*sigh* He's never done it before....

[Buddy'sParents]

Brain- while always being the wild child of the two- has never, ever bitten me. He's accidentally grabbed on to my finger while I was holding a pea or something like that, but never very hard and has always been quick to let go when he's realized it.

Today I was refilling their water container and of course my hand is by their cage as I maneuver it- and he bit me. It came out of nowhere and hurt. He really dug those teeth in, too. Left teeth marks and it bled for a few minutes.

*sigh* I was so worried about the dogs and the move, I hadn't really thought how hard it might be on the rats- this was their third move with us and of course they are older now- much older than most rats live.

Pinky is moving a lot slower but will still cock his head and look really cute for cheese and Brain still climbs up the "walls" of their cage to greet me, but it really hit me today that they are old and it shocked me when Brain bit me.

Not sure what my point was...just a sad vent I guess.

 

[Aussie Red]

And man does that ever hurt. I really have no answer for you as to why he did that. Karyn always had rats as a child and they were so friendly and I found them to be so smart. The only one she ever had that was a nipper was a female and she never cared to be held but her males were awesome. I really don't know unless he was hurting and if they are that old it is quite possible. I am so sorry Nicole.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

You know... we worry about when the time may be for our dogs to be led to the rainbow bridge, but I wonder about my rattties. They turned three last December..they're old men in the rattie world. They've never had any health problems and have never acted out. I'm hoping that they will pass peacefully, but if this act of Brain's was due to some pain or something- well, that may not be an option for him. And I just can't imagine one living without the other. They are brothers and have been together as such since they were born. *sigh*

 

[Kmh1]

I'm sorry you got bit. Two years ago I had a male rat that seemed very docile--then he got into a scuffle with another rat--I separated them no problem and all seemed fine--but when I picked him up--he was fine for a few seconds and then layed into the middle joint of my index finger and locked on--he actually punctured the joint and I wound up at the emergency room and had to have 2 months of physical therapy to be able to completely straighten the finger.
As much as I liked the little guys--the severe bite definitely shook me up--so definitely be careful--they can cause some damage. Hope your ratties are feeling better and your finger is ok

 

[RedHotDobe]

I had a gerbil do that. I still have no idea why. I had him and his brother out, and out of nowhere he bit and wouldn't let go.

I'm sorry they're getting older. I've had three. Two died young, and one was PTS at a young age. They really are great pets, and it's always hard to see them go.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Kmh1- wow! What a scary experience for you. I'm hoping everything worked out well for you in the end. I'm definitely going to be more careful around him now and I'm going to watch for more signs of "aggression" as he may be trying to tell me something.

Red-So many people are afrad of rats and they are just the neatest pets- especially for start pets for children (with appropriate supervision of course). I don't think we'll have any more rats in the near future after these guys pass. Wish they- and all animals- could talk and tell us what ails them.

 

[Doberluv]

I use to have rats for pets and they were such nice little pets. My kids had them too...never had one bite me. Maybe Brian was very stressed from the move or maybe something else. I hope it doesn't become a trend. You might have to stick your hand in there a few times with some really yummy thing that he loves to re-prove how wonderful your hand is. Hope everything will be all right.

 

[Buddy'sParents]

Thank you, Carrie.