Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / March 2005

A Vet check will rule out any illnesses.  From what I have read though
he sounds pretty much like a hormonal teenager, bored off his trolley.
Have you considered getting him a playmate?  It is unkind to keep these
creatures as sole pets..:(   I have one who literally flies from one
side of the house to the other, a right nutter....  Time, patience, love
and company should all help his situation.  IF he never settles after
going through puberty then there is always the option of neutering, but
again, I would explore all other options first.  Best of luck,

Regards Kate

At 24 weeks, he's being a very hormonal and stress boy. His moving about
constantly is quite normal, his marking everything, is quite normal as well.
He needs to be neutered to help him calm his aggressiveness, also, he needs
a friend. But neutering should come first and then one on one socialization,
then a little buddy to keep him company, in a cage big enough for two rats.
A vet check is a very good idea, make sure you find one that is experienced
in handling and treating rats. The vet will know what to do and how to
advise you further.
BTW, that was great information and description along with your question. :)

As for the gloves Tracy had mentioned. When I had a bitey animal I got these
gloves that were specifically used for Iguana's. They were wonderful!!!!
Very thick like kevlar (stuff they use in bullet proof vests) Im not sure
where you are, and if you can get your hands on a pair. Ill ask some friends
of mine where you can obtain such a pair if you like. Just let me know. Good
luck with Louie, Ive never had a rattie that bites, except when she thought
my little toes looked like wiggling little grapes *giggle*.

Regards,
Dawn

http://www.fancy-rats.co.uk/information/guides/guides.php?subject=ratsthatbite )

(semi-venting post)

Hi again, group!

Thanks for the many answers! I'll try and answer as many of your
questions as I can in this post. I'm currently nursing a deep bite wound
from that little &^%^, so please excuse any typos.

I'm in Dorset, in the UK. I don't currently have any other rats. Until I
had him, he only got out of his cage on the occasions I happened to be
visiting (as I was about the only person who could handle him without
having their hand ripped off). His previous owners used to handle him
much more when he was younger, but recently he was left in his cage for
days at a time.

I'm using the bedding that came in the cage when I got him - it looks
like fibre glass wool, but it isn't. It's proper pet stuff, I don't have
the wrapper it came in. There's also a mix of shredded cloth in there,
that came in a generic "pet bedding" bag, both bought by Louie's
previous owner.

Tonight has been something of a disaster. For the last day or so, he's
been behaving fairly well, until tonight. I don't know why, but he went
into full-on-overdrive-hyperactive mode. Not just running around, but
sqeaking and squealing whenever I came anywhere near him. I let him run
around in the bathroom to see if he just needed to get rid of some
excess energy, but he just found the first dark corner and stayed there,
squeaking unhappily whenever I approached.

I let him sit behind me in my office chair while I caught up with some
computer work, which has calmed him down one times I looked after him in
the past, and it also worked yesterday. He appeared to calm down, but
still was very wary about letting me handle him. At this point I started
 getting worried, perhaps something wasn't right and he was in pain,
but after checking him over (which for the most part, he was quite happy
to let me do), I couldn't seem to find anything that was causing him
discomfort or pain.

I took him upstairs to my room, another "quiet" spot for him. But all he
seemed to want to do was run around like a lunatic, squeak at me
whenever I came close and squeal whenever I first made contact. Oddly,
he was pretty much silent whenever I was handling him. Seeing that the
best thing for him would probably be to be left in his cage for a while,
I put him in.

I was just about to walk out of the room when Louie quite literally
screamed. I've never heard a rat make such a loud and painful noise
before. I pulled the top off his cage (thankfully I'd left it unclipped)
to see him on his back with the plastic house that he sometimes sleeps
in, on top of him. He was obviously in some pain, wriggling as if he was
trying to get loose from the house. I went to try and steady the house
and help him get free, but he got to me first. I now have two VERY deep
bite marks on my right thumb, in exactly the same place as the wounds he
inflicted on the same thumb, two days ago. Digging his teeth in as deep
as he could, he pulled himself free of whatever it was that was that was
 causing him pain.

Without being too graphic, blood was literally running down my hand, and
I don't think I've ever yelled like that from the initial shock. It took
 over 5 minutes to slow the bleeding down to a slow crawl. Once I had a
bandage on it, I grabbed Louie and as the cage wasn't assembled, stuck
him in the carrier box used to get him to the vet and closed it while I
tended to my hand.

While I was bandaging the thumb, he escaped, so I had the joy of running
after him one handedly. Got him back in the box, finished bandaging my
hand. Managed to get hold of him, and to his credit, he let me take him
out of the box and handle him without causing me further pain. Turns out
that while he was struggling, he managed to damage two claws, both of
which were bloody. He wasn't happy about me examining them, and didn't
seem to have any other damage, so I put him back in the box while I
re-assembled his cage. Stuck him back in there and I've just left him
for now.

I'm gonna try and get an appointment with the vet tomorrow, get him
checked over and see if the vet can come up with any reasons for his
behaviour that you guys haven't.

*sigh*... and "ouch"

I hope I haven't missed replying to any other questions, if so, just
prod me.

I will keep posting and let y'all know how it does.

Dave
--
(remove spamblock or reply to group)

VET'S REPORT!

Okies. Took Louie to the vet today, and he was given a pretty much clean
bill of health. :-)

He (the vet) wasn't concerned by the injuries to Louie's claws caused in
last night's events. Louie's teeth and claws didn't need trimming. The
vet's overall opinion was that I should leave things as they are and
keep an eye on Louie's behaviour; report back if things didn't improve.
He agreed that keeping a piece of wood (or two) in the cage for Louie to
keep his teeth and claws in check was a good idea.

Oddly enough, he didn't think Louie having a companion was an important
issue, saying that Louie would be just fine on his own. He did say that
Louie should be castrated before getting him a companion; male or female.

Interesting things to note tonight. He -HATES- being here in my office.
Something about being in here freaks him out and he goes hyper. Being up
in my bedroom or let loose in the bathroom seem to be good places for
him. Especially the bathroom - there's (touch wood) nowhere he can
escape from, so I can leave him loose in there for a while and he gets a
bit of exercise. Even more interesting; after a while (about 30 mins) in
the bathroom, if I walk in and sit down, he'll come over and tonight, he
even settled into the crook of my elbow for a while!

He's still very wary of my hands, and I'm not sure why - he's happy
enough with me stroking him while he's settled on me. I'm hoping that
will came with time...?

Well, that's my rat report for today! Feel free to ask any questions and
I'll answer as best I can. :)

Cheers,
Dave

Is your place usually quiet with some noises going off once in a while? That
could be causing him some stress. I know that my mom's rats are used to
their place being quiet but when some big truck goes by or any new noise,
they get so scared. Unlike my rats, they are so used to noise, they don't
even budge when a door gets slammed. I have two teenage sons, it gets loud
in here.
I don't recommend getting him a companion until you have his behavior under
control. You wouldn't want to be stuck with two cages with two lonely boys.
lol Also, finances are very important when it comes to owning rats, you
really don't want to stretch yourself and then be stuck when the rat needs
real medical help. And cage size is also very important. Hamster cages are
just not adequate enough for rats.