How old are they? They may have been abused, or not taken care of properly, or just be that way.

I handle over a thousand rats a week (no I am not exaggerating) and I've been bitten 3 times in about 5 months... and those were mothers with babies.


If I wanted a rat as a pet, I would focus on a group of babies and handle them daily, and then offer them treats/handle them a lot as they start eating solid food. Then when they are weaned continue spending time with them daily....

Most of my rats don't mind me scratching them/petting them, handling them, but are skittish when I first go to pick them up, but that is mostly because they live with other rats and aren't used to regular handling.

I would write that one off, and try to get a really small one and put a lot of time and effort into them. I've heard a lot of good rat pet stories. I would love to have a few as pets if I had more time to work with them.