her shoulders and put her in a separate container, and THEN I move the babies in with her. And the same way when I put her back. I don't pick adults up by their tails. Little babies I can't catch easily I might grab by the tail.

how come you dont pick them up by their tails?

Because I don't think it's comfortable for them, and my breeders are also my pets, so I try to handle them as kindly (in my mind) as I can.

ah. i see. thank you for the info.

thank you.

raymond

I will occasionally tail grab a female but I have a secure container right there so it's a very fast lift-transfer where she isn't in a head down position for more than 2 seconds. I do this only with a few of my momma rats that tend to be less easy to manage when they have a nursing litter. I never tail lift a heavily pregnant female though as it allows the full weight of her litter to shift suddenly (I doubt this is good for them or the growing babies inside).

When I pick out certain rats that will become my future breeders I start handling them a lot as they mature. This means that most of my adult breeders consider me a buddy and babies or not will stand up to greet me when I show up. Since they've learned to equate me with food, water, attention and so forth all their lives, they make much easier adult rats to care for. Especially with some of my really big breeder male rats, I want a manageable animal that won't chew me up. :)

I do cull out aggressive rats. That would be rats that for no reason attack me, other rats or their own young. Before I do cull, I make sure the rat didn't have a reason or is stressed or sick. If it's just truly a very bad tempered animal, it's done. Since temperment tends to be genetic in rats and I want easy natured breeders and feeders, it's something I just have to do occasionally.

thank you for the advice. i will keep that in mind. i will be really careful around nursing moms. those teeth can really do some damage. lol.

thank you.

raymond

Oh heck yes they can, Ray. Anytime I've ever been nailed by a rat it always seems to be right on a knuckle too! Darn but that does hurt!

Do remember with rat bites to wash the area thoroughly under running hot water and with soap, then use a topical anti-biotic/first aid type cream. Rat bites can be deep and can go nasty so you want to attend to that right away.

yes, that's what i did. i washed it with soap and put some alcohol on it and covered it.

thank you very much for your time.

thank you.

raymond

I got bit by my first rat mother. Now if any female is nursing and I need to get around babies or clean the cage, I just pick her up by her tail for a second and move her.

I just got bit by my mouse... OUCH! Id hate to be bit by a huge rat:O