I've heard that rats are very nice, smart animals to have. I have a rat and all it does it bite whomever comes in contact with it. Does anyone know why a rat might do this?
by 
princessemmabelle
ANSWERS: 9
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was it fed through the cage? I learned rats who are fed via holes in a cage tend to bite objects presented to them.
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Rats are very nice and smart. The reason he's biting you is because he is scared. If you just got him and he's never been held before you need to get him used to you, try feeding him treats through the bars and then by hand, don't try picking him up for a week or two until he's not scared of your hand anymore. My friend's rat was like this too after a few weeks her rat was fine.
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Your rat is scared. I took a rat from a friend because she was going to put it down because it bit. I could not let that happen so I took it in and worked with it. At 1st I let the rat get to know me in a room alone with her. Eventually I started giving it treats to let it know I was nice. I never touched the rat I just let it do what it wanted.My other rat actually bit her toe off and I helped her heal it and took care of the wound , so that helped her trust me too. On its own it came to me and climbed on me after it saw that i was not a threat.At that point it was starting to trust me. I never put my hands in her cage because that is her safe place so I just let her come out at her own pace. I started to handle her and let her go on my shoulders and now she does not bite. She will still nibble and get very spooked if I approach her the wrong way but she has changed for the best. I now like her the most out of all 3 rats. It just takes patience and time. I would not put it to sleep but rather help it. It will respect you for it.
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bad breading?
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give your rat time let him get used to you and handle him loads, they love company you could get another one to keep it company but make sure they are the same sex.
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Try handling it with real thick gloves that it cant bite thru, this will give you confidence whilst trying to socialize it
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I loved that rat but i understand
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Next time remember that neutering a rat can fix such problems as well rats become viscous when kept alone. Sorry he was PTS without proper research being done. AnswerBag isn't always known for the greatest people replying to pet care threads.
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Like a lot of people, you might have made the mistake of obtaining you rat from a pet store, most of whom buy their rats buy their rats from pet mills or from rat farms which raise so that they may be fed to snakes and other exotic pets. In either case the rats are mistreated and not socialized they are essentially raised in the same battery cages that broiler chicks are reared in before being culled. The only human interaction they get is from the guy who gives them food and water. As such they tend to be aggressive and view people as predators. If you want to buy rats find a reliable breeder via Craig's List, Critter's Magazine and or online. The same rule applies to most pet birds and mammals. Unfortunately, most breeders charge a lot more than most pet shops so another alternative is getting rats from an animal shelter. Most shelters will not adopt out animals the feel are aggressive. Another problem is that you have one rat, being social animals you need at least two preferably of the same sex.
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