Taming Down Everglades Rat?

[bcr229]

A pet store is a pretty stressful environment for a high-strung critter - lots going on, tons of people and activity, etc. I would put her somewhere quiet for a week or so, and then just hang around quietly near her while reading a book or surfing the 'net. Let her get used to you being in the area and not a threat.

Obviously when you hold her don't put her away if she musks, bites, pees, etc. She needs to learn that these behaviors do not mean she goes back into her home. In fact, if she acted like that at the pet store then the employees and/or customers may have taught her that misbehaving means she gets what she wants, which is to go back to her enclosure. Also a brief - even a few seconds - handling session where she behaves and you put her away before she has a chance to misbehave is better than a long one where she behaves defensively.

She's an adult so you may not want to do this - at least not without gloves - but one trick I used to get my nippy BRB babies to stop biting was to just make a fist, put my hand in the tub, and let them bite the heck out of the back of my hand. At that size they were too little to draw blood though, and eventually they gave up the nipping when I didn't remove my fist until after they stopped biting.

She may never tame down 100% but her behavior should improve over time.