Pet Forum / Mammals / Rats / May 2008

So sorry to hear that, I once had a girl who was very aggressive, gardening
gloves were a must
but it was a shame that she never experienced the closeness that my others
have.
I would not euthanize the remaining boys, there is always the possibility
there was a health issue
with Atlas possibly neurological.
If you feel nervous of the other boys becoming that way maybe rehoming would
be an option, they
would sense if you became nervous of handling them.

I'd give them a chance to see how they turn out.

I'm having a super aggressive rat issue, Bernard. Adopted from Humane
Society, we estimate he is about 1.  I was trying to introduce him to
the other boys and he got in a scuffle and I very stupidly intervened
with my hand.  Well, Bernard chomped down hard on my right ring finger.
 It's been three weeks and I still can't feel the end of my finger, he
must have done some nerve damage. I went to the doctor and got
antibiotics and a tetanus booster the day after it happened.  He makes
happy rat noise on my shoulder sometimes, but during playtime, he just
goes after my hands and feet for no reason.  He's also very territorial
about his cage.  He lives alone.  I don't know if I'm making headway
with him or not, and I don't know if rats can be rehabilitated.

It's a very tough call and I'm sorry you are going through this.

-Marlo

If it were me?... I would take extra time out to love the others with
lots and lots of handling and time spent down your top.  It would seem
odd if they did actually become agressive at that age as they are past
puberty.  If they did it would be some sort of neurological problem.  I
would definitely up the handling time and take it from there.

Regards Kate

I forgot to ask if they were neutered?  Neutering does wonders to
problem males :)

I would agree with other posters and recommend you give them a chance. I
used to own two rats who were mother and daughter and couldn' have been
more different. The mother was an incredibly friendly, bright and
trustworthy rat who never bit once in her life, but the daughter was
vicious and would run over to you to bite you.

Rosemary

not necessarily, but it has been shown that aggressive tendencies can be
hereditary in rats. so keep your eye on them.

btw, this is controversial, but in the future one way to deal with an
aggressive rat is to return the aggression when the rat first begins to
exhibit these tendencies. there are plenty of ways to do this without
actually physically harming the rat. one method that works is holding the
rat by the scruff of skin on his/her back and, keeping a safe enough
distance, hold the rat up near your face and yell very loudly at it. this
sounds silly but after doing this to a rat that bit me once, the rat never
bit me again for the rest of his life and even though he was only a rat, i
swore that i saw shame in his little eyes. and it worked out good because
there was no need to put him down, like you had to do.

of course some rats are just born bad. the only time i have ever put down a
rat for being aggressive was when one of my babies at only 4 weeks old!!!
went completely nuts and started attacking me whenever my hand was near it.
i had never before and have never since seen anything like it.

I dont agree with what someone said about the whole fact that 'giving up a
rat that is aggressive/wanting to put him down shows that you dont have
enough care for the rat'.  Honestly, there is no place in a home for an
agressive rat.  I also agree that paying 300-600 to have a rat fixed is
completely crazy!  I wouldnt pay that to get any other pet fixed either.  I
think you did the right thing by putting him down.