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Pet ratnipping my fingers2007-11-24 22:14:11

Hi everyone!

I just brought home two blue and white, male, baby rats and I absolutely love them! Even though they look almost identical, they have two different personalities. One of my rats, Napoleon, loves to be held and craves attention. The other one, Arthur, is a good boy too, but whenever I stick my hand near his nose, he nips me a little bit. It's not hard, and by no means is he trying to viciously bite me, but I'm concerned because if I don't find a way to break this habit now, he's going to be nipping me when he's fully grown.and he's going to be a BIG BOY, haha. That would definately hurt a bit. Does anybody know how I can train him not to bite me? I'm planning on playing with him everyday for a couple hours...but I'm concerned that he may not stop nipping me because he's doing it more playfully rather then in a mean way. What should I do?

Answers:

Your rat needs time to get used to you, and this can be helped by washing your hands before handling him as if your hands smell of food this could be why he's nipping. Rats are incredably clean, smart creatures and unless treadted badly it's not in their nature to bite. Also if you put you hands right in his face you could be scaring him and he could be nipping because he's frightened. A good trick with rats is to allow them, if you can, to run around on the floor, you can then train them to come to you with a rodent treat, a peice of chicken etc, this way you are getting them to come to you therefore they begin to associate you with love, comfort and of course the first thing on their minds FOOD!

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give him a little swat

not to hurt him, just to show him thats bad

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d-CON

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When a rat is bitten by another rat, it will squeal and run off. When your rat bites you, make a loud squeaking noise (I'm serious), then stop playing with him. He will get the idea after a few times.

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Wash your hands before you hold him. you may have food on your hands and not know it. Usually rats won't full on bite you unless they are scared or have been mistreated

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Damn. Wack the sucker!